Designing the Screen

Before construction can start we have all been allocated a specific piece of furniture to research design and then finally draw on Auto Cad with construction instructions. The piece of furniture I have to design is the screen in the corner of Ivan's drawing room that is concealing death.

Folding screens originated in china eighth century records show that they were placed within tombs. The Chinese ones were constructed usually from heavy wood hinged together with thick leather or cloth thongs where as Japanese screens were much more dainty, used for ceramonies or as back drops for dances (sometimes with up to eight panels) they were very light and flexible using a lattice technique layering up wood and paper.

During the 18th and 19th centuries the panel screens had many uses , room dividers, draft excluders, or dress screens. With the spread of Baroque and the arts and crafts movement signature pieces of furniture like this became part of the specific interior architecture. The screens seen around the time of Ivan Ilych varied from heavy dark wood panels, plain virtical 6ft panels or far more decorative panels that stand on small feet with beautiful undulating mouldings crowing the tops of the panels. Some of the screens though the basic structure was wood others had fabric or paper inlays to add to their grand appearance. Gold leaf was also a popular finish. Because this is a dressing screen my design will have mirrors upon the panels but because this sreen is in the corner of Ivan's room distorted by hylusination and fear the screen itself must be a dark twisted formation incorporating Rob's ideas of the burning hole through the centre and the black paint leaking through. I will also have to consider:

the materials

the dimensions

the construction process

Some initial rough sketches of designs these will continue to develop. (the sketches are not up to my usual standard as I am recovering from a very horrible stomach virus)