Melody is anincense holder I designed, with its Chinese name "烟云出岫," which means "smoke and clouds drifting out of the mountains," perfectly reflecting my design concept. Its English name, "Melody," comes from the flowing patterns on the container that resemble drifting smoke, much like a musical melody.

The form of this container is inspired by ancient Chinese "zun" vessels—three-legged wine cups and containers similar to "ding." However, since wine cups must meet food safety requirements, I adapted the design into an incense burner to avoid such concerns.

The lid features an irregular mountain shape, which I created using the NOMAD software on an iPad. At the center, a lake-like design is perforated with small holes, allowing the incense smoke to escape, just like mist rising from the mountains.

For the interior of Melody, I incorporated the concept of "天圆地方" (Heaven is round, Earth is square) in its design. In ancient China, people believed that the sky was round and the earth was square. Therefore, the base of the container is square, while the opening is circular.

I used clay sculpting to create the First Master. First, I shaped the initial form using aluminum foil for rough modeling, then wrapped it with clay and fired it to harden. Since I enjoy designing with organic forms, working with clay allows me to achieve my desired shapes more quickly and intuitively.

My molding process consists of three parts. Since the three-legged structure is a bit tricky, I used a rubber mold on the inside to facilitate demolding, while an outer plaster shell was added for stability and to prevent deformation.

For the body of the incense burner, I chose to use platinum silicone rubber, which allows for a semi-transparent final product. The lid was 3D printed using silicone, which is also transparent, and after coloring, it retains a semi-transparent appearance.

Melody incorporates many elements related to history and culture, with design modifications made to adapt to form changes and paper requirements. Combined with my appreciation for smoke, water, and organic forms, this resulted in the creation of this incense holder for the HOKA exhibition in my second year at university.