my bones are i-beams!
Jonah M. Randell
about:
my bones are i-beams! is a project rooted in experimentation, pursuing unconventional outcomes through conventional approaches to material, process, and making within the realm of craft. It prioritizes output over input, allowing form and understanding to emerge through making.
This project brings together writing, pattern-making processes, video, and the creation of a work suit for the mind and body, alongside material explorations and a design approach rooted in experimentation and intuition rather than product development or “thinging.” Together, these elements form a through line of making and ritual, where body, material, and process function as a unified system.
So what did I do? There were 99 days from the start of term to the final presentations, the number of printed copies available of the following list poem. 99 days of using the cart companion I built for hauling around everything my work suit can’t. 99 days of using said suit, recording the jobs I did each day, and the tools that I used to perform my tasks. 99 days of refining, and curating an extension of my body that both mentally and physically situated me into a certain state of being. 99 days of continued rituals. 99 days of using ceramic extrusions as a material exploration. 99 days defining art, craft, design, and sport. 99 days of developing a modular building system using friction fit rubber gaskets, slip cast junction joints, and ceramic pipes. 99 days of finding the through line, not only for the material, but for the metaphysical. 99 days with professors, technicians, peers, beings, and friends.
my bones are i-beams! is much more than a project about making, and material. But an endless conversation about what it means to make, the understanding that comes through using your hands, the benefits of challenging not only yourself, but the ones around you, and trusting in the skills you have through this dance of life.
For one is not bound by the losses of their life, but rather, one is bound by their experiences. To choose experience, is to choose love, the love of labour, the labour of life, and the life of living.
my bones are i beams (list poem) | 2026 (05:50) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv6HhUrsM44
Presented for the INDD final presentations – the following video is a visual representation for my bones are i-beams. This video recites the poem, and showing a series of short sections of photo / video for each line of the poem.
The work suit is a one of one patterned, tailored to the needs and functions of the designer. Combining all my favorite parts of multiple work-ware oriented patterns to have them into one. With individual pockets sewn and placed onto desired areas. These pockets come from a daily journal that recorded and kept what tools were used, and what jobs were done that day. Adding pockets over a period of time. All with the caveat that none of the pockets could be big enough to hold a cell phone. So the cell phone could not ride as a passenger but needed to be considered when / if needed.
Constructed using natural canvas and dyes for its unique look. The text on the suit was done using a digital embroidery process, showing the DANGER MANIFESTO in full, and other records of text that show quotes, notes, and definitions found useful during the duration of the project. Stitches, contrasts, markings, scuffs, threads are all part of the process and therefore part of the garment.
a collection of objects: my bones are i-beams
The main material exploration for this project all comes from the use of ceramic objects that have been extruded using a 6” wall mounted clay extruder. All dyes were designed and made using CAD software and 3D printing. Some are sculptural, some are functional, but all are designed and finished to make one think, and not have immediate conclusion of their purpose.
Shown here, list poem (99/99) – a photocopy series of the list poem, where each copy was printed then re-photocopied, to create a limited run of 99. To be given out, to those who would like one.
A red glaze was developed throughout the project to accommodate an overall aesthetic. The final glaze is an ode to fire truck red, my favorite colour and the most demanding and practical colour.
my bones are i-beams! exists as physical objects, explorations with writing and material, a conversation in practice, contextual outputs, and conceptual exercises.
enjoy!
