University of Miami
Back Story
The University of Miami had an idea to create a mural for their Athletic Recruiting Center and as an ode to their sponsor, Adidas, wanted to use the excess cleats they had on-hand.
Once this was completed the University had arranged for a local Miami artist to paint on the canvas. But first they needed a 20’x10’ canvas!
The Process
The University of Miami mailed me 200 pairs of shoes to deconstruct (400 total individual cleats)
I unlaced and recycled each box
Using a heat gun I burned the bottom outsole off all 400 shoes
Unthreaded the the heel and tongue of each shoe
I cut the excess parts of the upper soles that were glued to the bottom sole
Cut out the inside materials of the cleats to make the upper sole as thin as possible
Sewed 10 separate rows of 34 upper soles one on top of another
Sewed the rows together to create a 20’x10’ canvas
With the leftover cleats I made a smaller canvas 4’x6’ for the University of Miami to use