Spatula was an exercise in applying two orthographic views of an object onto a single block of wood, and ultimately realizing those two orthographic views in the round
ORIGIN
BEAUTIFULLY FUNCTIONAL
From personal cooking preference, sketched exploration of form, and general market research, I decided to adapt the primary form of the fish spatula, a roughly 1/3 handle to 2/3 blade ratio, and utilize the idea of simple, intersecting geometry to create a balanced, elegant utensil
Rough Dimensions
Foam Prototype
The first rendition of Spatula, seen above, featured an angled handle, to aid in wrist posture, and a fully flat blade, reminiscent of spatulas used for turning pancakes; however, after doing a rough render in pink foam, I found the angle did little to help with wrist posture and it ultimately felt awkward and clumsy in the hand
ADAPTATION
CONVERGING FORMS
From what was learned with the previous model, I eliminated the angle, reoriented the handle and blade to be linear with each other, and angled the end of the blade up to allow for a better approach angle while cooking
FINAL
FLIPPIN' AMAZING
After the penultimate model was tested, the adapted design was chosen as it felt evenly balanced in hand and could easily be maneuvered; the final carving perfectly encapsulates elegant simplicity initially intended, showing off the beautiful European beach wood with which it was carved
Spatula 2021 European Beach Wood 11 x 3 x 1.375 inches 3 Weeks