Feathered Angel
This is (unfortunately) yet another post about the project that I’ve managed to spend a year procrastinating on now. I’ve finally been able to start working on the feathers that will cover the mechanical parts of the wings, and with the help of... Most of the people at the art center... There are now an indeterminate amount of feathers cut out of polypropylene plastic.
While something fluffier and softer, such as using sheets of shimmery fabrics, would fit the theme of an angel better, the way that the wings are supposed to fold don’t allow for that. Instead, taking inspiration from the way that this video structures the features so that they can fold almost like a fan does. This reminds me a lot of traditional Chinese fans, and by extension, origami. Despite seemingly being a simple pastime, origami has incredible uses in engineering, even being used by NASA, an example of the benefits of art in direct relation to engineering. When you think about it, origami is inherently like engineering, using various folds and creases to turn a two dimensional object into something three dimensional, designing things so that it can stand up right and support itself, much like how buildings are designed in such a way to be free standing. Origami ranges from something as common as a crane to the unthinkably complex, such as Shinku, by Naoto Horiguchi. Technically, origami is supposed to be done with only one sheet of paper, and despite that constraint, the sky still is the limit. In fact, limitations are the reason behind the amount of creativity that exists in origami, as oftentimes constraints lead to creativity and out of the box thinking. I sometimes wonder if the origami I learned as a five year old which has continued to stick with me throughout my life has influenced me. It certainly taught second grade me to persevere when I was trying to fold the Kawasaki rose, and has probably contributed to the problem solving skills I have to use to get through linear algebra classes. Challenges might not always be the greatest experience, but they are what make life interesting.
If everything were easy then nothing would be as meaningful as meaning exists based on contrast, like how without sadness we wouldn’t truly experience happiness.
