One Thousand and One Nights Arịa

Press Kit

Unique Properties

Segmenting is a wood-work technique which is in two aspects: art-wise and production-wise. While both use motifs and cut trimmed lumbers and planks into angled and regular shapes, the former makes up marquetry pictures, and the latter produces objects. The method used here, calling it Irregular Segmenting, has roots in the second aspect but is inspired by the idea of putting irregular segments together accidently with various sizes and shapes. So, it has different procedures of segmenting and pressing with no needs to trim wood or use motifs, technically speaking, and means a random assemblage of colors and else, regarding aesthetics.

Dimensions & Packaging

The vessel is 40 cm in height and 20 cm in diameter, and it weighs 200 grams. The bigger cup is 30 cm in height and 15 cm in diameter, and it weighs 100 grams. The smaller cup is 25 cm in height and 8 cm in diameter, and it weighs 40 grams.

Tags

Recycle Wood, Reuse Wood, Save Natural Resources, Save Forests, Save Green Lives, Save Trees, Tree Huggers, Anti Deforestation, Stop Deforestation, One Thousand and One Nights, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Wood Vessel

Production Technology

To begin with the Irregular Segmenting work, first, left-over cuts of wood with different shapes are sorted out according to their complementary colors. After that small sheets are made up this way, they are arranged to build up bigger sheets. In order to produce this design One Thousand and One Nights, discs of desired diameter were cut out of the sheets and were glued and fixed to shape up like a vessel. Finally, the whole volume was wood-turned.

Design Challenge

The fundamental challenge is to technically find a way to connect pieces of different sizes and various shapes so they could regain a fine form. Applying effective techniques to put the right pieces next to each other and under the press, without having them slipped or displaced, led to an algorithm defined based on the parallel sides of each piece. This method can fulfill the random presence of colors and shapes in each sheet and also provide better opportunities for creativity.

Research

Three research types are needed to do Irregular Segmenting. First, Mechanics of Wood, the mechanical behavior of wood like expansion and contraction so that wood pieces with similar mechanics can sit next to each other and build up a stronger structure. Second, Chemistry of Wood, the chemical behavior of wood such as its reactions to light. It is suggested to gain information about yellowing to place pieces with a correct color contrast so they are more likely to be preserved against aging. Third is studying aesthetics of the sheet before making a design. As in this work, it is based on circular forms.

Inspiration

Using wood while producing a design, artists usually finish up with a pile of scraps which mostly end up in trash bins, garden incinerators, or barbeques. Even if they may look impracticable due to their inappropriate size or unwanted shape, there are colors, textures, or else among them that cannot be simply ignored. Sounding like the tales of 'One Thousand and One Nights', a world full of magic and possibilities that comes right out of impossibilities, this idea occurred to me to first design a technique for making a sheet of wood out of those cuts, and then to design a vessel like Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'.

Project Duration

The whole project, Irregular Segmenting and designing One Thousand and One Nights started and finished in Tehran, Iran, in 2015. It has not been exhibited so far, except for online shares via social medias.

Operation Flow

The vessel and the cups could be used as decorative objects. The Irregular Segmenting technique, however, can be applied to almost every artistic or industrial process which uses wood as its main material.