CLIENT:
AESTHETICS IN DESIGN
YEAR:
2025
EXPERIENCE:
SKETCHING | FABRICATION
Skate Rings
about.
For my upcycling project, I'm transforming old skateboard decks into vibrant plywood for jewelry and potentially a bowl. My inspiration comes from Bauhaus and De Stijl aesthetics, focusing on geometric patterns, sharp lines, and bold color contrasts. The process involved collecting used skateboard decks, varying in wear, and then preparing them. I used a heat gun to soften and remove the grip tape, followed by a convex paint scraper to strip off layers of paint, stickers, and grime. All this work was done in the BTU lab in ATLAS. I then sanded each board, progressing from rough to fine sandpaper, to a 300-grit finish, which beautifully revealed the unique, multicolored layers of wood veneers in each deck.
challenge.
The most significant hurdle I faced was the material preparation itself, particularly stripping the paint and residue from the decks; it took me about an hour for the first deck, though I streamlined it to around 30 minutes for subsequent ones. Now that the wood is prepped, my next steps involve finalizing sketches, performing test cuts to best showcase the layers, cutting and assembling the pieces, and then sanding them for detail and a smooth finish before applying a MinWax clear finish or some wax/oil.
result.
I successfully created a jewelry set, specifically rings (fitting sizes 7-9) and a necklace/ornament piece, which perfectly encapsulates the Bauhaus aesthetic with its contrasting colors, sharp lines, and geometry. My artistic goals of achieving a Bauhaus, De Stijl, clean, geometric, and sharp-colored look were all met. I'm excited to continue exploring this aesthetic and plan to integrate this technique into my final course project, possibly making a modular book and tool shelf with a pop of skateboard color. I also intend to keep making rings, and I'm even considering selling them, as I already have a list of five people who are getting a free ring!
Functional Goals | |
|---|---|
Rings of sizes 7-9 | ✅ |
Necklace or ornament piece | ✅ |
Larger piece, decorative | ❌ |
Artistic Goals | |
|---|---|
Bauhaus | ✅ |
Destjil | ✅ |
Clean look | ✅ |
Geometric | ✅ |
Sharp Colors | ✅ |
