I found these two rowan trunks a few weeks ago at Rashielea wood (see previous post) and decided to cover one of them in tissue to make a sculptural piece from it.
I chose to use the one with the branch stumps, as it looks a bit more tree-like and has more of an interesting texture. I started by covering it in cling film, to allow me to remove the tissue easily once it was dry.
I began to cover half of it with unbleached tissue paper and a solution of PVA and water. I used the hairdryer to speed up the process and this allowed me to rub over the dry areas to capture the texture of the tree through the paper. I reminds me of the woodchip wallpaper that covered the walls of my house when I was small.
After repeating the process with both halves of the trunk, I used double sided tape to fix the overlaps together, before covering the joins with more tissue, to make the piece look as seamless as possible. There was an occasion where I was short of time, and didn’t have the hairdryer at hand, so I just left the tissue to dry naturally. This does affect the detail of the piece, and I realise now that this was a mistake I will not make again.
Almost completed, and hanging up in my cluttered studio. Still need to remove the cling film though at this stage.
The finished piece, photographed outside my studio, as I can’t find a white space big enough at the moment
I’m quite pleased with the final result, although I’m unsure whether to spray the piece white, as I’m not terribly keen on the greyish colour of the unbleached tissue. I’m going to leave it as if for the moment, as I’m worried that the texture might become lost if it is covered in paint.
Antidotal Recall 