Project numero dos

So, for the next round of Art 108 we get to take an object that has already been manufactured or made that we use everyday and shift its meaning by turning it into something else. The text from the assignment sheet given in class says, and I quote, "Select and ordinary object that the average person might see in their everyday life. Transform, alter, or reconstruct this object to create a new meaning or function. Think of ways in which the function of this object could be reinterpreted. Is there a relationship between the object's previous and new function?"
So, I have two ideas that have just kind of dawned upon me since class last night. My first is to take paper and roll it up long ways and make it into a rolling DNA strand like staircase. I think that this could be cool if I made it really superior and large, my only problem is that I don't know if this meets the criteria of the project well enough that it would be accepted. I want to make a really spectacular project this time since last time I felt as though I did my best, but I could have done better.
My other idea is more exciting, and I think that it may be a better avenue to go down for this project. This idea was given to me by my mom while on the phone with her after receiving the project. She suggested doing something with the leaves since they are now starting to change a bit around the area. I was thinking more and more about this last night and all day today, and I think it could be a really spectacular medium to work with. What I was thinking of doing with leaves is to make a journal with leaves as pages. I could bind it myself and it would show the relationship between paper and how it comes from trees and how you have to destroy a tree or a forest for the world to have a useful, yet hardly sustainable resource like paper.
I don't know if it will meet the criteria, I think it will. However I have been thinking about it and how I would accomplish such a task of making leaves into paper. I think my best bet would be to use a type of art adhesive and glue them together in the form of paper. I think my paper would not include the stems of the leaves, seeing as how it would kind of destroy the quality of a nice, clean, smooth piece of paper made of leaves. I would then put some sort of clear coat on it so that the leaves would not fall apart as they begin to decay. I think that as the leaves begin to die that it could be a really beautiful piece because it would tie back into the meaning of how paper should be sustainable because of recycling, however it is becoming ever more harmful to our environment.
It could be a cool project, I just hope things work out into where I could make this journal/ notebook thing. Hopefully....we will see.