Post 13: Portfolio – Sophie Berry

 Upcycling Project: The Shoe Project 

Project Prompt: Upcycle, make anything you want from recycled free or low cost materials, such as cardboard, bottle corks or rags.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Motivation for the Project:

I wanted the shoe to be more repairable than the modern sneaker. Today I think most people throw shoes away after the show gets old and the fabric and tread wars out. With these I wanted to think about how I might extend the life of the shoe so the tread could be replaced, foam could be added to, the insole interchanged and the top fabric swapped out.

These are early concept shoes that are make out of low cost and upcycled materials. They are meant to demonstrate the features and minimal aesthetic that with proper machinery and further iterations could be turned into a polished final product.

I used materials like:

• Old pair of socks
• Plastic shopping bag
• Layered fabric belt
• Foam sheets
• Felt
• Hot glue
• Thread
• Fabric glue

 

Links to the Project’s Previous Posts:

Post 1 – Aesthetic Exploration

Post 2: Upcycle Aesthetic

Post 3: Upcycle Progress

Post 4: Opposite Upcycle Aesthetic

Post 5: The Shoe Project

 

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Main Project: Project “Free Bird”

Project Prompt: The only requirement for the project was that it needed to be “a dynamic artifact; i.e. not static. It could be interactive with the environment or with people, but it could also just be changing on its own. It could serve a purpose, or just make an artistic or aesthetic statement.”

Project Background:

Before this project I had very little experience with things that glide or fly. The closest thing that I had made were making paper kites as a child. Since this project required the dynamic aspect I thought making some sort of flapping flying machine (ornithopter) would be quite an interesting and challenging project, and because I had so little experience there was a lot that I could learn. I was particularly interested in how the rotational motion from a power source like a motor or rubber band would translate into the upward lift of the ornithopter.

 

Links to the Project’s Previous Posts:

Post 6: Main Project Plans and Inspirations

Post 7: Main Project Aesthetics: Plans and Alternatives

Post 8: Design Preview Presentation

Post 9: Top 5 specifications, top 5 constraints

Post 10: Progress

Final Project Documentation Part 1

Post 12: Main Project Final Report Part 2

 

Guide I followed for the ornithopters: freebird