ICON

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Table of Contents ...........................................................................................

Problem Statement .............. P. 13

Icon ................................... P. 14

Object Analysis ................... P. 15

Sketches ............................ P. 9-12

Clothespin Pics ................... P. 4-7

PicsDuring my exploration.... for the icon image, I tried to view my object (the clothespin) at different angles and settings. By viewing the clothespin in different situations, allowed me to see what is it that makes the clothespin recognizable as a clothespin?

Is it recognizable by being on a clothes line hanging up clothes? or can it be recognized by looking straight down on it? or is best seen as a clothespin by zooming in on it and cropping the image at certain areas? To explore these possibilities, I took pictures of the clothespin to use in my investigation.

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SketchesWorking with charcoal, pencil, ball-point pen, and marker I did several sketches analyzing the shapes that make up a clothespin, and the basic structure of my object. My main focus was on the teeth and spring that are distinct to the clothespin. These two elements are what distinguish a clothespin from something like a safety-pin.

Sketching helped me concentrate on what I was trying to show in my icon; which was to draw attention to the teeth and spring of my clothespin. Also, I wanted to use minimal lines that didn’t necessarily connect, so my object would still be identifiable- but without filling everything and connecting the dots, per say...

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Problem Statement:

I want to communicate... that the clothespin has the capability of opening, which allows it to hold onto things.

Clothespins are slowly becoming extinct household items. Not many people hang clothes outside to dry anymore. But, at my house we’ve always hung our clothes out to dry on beautiful warm sunny days. There’s just something nice and summery about drying clothes outside, and getting the clothespins out of the basket, arranging the clothes on the line, and as a child running through the sheets drying in the wind. The clothespin has a symbolic meaning to me that represents a warm feeling of summer and a generation’s old tradition of drying clothes outside; in an age where this practice is phasing out.

Extinction of the clothespin is a result of: modern homes and those in the suburbs restricting its residents from hanging clothes out to dry (maybe it devalues the primp and properness of suburbia); or maybe the home’s yard does not come furnished with clothes lines, because electrical dryers have replaced the outdoor drying practice. However, this is not the case at my home, where we’ve been drying clothes outside for generations.

Since our house was built in the 1940’s, the backyard came equipped with clothes lines and have remained in our yard ever since. As a kid I remember helping my Mom hang up clothes (usually just passing her clothespins or the next item of clothing), and running around the yard through the drying clothes, or just watching the blankets and shirts wave in wind. Therefore, clothespins have a symbolic meaning to me of a nostalgic summer day with gentle winds.

Also, the clothespin I chose for the icon has another type of nostalgic meaning to me. It’s almost like a family heirloom, with roots dating back to when my grandparents first arrived in America. This clothespin is very weathered, and it has a unique outline and shape that is distinct to its era of production (circa late 1960’s). While creating ideas for the clothespin icon, its unique shaped teeth and spring helped influence my perception on how to compose the final piece.

The focuses of the icon are: the teeth and the spring. These two subjects are split into two separate frames, with both subjects connecting one another between frames. Instead of filling in and drawing out the entire clothespin, I decided to give it clean minimal lines. That way, enough information is given about the icon so the viewer can identify what the object is representing.

While analyzing the icon I realized that like the practice of drying clothes on the line is slowly vanishing, so was the icon. Maybe I subconsciously intended the icon to look like it was fading away into the background, suggesting the fading of outdoor clothes drying. In conclusion, the clothespin icon is a subject that reflects this vanishing clothes drying practice while triggering memories of a warm breezy summer day.

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