Darkness Torch

The final sculpture! Paired with some dark toys, it shows how the light can't touch the objects inside.

I collected names and ideas for branding from the kids I visited at the primary school. These names were all so creative and I read through all their pages, one thing stood out. Owls! The name "Night Owl" came up multiple times, and I think it suited the starry pattern on the torch. I created this logo and cut it out in vinyl, and then applied it.

This was the hardest part, applying the fabric to the frame. I cut out 4 panels of organza fabric to wrap around and double over for extra darkness. Then I machine stitched the bottom seam, pinned it to the frame and hand stitched them on. This was tough and time consuming, but using a curved upholstery needle made it much easier. The final result is a block of darkness, just as I wanted.

One thing the class had asked me was: "what if there was a way to change how dark the shadow was?" So, instead of a light switch I would make a dial like a dimmer switch! A great idea that adds more realism to the invention.
I used my vinyl cutter to make some numbers. And I made the on/off symbol look like a moon as a little easter egg for the keen eyed viewer too!

I started by painting the torch in the northern lights theme, but it didn't seem very inviting, or look very much like the northern lights. I instead went for the schoolkids other favourite, stars! I layed down a dark purple acrylic and added blue streaks for variation and depth.
Then came the nost fun part. Using a stensil, I sprayed on layers of pink, yellow and cream to make the stars. They appear to glow nicely. Much better!

I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting the primary school children who are taught by the inventor of the torch. They approved of my idea, and definitely had a lot to say. Out of my  designs for the paint-job, they really liked the glow-in-the-dark stars and the northern lights idea (which some of them proudly corrected to aurora borealis).
I also gave them the opportunity to give me a tech name for the invention to put on the side. Some chose imagery of owls, nighttime, cats or stars, which were all great.

I needed a way to achieve a cone shape with fabric, so I created a frame out of wire and small pipes. Then, a shadowy organza fabric can be sewn over the top to create my beam. I poked the wires into the cardboard, then glued the torch closed fully.

After the torch 1.0, I felt like bigger is better. I created my net digitally and used a plotter to transfer the design onto the cardboard. I cut it out precisely and used a hot glue gun to construct it. I love how sturdy this version is, although I'm still unsure how its being attached to the wire frame!

At the beginning of the project I had lots of ideas of how to show a beam of darkness, but during the prototype phase it became obvious what was possible with wire and cardboard. Out of my sketches, I chose for an upright torch supported by its beam with a hole at the bottom to place some items drenched in shadow. In this stage I discovered my torch could be even bigger and cartoon-ier, and my wire frame needed some stronger bones.