We had to create a structure from one A1 page of paper to carry a bottle of water 20cm above the table or ground. We were only allowed masking tape as long as our forearms to construct this - at first I struggled with thinking how to make a structure that would be strong enough with the limit of materials that we were given. However I began with folding the top (found shape) to produce a paper shape that had folds to tape a second part of the structure - I wasn't sure where my idea was going however I though of ways that I could make the structure stand and be capable of holding a lot of weight (for its size.) And because the structure had to be at least 20 cm tall I decided to use a square tube like shape that would be able to attach its self to the top part - giving the piece its necessary height. The top part of my water carrier structure didn't require any masking tape at all to make because I folded the paper - the advantage to this is it made this part stronger and a lot thicker for when the water would stand on top of it. And it meant no masking tape (which was good for me as the next part of my construction needed lots.) The tube I have a lot of problems with as it was slightly wobbly - it was also quit difficult to attach to the roof of my structure as every time I tried to place masking tape here the top roof would bend so I wasn't able to secure the tape as tight as possible. After I had finally managed to get the two parts attached I found that the structure leant to one side a bit. Therefore I thought of ways to tackle this problem - I didn't have enough time to take everything apart so I decided to focus on what was causing the problem to see how I could deal with this. When I realised that the tube was slightly placed towards the left of the roof which was causing it to lean. I then decided to use a small base made out of folded paper - this way the structure was more balanced as folds on all four sides of the tubes was holding it in place. And to ensure that this was enough I also taped a strip of paper around the bottom of the tube and base so it would stay in place.
After making my paper creation I photographed with a small figure and other objects I found in my back to play with scale and give the structure an entirely new purpose. By placing the small figure I made my paper sculpture look like a building or a watchtower - and this could inspire later ideas. By placing objects on top and around the piece means I can change it from just a simple structure to a small side table where objects can be kept on top. Its important to play around with the concept of my design as it could spark new ideas and challenge existing ones.
When it came round to the tutor putting the bottle of water onto my paper creation it was immediately apparent it would not take the weight. I hadn't considered that the bottle containing the water would be so heavy - it was probably three times the weight of my plastic water bottle (which did balance well on my creation.) When the tutor placed the water bottle on the top it went straight through and my creation immediately collapsed with the weight. In the image below you can see my tutor resting the bottle on the side of the creation as there was no way it could rest anywhere else. Although my creation didn't work (when it mattered.) It did work for a lighter weight - and the tutor also mentioned that this structure was good but it should have been made of a thicker material to work. If I was going to redo this project I would have made more legs to spread out and balance the weight better. Also maybe making these legs shorter and having layers in between where the bottle could have sat instead of being balanced on top. A problem that I with my structure is that you could only place the lighter bottle if you balanced it on a point where the leg met the 'roof.' I needed a better way of supporting the bottle instead of simply balancing.
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