Slowly coming back.

Over Wintersession (the short six-week semester between Fall and Spring), I am doing an independent study with one of the members of my thesis committee. The piece that I will be designing and building is inspired by a few of my experiences over the holiday break.

First, on Christmas Day, I sat down with Graham's family to watch Man on Wire, the recent documentary of Philippe Petit's 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers.

I loved the visual impact of the body seeming to float in the air.

Second, during my celebration of the New Year in Austin my family and I got to witness up close an aerialist performance in the City Hall.



The interaction between the fabric and the body, and the various forms the combination of the two created, seemed to fit right in with my thesis topic. Additionally, the use of textiles and physical athleticism are right in line with my interests.

Third, although thankfully I have had no direct experience with them over the last few weeks, I have enjoyed looking at various images of spider webs online. Flickr slideshows are amazing!

Their intentional invisibility and the way in which they trap the bodies of insects is particularly interesting.