How to Cut the Heel Off a High Heeled Shoe (as Demonstrated by Artist Mary Elizabeth Yarbrough @ Pier 9, Autodesk)

As we all know, high heeled shoes or stilettos are anything but ergonomic or good for our feet, they're actually torture chambers, that look fashionable. Well in response to this, i've decided to go out and start a campaign to torture shoes back, for all the years and all the suffering women have endured by these so called foot coverings that restrict and deform our feet....this is a call to action to all those who wear high heeled shoes, cut off your heels NOW!

Here's how to do it and not to do it!

Step 1: How Not to Do It!

This is with a wood ban saw....as you can see, the saw stopped cutting once the blade hit the metal spine inside the heel, we'd picked the wrong tool and needed something more extreme.

Step 2: How to Really Do It

take the shoe, clamp it in a vice, get an angle grinder and face shield and grind away, don't be afraid of the sparks, it just makes it all the more performative!

Step 3: End Artefact

Comments

[Captain Tight-Pants]

I truly do not understand how this could ever be considered an 'ible. Who is ever sitting around asking themselves "How am I ever going to get those darn heels cut off of my shoes?!?".

[CheriF1]

YESSSSSS, actually... MANY women wonder how to do this without ruining great shoes or spending a fortune

[Alex Murray-Leslie]

All will be revealed when you see the full music video in January, this is just a short scene from the bigger picture ;)

[JenniferBerry]

I cannot wait to see that awesome video again- have you posted it somewhere yet?

It's like the wearing of high heels themselves, some people get performance art, some people do not.

[Alex Murray-Leslie]

Hi Jennifer,
Glad you liked it!
The official song and video will be released in January, stay tuned,

Alex

[rafununu]

You seem to be fascinated by high heels but you cut them, not destroying but cutting, this certainly means something. With the letters of heel you can write hell. Deep, no ? No.

[Captain Tight-Pants]

So... this does what exactly? The shoes are destroyed after you cut them so this is performance art?

[Alex Murray-Leslie]

Hi Jonathan,

This is a scene from a music video, so the cutting of the heel belongs to a bigger picture, a gesamtkunstwerk (all encompassing artwork). Each scene depicts a woman performing her machine, just like a guitar solo but in this case a machine solo, so it's about human espressivity with tools as extensions of the body, if you konw what i mean? stay tuned, i'll be posting several scenes as instructables followed by the actual music video.

i hope this helps,

cheers,

Alex