Class title: Waste Into Art
Staging: supplied base 1 m square and 2m high, contemporary
For this design I wanted all the elements to be considered waste of some type.
The tall upright is the cardboard tube from a roll of shadecloth (thanks to the local home improvement store). This is held in place by the leftover stand of an artificial Christmas tree – these stands are very useful as they have three adjustable screws to hold your upright at the desired angle.
The large circle of twigs can be constructed in two ways – either by painstakingly gluing the twigs to one another (my patience ran out after a week) or making a wire based twig circle – just a very large wreath. There is a Technique Tutorial for this construction.
The twig circle is resting on the top of the cardboard tube which has a strong plastic pipe inside for stability and load bearing in the design. Horizontally across the top of the tube is the spent head of a bulrush (typha) with some of the fine “fluff” (yes, its a very technical term) carried through the design in the twig circle and at the base. Poked into the twig circle randomly are ends of wool and rose petals to match the rose petals at the base and those stuck on the tube as well as the wool ball suspended from the twig circle.
The top of the twig circle has a double twist of foliage off cuts to match those at the base of the tube. The twist can actually be made to any shape (see Technique Tutorial here) by concocting a mixture of offcuts and glue.
When I had finished the construction, I felt the display needed something more at the base so made a narrow circle of pebbles and rock fragments (one of those items I always carry, just in case).
Judging feedback: A good example of contemporary design work with some unusual use of plant materials. Scale of materials used could have been improved as there is still a large amount of negative space in this design.
