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I have cut the steel for two sets of horns, the center of the face, top of the scull and part of the nisee. .
Working on the horns
This bison skull was a Christmas present. From Griffin and Alex my son and daughter in law. They have been unbelievably supportive of my environmental works. They are the best. The skull is proving extremely helpful in figuring out how to build the head armature.
For the Full story see Endangered Knowledge: The Soul of Humus
When I start to build a new piece the first thing I do is gather and organize all the reference images and information I am going to need.
I staple all the images to a piece of cardboard. This way it us easy to see as I work. This secti n focuses on the hoofs. I am starting with the hoofs.
For the full story see Endangered Knowledge: The Soul of Humus
One of the most critical problems to solve is the placement of the hooves. They will be welded to Steel plates that act as the base. The base serves several purposes; it will make it easier to transport the piece without damaging it, it will make working on a large piece safer and less likely to fall on me. I am going to use 4 - 14” X 14” 1/4” steele plates. One for each hoove. This will give me the flexibility to adjust the placement of the hooves as the piece develops.
I am sending the hooves to Blumenthal metal and having them weld the hooves to the plates. It is tricky welding to a thin plate and not warping the plate.
Why is this important to me? Please see Endangered Knowledge: The Soul of Humus
It does not stand to reason that gardens or yards in Texas, Maryland, California, Iowa, and Illinois should all be landscaped with the same selection of plants. The below image from Native Texas Gardens says it all. In a country with great diversity from coast to coast, shouldn’t the sculpture garden landscapes be embedded in plants that define the place?
It will be more interesting to see sculptures in gardens of indigenous plants, plants that define the place, terrains that have attracted its people and impacted its economy. A sculpture of a boat marooned in a desert landscape might imply global warming and the same wooden vessel docked in a sea of woody pines congers up thoughts of concervation. one thing the same boat Sculpture changes across geography. What does sculpture look like in a coastal prairie sculpture garden?
Page xviv of Native Texas Gardens, maximum beauty, minimum upkeep by Sally and Andy Wasowski.
I am spending a lot of time looking at and thinking about the bison's hoof. Bison are ungulates. Their two toed hooves are a cross between a spade and two chisels. With the weight of their massive bodies their hooves cut into the soil, churn it up, break clumps, and create pockets that hold moisture. They trample old vegetation into the ground a long with the 40 lbs of waste they create everyday. They have a two pronged tools on each leg that tills and cultivates 24/7. And then you put them in a herd and they are mother nature's industrial farmer.
Image from bob the bison used at epic food conferences
Image from under the shoot at the roundup
Image from the harvest
the back story Endangered Knowledge: The Soul of Humus
I am starting to design and build the armature (the support structure) of the piece. The structure will be supported with welded rebar and then covered in a steel lath to help hold the mud and dried native plants to the sculpture.
I begin with the hooves It takes a lot of muscle to bend a piece of rebar enough to make a complete hoof side, I will have to piece it.
I did not measure the circumference of a hoof but I do know the ankle is 12” and hoofs are bigger.
I think best in wire or a material I can shape by hand - by feel. I decided to wrestle up a wire sketch of a hoof to get me started.
The front part of a front hoof
Front hooves started
I reached out to the Houston Arboretum describing my project and my need for native plants. They responded immediately. They are steadily cutting plants out and I made a big haul today. My studio floor is covered in drying plants. I am drying these on my patio. Curtis suggested every morning I flip them, so rodents don't decide to nest in them. I love all animals but I am not a fan of rodents nesting around my house. They offered me to raid their compost bend as I need. :)
I have shared ideas regarding environmental land art concepts with Stephanie over the past few years, and this spring Lawndale Art Center decided to allow me to see what I can do. After some time thinking about what the work should be, I verbally made a proposal recapped in the letter below. I am pumped about his opportunity, the Lawndale sculpture garden feels like a traditional front yard in anywhere USA. The sculpture garden is lovely, but this is the Coastal Prairie, and Coastal Prairie landscapes offer many environmental benefits. I am addressing many of them in Endangered Knowledge: The Soul of Humus. This Lawndale piece will provide an example of a native plant landscaped area of the same scale as their yard. People need a project they can mimic. They can see native landscaping at the Arboretum, Katy Prairie Conservancy, and Buffalo Bayou. Those sites are enormous tracts of land, and most people can not visualize those landscapes in front of their homes. The Lawndale Sculpture Garden will be instrumental in communicating what a reimagined urban native landscape can be. It will inspire change.
Emily, Stephanie, and Will,
First, I want to introduce you to Will Isbell and thank you for meeting with me regarding the Lawndale Sculpture Garden, again. Now that I have had time to think about the space in the greater picture, I am proposing that Will Isbell, work with me to create a plan that will reimagine the Lawndale Sculpture garden as a work of living land art. Will is an artist, past President of the Harris County Master Gardeners Association, oversees the Family Garden at McGovern Centennial Gardens and makes educational videos for Herman park and works at Sicardi Gallery. I have pasted for your enjoyment a link to an Educational video Cooking From Your Garden that Will created a few weeks ago. Will's knowledge, credentials, and experience as a sculptor and gallerist at Sicardi Gallery will be extremely valuable to the project from conception to funding.
