Weekly Response 4- Mark Strader

My stool was designed as a relaxing seat for any and all interested in getting low and having a peaceful evening with friends. It was created in a natural, spiraling shell shape that is meant to get the sitter on a lower level, making them feel in touch with their surroundings and in an ideal situation on the same level as everyone they are with. I started creating the stool by cutting long, 6" tall slabs and then gradually making them smaller and smaller by cutting 2 inches off each in descending order. This allowed for the form to take the shape of a spiral. I then traced a top out of the remaining cardboard and cut it out to place on top. Then I cut out 7 loops that I would eventually knot those together to attach the top to the frame. The tabs were made from a simple notch and hole frame where I cut a hole in one end and made a fat tab on the other. I then bent the tabs on the end and circled them through the holes in the frame and the top, then finally through the hole in the back of the strip and unfolded the tabs. I placed the loops strategically so that one tab would be connected to each large strip and then two loops on the frame strip on the bottom, for added support. In the middle of the frame strips I cut out small sections so that I could fit them across each other. The “Lowest One” was the one with the section below all the others so that it supported all of them. Once I did that the stool was sturdy and because all of the frame pieces were on end the structure was plenty strong enough to hold me.