In my search for twelve twigs for this project, I was inspired by pussy willow twigs grown in my neighborhood. I was captivated by the twig's beautiful buds: fury, white with blue/green undertone, strong in structure but delicate at the same time. To honor the twigs, respect their delicate nature, and prevent the buds from falling off when the twigs become entangled, I approached the project with the idea of creating a holder for the set, with a space conceived of for each twig. I began experimenting with the design by folding paper in a systematic way with the intention of creating a respectful compartment for each twig. The size of each compartment become an important factor in its dimension and closure. With this in mind I choose a continuous band using brown thread as the binding agent sewn as closure to each well-fitted compartment, keeping the twigs secure. To highlight the beauty of the buds I added them to the sewn band as decoration. A light gray paper was selected that complements well the brown color of the twig stems and blue/green tone of the buds. A tab extends from the end of the holder so the composition can be rolled up and displayed vertically as shown above.
I decided to strategically sew a number of sections closed, either at the top or the bottom, as a design element, which highlighted the V opening in the holder as you see above and below on the right.
Graphic for presentation tool explaining my design idea, concept and strategy along with a photo of the first sketch model and actual miniature sample as construction example.
A challenge was given a week into the project to find additional twigs to augment our first selection or find 12 new twigs and go in a new direction. We were to prepare a sketch model incorporating the new twig selection and choose a design precedent existing in the world that relates in some way to our project.
Precedents for working with new twigs - Guggenheim Museum in New York, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, www.archiplanet.org.
Fashion by Japanese designer, Issey Miyake, as part of his Fall Collection '08, www.isseymiyake.com. The sketch model is similar in shape to this particular piece and his pleating in general.
Sketch models turned inside out and on end
Book design as precedent for twig holder
Drawings of pussy willow twigs as exercise to truly seeing the twigs as first step in the design process.
I decided to strategically sew a number of sections closed, either at the top or the bottom, as a design element, which highlighted the V opening in the holder as you see above and below on the right.
Graphic for presentation tool explaining my design idea, concept and strategy along with a photo of the first sketch model and actual miniature sample as construction example. 
A challenge was given a week into the project to find additional twigs to augment our first selection or find 12 new twigs and go in a new direction. We were to prepare a sketch model incorporating the new twig selection and choose a design precedent existing in the world that relates in some way to our project. I found several beautiful twigs with circular patterns that I thought would complement the pussy willow twigs in color and as representation of the buds enlarged. The new twigs, pictured below up close, reminded me immediately of the Guggenheim Museum in New York, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. I adapted my original holder for the pussy willow twigs and oriented it vertically and then added circular layers to mimic the circular lines in the new twigs. However interesting, I decided that the volume of the new twigs was too different from the existing pussy willow twigs and returned to my original idea for the project as most successful.
Precedents for working with new twigs - Guggenheim Museum in New York, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, www.archiplanet.org.
Fashion by Japanese designer, Issey Miyake, as part of his Fall Collection '08, www.isseymiyake.com. The sketch model is similar in shape to this particular piece and his pleating in general.
Sketch models exploring possibilities in the holder design including experimentation with graduating of heights , conceptual closures, compartmental dimensions, thread choice, color and weight of paper, etc.
Sketch models turned inside out and on end
Book design as precedent for twig holder 
Drawings of pussy willow twigs as exercise to truly seeing the twigs as first step in the design process.
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