Will and I had initial discussions regarding the space last Friday evening, and we are like-minded regarding our landscape philosophies and vision for Lawndale's Sculpture Garden. As artists, we see our involvement as sculptors of a living piece of land art and environmental art activist. The long-term goal of our land art will be to take the garden from it's beautiful traditional landscaped state to a holistic living sculpture garden that works with the Coastal Prairie native landscape and, at the same time, showcases Lawndales sculpture exhibits. The living land art will be educational, functional as an exhibition space, and an environmentally healthy ecosystem/habitat. It will be groundbreaking in the art community to have a sculpture garden that showcases work in an ecologically conscious native landscape and will save Lawndale future dollars.
The first step is to get Will and I the landscape and irrigation plans and a key to the outdoor garden closet. Will and I will then do the research to reimagine the space and give you a conceptual proposal. If you are on board with our vision, we can then work with you on creating a site plan, securing funding, installation/timing plan, and estimate the volunteers needed. We are aware that this may be a long term staged project but are hopeful that it can be realized in the short term.
I am also looking forward to creating a piece that addresses the connection between humans, the natural world, and landscapes. Emily and I discussed that we should discuss the details of this future piece after my Sculpture Month Houston opening on October 10th. I would like to add the growth I realize as an artist from my experience creating the sculpture Month piece to my future Lawndale installation.
I am grateful for the opportunity to work with all of you and know this is going to be an amazing experience.
This is Will’s cooking from the garden video
Best,
Cindee
It will be groundbreaking to look at sculpture in a landscape unique to Houston Texas. .
I am in love with these textures and I can hardly wait to incorporate them into my Endangered Knowledge piece. I do need to figure out how to fade the green out. I do not want a green bison. I think the answer is sunlight.
A peak in n my studio rich with native plants drying
I reached out to the Katy Prairie Conservancy, and they put me in touch with Bill Stransky with the Texas Rice Coalition, Bill a founder of the Katy Prairie Conservancy is a rock star in the nature Conservancy world. He very kindly offered to help me identify native grasses. He met me on a Sunday morning with his college-age daughters and not only pointed out native plants, but they helped me cut and bag them. It was such an honor to meet him and have him support my environmental work. I can not finish these piece without help in accessing native plants. It was a great day. I am hoping to meet Bill again in the fall when the rice plants are ready to harvest. It is important I have rice grasses since the exhibitiion space is a Success rice grain silo. The plants we harvested are presently drying in ny studio. My studio smells like heaven covered in plants. It is also the new home to a few spiders.
Bill Stransky and his daughters.
A bag of prairie seed mix. - donated by Bill to my project
The mix-
A new studio mate.
This is just the beginning, I need a lot more plants to dry for this large old male beast.
My daughter special requested this piece. She asked if I could make her a sapling. My response was I could try, but the pencil size steel limits how thin I can make the tree limbs. Long story short, the sapling grew old fast. After the first coat the sapling limbs we're no longer sapling thin.
Covered in lath
Keeping an eye on my mix
The first coat - the bronze leaves are covered in green plastic to protect them.
First, I paint on the bonding liquid.
The piece is now ready for coat number 2.
Coat number 2 ✅
Here is the image edited super light in order to show the texture.
More details
Detail of upper branches
A little more concrete need under the bird.
Detail of trunk
The lower trunk and base.
The abundance of knots is evidence that this tree is the host of many insects and good bacteria. Bees and other insects use trees for nesting and receive antiviral properties from the fungus and bacteria that grow on the tree.
Since last November I have been dropping hints to Houston Chronicle writer Molly Glentzer to write a native bee article. Earlier this week she called to talk about native bees. Some of the information I talk about when I talk about bees is alarming. She asked if I knew a locacal native bee athaurity, I did not. She said she could find one.
Here article came out today. Sadly she did not mention my bee art activism but the native bee specialist confirmed everything I have been saying. And yes It is alarming. Knowledge is power. - plant native non hybrid plants, blue, purple, yellow and white primarily. Starting the conversation with art activism.
her awesome article is below.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/gardening/article/Your-Houston-garden-needs-native-bees-15287310.php
Early last winter I was at the Herman Park family garden- it is a jewel of a garden. They had everything; yummy plants, honey bees, fruits, and veggies galore. They had almost everything, I say almost- they did not give a native bee condo.It was my pleasure to gift to the Herman Park family garden an air, Bee, And Bee. It is awesomely installed right next to the berries. I also have them a bunch of reeds full of blue orchard bees. I hope their air bee and bee outs out the no vacancy sign soon. My vacant little bee condo houses lizards—no bees in my area. :(
Herman Oatks newly installed air bee and bee.
This was awesome to receive, I am feeling hopeful. It is amazing to have a city Council Woman who cares and listens to citizens opinions. Screenshot from my phone email.
Sally and Hannah
The video of the FY21 budget workshop-Parks and Recreation was very informative.
Here is what I got out of the video that will help you move the city in an environmentally forward direction. I have broken it down into five steps.
