Seasonal Fibers Tree

Title: Seasonal Tree of Fibers

Materials:

¼ “ hot rolled steel rod
Copper wire, 1/8 to ¼ in diameter, recycled from construction electrical wires
Fibers
- Fall – animal protein fibers (wool overdye, Angora, Wool, and silk)
- Winter – metals (copper, silver, gold)
- Spring – synthetics ( rayon, metallics, metalized polyester, viscose, nylon)
- Summer – plant proteins (linen, cotton, flax, bamboo)

Manufacturers used: DMC, Anchor, Rainbow Gallery, Kreinik, Excella, Caron, House of Embroidery, Weeks Dye works, The Thread Gatherer, Renaissance Designs, Edmar Co., Glisten Gloss.

Wood base from a tree limb
Alene’s leather glue, clear drying
Old Master’s Tong oil
Clear acrylic spray

Techniques:

Rolled Steel rod was cut into 4 pieces of 25 inches each, cleaned on wire wheel and initial bends made using vise, and hand bending. Then the four “trunk/limbs’’ TIG welded together. This was later reinforced with more welding to give additional strength so the upper parts could get more bends. Welds were ground down on grinder belt and smoothed with sander. Wood block was sanded and old bark removed then the wood was oiled twice with tong oil and left to dry for 24 hours. The base metal was bent to form a ‘’rooting’’ similar to the tree I used as inspiration. Photo # 1. Four holes were drilled on drill press using a 9/16 th inch drill bit. (Original plan was to use epoxy to secure base in the holes but the fit was perfect.) Base legs of tree were inserted in holes and the upper tree was bent a bit more, by hand, to give better shape. Metal was re-sanded at this point by hand. The copper wire was stripped of plastic (very difficult to do) and select lengths were wrapped around the upper tree limbs. Then tree was sprayed with clear acrylic spray to help avoid direct metal contact with fibers. After another 24 hour dry time and buffing with soft cloth the fibers were attached. Attachment was done with half hitches of fiber bundles and then they were lightly glued to insure they stayed in place. The metals were not glued. Lastly the threads were steamed to get out most of the wrinkles and then trimmed with scissors to give uniform length. (except the metals)

Successes:

The entire tree looks finished and the fibers color shift worked well. The wood block gives the needed stability to the project and overall it looks colorful.

Failures:

The initial idea of more welds would not help the overall design. Also the use of brazing copper wire to limbs to make the copper stay in place did not give enough spaces for the number of fibers I wanted to use. (this was tested on scrap metal to verify if idea would work) And the idea of adding weld buttons to top of each limb to hold the fibers would have taken away from the smooth shape I was going for.

This project continues my exploration into trees as a theme for my art. The openness and the smooth lines of this sculpture help keep the simplicity of design. Use of recycled wire, left over fibers and rescued wood show how nothing is going to waste at my house!

(for detailed fiber as to color code, mfg, and color name please ask… it is in my original sketch book)