STYLIZED OREGON WHITE OAK TREE

As a response to my Realistic Oregon White Oak Tree, I wanted to make a more stylized version. I started by sculpting cardboard and paper rocks and covering them in plaster of paris. Once dry, I sanded the plaster down to achieve the proper texture. Using cardboard tubing and craft sticks as the trunk and branch base, I glued on strips of recycled paper to create bark and root texture.

I wanted to try a completely new way of making foliage, so I cut and painted chicken wire. I then used a glue and water mixture to attach stretched cotton balls to the wireframe. Once dry, I spray-painted the foliage green and added sawdust to the wet paint to create leaf texture. I added another layer of spray paint and used acrylic paint to add other green and purple hues, breaking up the color. I finished by adding a thin layer of colored wool to the canopy to give the otherwise hard shell a more organic feeling.

I’d initially tried dying the cotton balls but found that the pigment did not permeate deeply, even when the cotton balls were broken down before dying. I resorted to painting them instead. I believe dying would work well if the cotton balls were given more time (read: several days) to soak in a dye bath.

I dressed the scene in moss “bushes,” including blooming rhododendrons. In reality, I forged lichen and painted craft moss to construct the bushes and forest floor detritus. I also added craft moss powder as dirt and stretched-out wool as grass. I repurposed torn craft grass to create the Spanish moss hanging from the branches.