Initially, Hayley and I spent the morning attempting to think of (as well as design) different mechanisms that could do essentially the same thing as the unfolding origami. This was surprisingly difficult and not entirely fruitful. We tried to take inspiration from creatures that unfold in nature, like peacocks, armadillos, beetles, cell surfaces, jellyfish, etc. I was fascinated by the concept of the caterpillar metamorphosis into a butterfly, and thought it might be cool to capture that in a short moment, and expressed with one step of the shoe. I also made sketches for a surface constructed in a similar manner to a Jacob's ladder, with ridged interlocking sides that would constantly ripple. Thirdly, I made some quick sketches for a shoe made out of varying sizes of actual, terrifying mouths, which would take the breathe-able idea to an entirely different level. Lastly, I made another rapid drawing of a potential material design, focusing on the contrast between abstract shapes—specifically nebulous circles and dramatic triangles.

Of the four, the mouth was the one I focused most heavily on (with regards to mechanics), but that sketch mysteriously disappeared. 

Right before lunch, Kate came to us with a new design for a hinged sole connected to the brim of the shoe, which would allow us to fully harness the power from the heel. I then modeled the sole of one of our New Balance shoes, which was the extent of my involvement with the prototyping. Hayley and I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to find a way to fold Kate's origami pattern with something besides paper. We tried thin wood, HDPE, and cardstock (all twice, all with no success). Either the material would cut too deep or not enough, or in the case of the wood the material just wasn't thick enough.  The cardstock failed so spectacularly that it wasn't even possible to take a picture.

For sketching further, I will likely try to recreate the mouth sketch and try to figure out the mechanics of the others, in addition to trying to model an origami curve that will actually print properly.