My desire for this project was the create a 3D work that was aesthetically pleasing and interesting, functional for daily use, and spiritually helpful. My goal is to be a Christian missionary around the world, so it made sense for me to draw inspiration from different cultures and countries. Each calendar is based off a single country, using the topographic map as inspiration for the shape. Each piece of paper is one day, and the whole piece has enough papers for an entire year. As one flips the card stock over the wire to a new day, they are reminded to pray for this country. 

Each calendar was made of cut paper, both card stock and construction paper, wood panel, and custom metal brackets. I spent a lot of time sketching with different materials and sizes of works to find what would work well. To begin on one calendar, I chose a country for the piece. I aimed for countries that are highly persecuted or very low Christian population; often, they had both. After choosing a country, I used a variety of sources to do detailed research on the demographics, government, weather, people groups, religious activity, cultural customs, economics, and much more. This research led my design, but it also gave a more personal connection to the work I was creating. Based on the research, I would identify how many color and design layers the piece should have. Both the Sweden and Nepal calendars have six layers with twelve colors for the twelve months, but the Kazakhstan calendar has six layers with eighteen colors. These eighteen colors represented the fourteen provinces and four specially designated cities in Kazakhstan. 

I then would use an online, topographic map to find a specific part of the country to create layers. For this portion, I used Adobe Illustrator, tracing different layers and adjusting them to ensure there was enough space to view each layer while maintaining visual accuracy to the map. 

While I was working on this, I would also identify a color palette. First, I would use my research to view images from the country for inspiration. Then, I would choose similar colors of card stock. I would input the final card stock colors in Adobe Illustrator to get a better view of the project.

Once I was confident about the layers I created, I would separate them and arrange pieces onto an artboard the size of the card stock I was using. I did this to ensure I was spacing each piece properly so I would maximize the use of my paper. I would then print off page with every single layer on it and use those as stencils for the actual card stock cutting. 

Next, I would group around eight pieces of card stock together with the stencil and clip them together with miniature sewing clips. I then cut a contour line through the stack of paper. After cutting contour sections through the entire sheet of card stock, I would revisit each stack and refine the actual shape of the layer. I did this for each individual layer and color, totaling anywhere from 370-385 cut pieces of paper in the shape of topographic map layers. 

Using a stencil to ensure each one matched, I hole punched each piece of paper. I found that doing these in groups of four to five papers was ideal. Six or more became too difficult, and less than four would be inefficient. I then wrote the date on each respective paper, using either handwriting with Micron pen or a date stamp with ink.

I grouped each layer together, lining them up then attaching them with the miniature sewing clips. I found that stacking the papers onto the wire structure was easier when papers were grouped in about thirty pages. I started with the top layer, sliding it onto the custom metal piece upside down. Next, the second layer went on, then on and on. I would then grab the entire stack of 366 papers and flip it, sliding the metal pieces into the drilled holes of the wooden board. After ensuring it was all correct, I would carefully slide the metal piece and papers off, keeping them grouped together. I would put a drop of super glue into each drilled hole for stability and reinsert the metal wire. I found putting a small box or something for the paper to sit on while the glue was drying was very helpful; this ensured the card stock would not accidentally be glued to the board. I then removed the support system and sewing clips, putting any final touches onto the piece. 

These calendars required a large round of trial and error. My first calendar was based on Somalia. The card stock I used was white core and did not look clean when cut. I also made the layers too detailed and too small, making it difficult for them to stack properly and be seen well from an overhead view. The metal structure I used was not clean and was not spaced well, causing the hole punch to have to be further into the paper and not placed into the corner well. My younger brother, who is a gifted welder, then custom made the silver wire pieces I used later. I learned a lot from the first round, improving my process greatly. 

The final products turned out wonderful. I was overall happy with the colors, structure, uniqueness, and functionality each calendar offered. In the end, I have three clean, colorful calendars representing Kazakhstan, Sweden, and Nepal.