Natalie Zoller
Dim Sum Cart
Prompt: Students will create a 3D object or artifact that showcases their connection to their identified community, personal beliefs, or personality. The item may be a sculpture or a functional object/tool and should express their feelings of belonging to a particular community of their choosing, exploring the reasons behind their sense of connection and how it is demonstrated in their creation. The use of color, shape, form, texture, and scale to visually convey their emotions and connections is encouraged. In addition, students can explore pattern-making, scale model-making, collapsible and converting structures, and abstract concepts to convey a story, as well as using various materials, construction methods, mechanical connectors, drawings, and digital representations of their work.
I chose to make a dim sim cart to represent my connection to the Chinese community. The object is a toy in that the objective is to stack the steamers as high as one could without it toppling over. I was reminded of the common experience of writing a child’s name on the toy that they own in case it was lost, and chose to write my name in Chinese to recall this sense of childhood nostalgia.