Shifts

Nature has an abundance of fibrous structures. Plant cell walls are made of stiff cellulosic matrix, and their orientation and stiffness in the cell walls is crucial. My interest in biomimicry, textiles and weaving, specifically the tension of a warp and weft structure, was integral to the conception of this project. What manifested is a seemingly rigid structure that has the flexible characteristics of a textile, and the form shifts with the user’s movements. I built it from layered bamboo plywood that I laminated, cut and formed on a lathe. The steel pin connections fit into slotted dowels set in perpendicular directions on the top and bottom of the interior of the form. I used a natural shellac to finish the piece, and hand cut circular bases for each of the cylindrical forms so that the stool seems to float.