Staircase to My Studio

The following project was my first project ever created for Carleton. It was meant to be a staircase for our imaginary studio space. I had many different ideas for this project but as I played with materials I found many of my ideas were just not quite obtainable with the laws of nature and my normal art supplies. Yet in my frustration, I began to work with the most flimsy material of them all, paper. I cut paper intending to distract me from my frustration but instead it gave me my idea. I began drawing out ideas inspired by a spiral staircase but instead of working up and supporting it from the ground I wanted to make it free-floating, something that almost seemed like it was defying the law of physics. As a result of many failures, I finally created my project. I began cutting, my project was made out of two single sheets of paper that connected at the middle in a way that allowed me to hold it in mid-air as it spiraled downward and if I let go the paper would simply fell back down and fold into its original form. It was so light, simple and flimsy but yet turned into something complex and elegant, once held up by me or an object it was sturdy and even if it moved back and forth would stay strong in place. I picked this project for its interesting falling geometry and the way I worked through my dilemmas of certain material and structural demands that wouldn’t work with my ideas but in the end, through failure it helped me find the idea and material that worked best for me.