Papercraft Object: Final Revision

The template used to cut out the thyroid.

Unfolding the pieces and adding triangular tabs

Render 1 of the thyroid

Render 2 of the thyroid

As mentioned in the previous post, I have had cancer that was not only rare but also spread to other parts of my body. It made me realize the fragile nature of life. Within a moment, life can be changed forever from an illness. The life you knew before is now more.
This piece represents the thyroid I no longer have and cancer that changed my life forever. What is a Thyroid, is something I was asked by a classmate when we were discussing our work. Your thyroid is a multifaceted organ. It is in your neck in the middle under Adam's apple which in medical terms is called the thyroid cartilage. Your thyroid is an essential gland it controls the following: your metabolism weight, mood, heart rate, body temperature, ability to concentrate and focus, fertility, hormones, energy level, and hair growth. The thyroid is a vital organ, one I no longer have. Receiving thyroid replacement therapy occurs when there are malfunctions in the thyroid gland. 

Having had cancer that destroyed my thyroid, it was removed due to the entire thing being cancerous. The tumors I had in the rest of my neck/chest were removed, six and half hours of surgery, muscle, and 24 positive tumors were removed. I was left missing a vital gland, one in which most with lack of knowledge of anatomy wouldn't know where it is or what it does. Cancer changed my life, and I am not afraid of it even though two different types did try to snuff me out.

The project I chose to do was my thyroid, when I share what I have been through, only a fraction, of course, it seems to shock people or shut them up. Cancer is my inspiration for this piece to show it in with paper quilling and a 3D object in real life. To bring about awareness for rare cancer that generally affects the elderly. 
The feedback I received was generally the same, questions of what a thyroid was and that the idea was morbid or perhaps depressing. As a survivor, the story may sound sad or depressing. Do not take pity on me, for genuinely, I'm not too fond of it. I survived and am a cancer survivor that indeed should be more of a reflection of hope within a dark world of disease.

I cut various strips and cut out the pieces similar to the prototype I used. The quilling took many hours. The paper cut lace-like is more rectangular shape then something fancy mostly to make it not look glamorous. I decided to use bright colors to make people want to look at it so one could see the different depths and perhaps convey slight emotion. The project went relatively well for me; it did, however, have mishaps, and things needed to be redone. I did find it odd even though my wash my hands vigorously and frequently gluing still had different places where it appeared dirty. The dirtiness bothered; after remaking the piece a few times, I just accepted the imperfections. After all, a disease isn't pretty and is generally grungy and creepy.

Papercraft Object: Phase I Prototype

I decided to do an object I lost. It’s not a typical object it is actually a organ I lost almost thirteen years ago. I was diagnosed with a rare form of thyroid cancer. I almost died. I had 24 positive tumours removed, muscle, lymph nodes, and my thyroid. I have a foot long scar on my neck.
I wanted to do this object with various techniques and if I have time I would like to do a similar idea to that if Raya. Her pieces like the Olympic athletes gave me an idea for stacking up the thyroid and building it that way. Should I have time to do so I would like to do another piece in this way.
My prototype is far from refined. I am thinking the quilling I will do on the final paper piece will be more detailed and I will take my time to crest detail in the piece. I also want to add paper lace, my own cut paper to make it look lace like.  Ideally to put this over top sections and have the quilling almost look like it’s exploding out of the piece. The shape of the thyroid isn’t exactly accurate because when someone has cancer the tumours create an irregular boarder around the piece. Cancer is not symmetrical it is a asymmetrical mess of masses. Perhaps I am taking a risk going against the grain of the norm for this assignment but I would like to get the point of my object apart as it isn't something that is perfectly square, or round, cancer is less geometrical and more sporadic.