Started Once, Started Twice

Hello again. I have some photos from a recent project that I thought I would share with you. It seemed like it took ages for me to create this piece but I had a ton of fun figuring out the details.

It started the first time with some foam core and telling myself that these things always begin with a question mark and then sort themselves out.  These are the parts of a foam core and Styrofoam sandwich.  These even look like pieces of bread!

I kept working on it but I was never quite happy with the direction it was going. It did not look authentic enough to me. Then another project diverted my attention which was another sign that I realize now was an indication that things were not right.

                                                               

So much to my chagrin, I decided ‘lesson learned’ and off I went in a different materials direction.

To the waste bin, to the waste bin!

The second beginning, I decided to use Styrofoam only. I was learning as I went but it seemed that I finally had a plan I would be happy with pursuing. In resolving to start over, I failed to take a photo of the untouched Styrofoam, but I think a flat piece of Styrofoam is fairly easy to imagine.

Here’s the basic construction with what I was hoping would turn into a believable stone wall.  This is a view from what will become the back of the piece.

This shows the side walls a bit.

Then the painting began.  Layer one was this beige/tan color.

Then a charcoal/black on top of that.

Then many and various layers of many and various other colors.

Here things are beginning to take shape.  I have added a ‘brick’ walkway with moss growing between the bricks.

The view from above.

At this point, I began to think of how I could make the garden area look somewhat abandoned while still thriving.  I pulled out different kinds of greenery from my supplies trying different ones until it began to take on the character of the kind of garden I was aiming for.

With the major part of the structure completed, it was time to move onto the details.  What goes in a garden? Flowers!  I had to create a way to paint these bead caps all at once, hence the funky set up.

From brass to

primed to

a nice shade of green.

After these dried, it was time to construct some flowers, some very special flowers.  I will share how I put them together in my next post.

Thanks for reading!