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Saturday 31 May 2014

Paperbark Maple AKA "Bark III"


Whenever I don't know what to do with a theme or colour, I seek inspiration in the beautiful book Bark: An Intimate Look at the World’s Trees by Cédric Pollet, which I received as a gift from my friend Debby Kemball. This is my third stab at beautiful tree bark. The Paperbark Maple grows in central China. It is used as an ornamental tree, largely for its bark, which peels in large fragments that roll up like a cinnamon stick.  To create the bark illusion, I used my hand-dyed fabric for our theme colour, and paint
for highlights. The peeled bark was created with starch, an iron, and a wooden spoon handle. 

9 comments:

  1. A fascinating, 3-D departure from your usual work, Helena. You've used dimension before, but with this piece it's the main focus of the work.

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  2. Oh WOW! I love this. This is a tour-de-force, Helena. Perfectly captured the peeling bark.

    This paper has great potential: how strong is it - will the curves crease?

    Hilary

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  3. I also have to say WOW. This is so interesting and your 3D effect is stunning. There are quite a few ideas this has given me using various methods. Really great and so different.

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  4. Very experimental use of your fabric!!

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  5. Very interesting and it works. Wow well done!

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  6. You've created some very effective texture. love the purple-y colour

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  7. even more gorgeous in the real
    such a tactile piece that works so well
    great piece helena

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  8. So very tactile, and a lovely use of colour. That book has been inspiring. I would love to see this one in real life.

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