Requiem for a Shoe

I had a lot of fun in 3D Design classes at Western Oregon University. Winter term of 2011 woke in me a love for creating with mixed media.

One project was to make an extra large shoe copying one of our own. The shoe I chose reminded me of a fairy tale and decided to keep with the theme.

Using cardboard and matboard, I tried to make my show resemble a castle. I made it of stones which proved challenging until the professor Jinman Jo suggested making internal wire armatures for support. That made all the difference!

For finishing touches, I made windows that Rapunzel might envy and used baling wire for shoelaces.

I especially enjoyed creating the heel to look like a dungeon (using wood coffee sticks) complete with tiny chain manacles.

My original plan was to paint it grey (like stones) but changed my mind and used gold. Later on I repainted it grey.

The castle shoe has been sitting on a shelf for nearly seven years now. It has collected dust, dirt, and spider webs. In a bout of end-of-the-year cleaning, I have decided that I no longer need a 22” x 7” cardboard shoe.

So the plan is to burn it in a small bonfire and say good-bye.

 

 

 

Note: When visiting Jinman Jo's site to link here I discovered he included two of my pieces  on his student works page. This shoe project and my meditation box. Very cool!