Shoes. In every design and size imaginable, there they lie, carefully arranged across the ground.

Some fascinate me — the intricacy of their design and material point to a different time period. Some make me cringe —I can’t even imagine shoving my on-the-bigger-side feet into those prim and proper pairs worn by ladies who must have been well under 5 feet.

With gloved hands, undergraduate student Nora Cary lifts her favorite pair: chocolate-colored boots partially made from a quilted blanket.

She then tells me about the oldest pair in the collection, a woman’s teal shoe donated in the 1960s that was probably worn in the 1800s.

It boggles my mind that these shoes can have so much history in their seams. But, then again, all of these shoes do.

Cary, a fifth-year student double-majoring in design and cultural anthropology, has hopes of becoming a curator in a museum. Rather than just making things, she prefers working with objects that are already there, she tells me.

My interview with her took place as she worked on a Design Museum exhibition: "Stepping Out — Footwear from Around the World" (see "At a Glance," below).

Cary interned with Adele Zhang, lecturer and curator in the Design Program, and worked on the exhibition with Zhang and Professor Tim McNeil, director of the Design Museum.

The shoe project also made an appearance in the 20th annual Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities Conference (April 25).

The conference provided a way for Cary to take the initiative in bringing herself one step closer to her dream.

Cary said she is pleased she became involved in the research conference after starting her exhibition display. “Because I was already doing this work, I thought this would be a great way to learn about exhibition work. It’s been a great learning experience.”

And what about all those shoes? She stands in the middle of them, a splash of color and the contrast of culture circling around her.

“Opening all these boxes and seeing beauty from around the world broadened what I want to study in the future.”

She handles each shoe gracefully, artifacts of the past to be displayed and remembered, gateways to understanding life as it used to be.

Samantha Dullea is University Communications’ Web intern. This feature originally appeared as part of an online “Spotlight” in connection with Cary’s presentation in the Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities Conference.

AT A GLANCE

WHAT: Stepping Out—Footwear From Around the World

Ranging from flamboyant to functional, these artifacts from the Design Museum collection offer fascinating insight into world cultures and people’s obession with adorning their feet. The exhibition comprises nearly 70 pairs of shoes dating from the 19th century to today, from as close as Davis and as far away as Iran and India.

WHEN: May 11-July 12

WHERE: Design Museum, 145 Walker Hall

RECEPTION AND GUIDED TOURS: 1-4 p.m. May 17, free and open to the public

More exhibitions