Design Apprenticeship Program (DAP)
The Design Apprenticeship Program I & II (DAP) is a design-based mentorship and skills-building initiative that encourages teens and young adults to invest in the improvement of the physical and social conditions of their community.
DAP Spring 2021 Coursework Assignments
This spring Design Apprenticeship Program I participants explored the concept of time, specifically time as an experience, time as a measurement, and time within design. The following projects are the materialization of these discussions.
This Old Thing
Apprentices located and photographed the oldest object that they own to present to the group. The photographs served as catalysts for discussing eras and identifying connections between time and personal value. After identifying the object's original purpose, apprentices either redesigned or reimagined their objects in the present.
Sundial
Rethinking one of the earliest time measuring devices, the sundial, apprentices made unique versions using a wooden dowel and personal objects that they associated with time consumption as hour markers. As documentation of their work, they photographed their sundials at three different hours of the day. This project introduced apprentices to alternate ways of thinking about non-numerical representations of time and encouraged them to consider the representation of time more abstractly.
Room Perspective Drawing
As an exploration of the concept of perspective in design, apprentices created a 3D perspective drawing of a room, creating a sense of space and depth through drawing.
Boombox
Transitioning from 3D design rendering to modeling and production, apprentices designed and constructed a 3D boombox out of cardboard, generating a rich dialogue about time's relationship to designed objects and music.
Click below to see how DAP I Apprentices moved their Boombox projects from 3D renderings to final production.
Hourglass
In thinking more abstractly about time, apprentices began identifying the differences between measured time and experienced time. Working with soap bottles, sand, glue, twine, and cardboard, apprentices constructed an hourglass.
Extended Self Portrait
With disposable black and white film cameras, apprentices captured photos of themselves over the course of three weeks and jotted down a word that reflected their emotion at the time of the photo. These words and photographs generated important conversations about change and transformation.
Final Project
Time-Measuring Device
This capstone project brings together the three major themes of the term: time as an experience, time as a measurement, and time within design. Apprentices designed and constructed a time-measuring device to materialize how they understand and use time in their personal lives. Using minimal materials such as cardboard, glue, clock hands, a clock motor, and watercolor paint, apprentices made clocks that vary in form and scale. Individual makers constructed their devices using the various skills and design techniques they learned throughout the term, and each device is unique to the design characteristics and personal experiences of the maker.
Explore students’ process for creating these unique time-measuring devices
DAP Instructors
DAP I: Nathan Miller is an artist, educator and musician from the South Side of Chicago. Drawing from spiritually charged experiences, his work is a wide-ranging study of the nature of time, belief and his Christian faith. Miller melds together photography, sculpture, public installation and ministry in ways that constructively collapse rigid distinctions of content and form, and he self-admittedly frames his practice as, "a sonata composing itself". Having studied photography at the University of Illinois at Chicago (BFA, 2013), The University of The Arts London (2011), and the Rhode Island School of Design (MFA, 2017), Miller's practice is rooted in the tradition of documentary image making. Miller has exhibited at galleries and museums in Chicago, New York, London, and Rhode Island, including: Schneider Gallery Chicago (IL), Chicago Art Department (IL), Washington Park Arts Incubator (IL), ClampArt (NY) and the RISD Museum (RI). Miller is an AICAD Fellowship recipient (Pratt, 2018), and lecturer of photography at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
DAP II: Sherry Diaz (she/her/hers) is an artist, designer, woodworker, educator, and a super-proud mama. Sherry studied at The Krenov School of Fine Woodworking, based in Fort Bragg California. Previous projects include the small business Elephant Playthings, an online-based store focused on the design and crafting of simple wooden toys and furniture. She strongly believes that craftspersons need to take the initiative of teaching younger generations the craft itself— as well as an appreciation for work done with one’s hands and heart.