Steve Wright knows the value of native plants and grasses. He expressed that he would like to move more in that direction. He does not because the public is not educated. With Steve on board, this is a great opportunity, and the timing is perfect. Sally, it is great you identified this opportunity, by leading Steve you can save the city money and the planet.
Step One – In Steve's presentation, #5 Greenspace Management (GSM), the city is spending $2,000,000 on mowing esplanades, and in #15 Quality Assurance, they spend $2,500,000 for safety training to maintain the esplanades. Making all esplanades native grasses is a change that will free up a significant amount of money and help all insects as well as the bee. With Covid 19 sucking the life out of the country, the financial savings alone is reason enough to make the transition. This change will start the education of the citizens. Now is the time to take the first step in making Houston a leading city in environmental policy and help with the budget.
Step Two – Steve did not mention the chemical additives or equipment the city uses. City Parks and Recreation would also save money on the chemicals used on manicured landscapes such as herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, and neonicotinoids. This change would also impact the dollars spent on equipment and fuel for lawnmowers. Have Steve add that number up for you.
Step Three- Have Steve's people look at every area they manage: the city libraries, trails, parks, sports fields, golf courses. The zoo should also be charged with evaluating its grounds. Have them identify pockets in these city public spaces where they can save money by transitioning to native plants. There is a lot of precedent in other cities for native plant golf courses. Golf courses use an extreme amount of labor and chemicals; this could be a significant number in the budget.
Step Four – Steve mentioned Public Works land. It was not clear whose budget it is in, but it should be maintained in an environmentally forward thinking manner.
Step Five – Steve was concerned about the public's knowledge of the benefits of native landscaping versus the mindless conformity of the manicured landscapes that we are used to seeing. This education is a project for his new social media employee. In addition, the Mayor should call a press conference and make a big deal of the City Councils' commitment to not only the health of it’s citizens but also the environment and not mindlessly conforming to unhealthy chemically dependent landscape practices and to saving Houstonians a lot of money. The Mayor can also go into the benefits of restoring native prairie vegetation as it decreases water runoff and flooding, increases soil absorption of water and slows floodwaters on land.
A press conference is excellent advertising. It can also be addressed on the citiy’s website.
If you need inspiration, look at the 5/2020 National Geographic, Where Have All the Insects Gone? Pp. 40-65. The article is a study from 1989 to 2016 of flying insects. The study reported a 70% decline. You will find quotes such as "ecological Armageddon", "we find ourselves in the middle of a nightmare", "According to the website Altmetric, which tracks how often publish research is mentioned online, the study was the sixth most discussed scientific paper in 2017."
Insects do the dirty work for us; they pollinate, disperse seeds, are food for freshwater fish, and about every land animal, from reptiles to birds. They decompose our waste; without insects dead, organic matter will pile up. N. G reported the work insects do is equivalent to $57 billion a year in the US.
After you tackle the City Parks, we can look at residential and commerci
In a moment of global uncertainty, I ask myself, what materials would I use to leave a message for future civilizations? As I think of artists who painted caves, of muralists from the past, of artifacts from ancient civilizations, I am curious about how we leave a mark. My answer is tied to the natural world: much of my previous work has been about conservation issues, looking specifically at bees, at waterways, at recovery from Hurricane Harvey, at bison and now, at grass. And so, if I were to write a message to the future, I would use grass to write it, and bison to carry the message.
Endangered Knowledge: The Soul of Humus
For this year's Sculpture Month, I propose a site-specific sculpture of a bison, made from a welded steel armature, a work of land art covered in topsoil and dried native grasses. This is part of a comprehensive installation that I am currently developing, which considers the role of the American bison within Houston's specific soil ecological history. The work is titled Endangered Knowledge: The Soul of Humus.
It is inspired by the words of M. Thomashow, who writes, "Record natural history to the collective memory so that it is no longer endangered knowledge." For several years, I have been researching grass-fed food production, attending soil conferences, and visiting regenerative ranches. Research in these fields show how to fight desertification and reverse climate change through regenerative agriculture practices. Interestingly, this natural history of living soil, how it evolved in the Houston Coastal Prairie, and its essential part within microbial communities in human health, is not common knowledge.
Description of Work
In the hide of a sculpture, I tell the narrative of soil health. My sculpture will record this endangered natural history through the dense coat of the powerful humus-built bison, that will be dripping in the armor of locally sourced dried native grasses and sedges, seeds, and pods. The male bison will be supported by a welded steel armature, covered in a stainless-steel lath. The bison's skin, made from these dried grasses, will be attached to the lath with a Houston mud composite. I propose the 11' long bison be exhibited in the center of a large grain silo, the bison in an actively grazing stance, head down in plow position, his hump rising robust and bushy out of his heavy forequarters to 6.5' tall. Lighted from inside the grain silo funnel, viewers can approach the bison and intimately inspect the diversity of the native plants implanted in its pelt.
Ecological History
Historically B. bison functioned as the first farm equipment. The grass seeds clinging to their burly coats were carried across the plains as they migrated north to south and back between seasons, like tractors up and down fields. Herds of tractors not green, but a rich brown harvested the plains with their appetites, each bite stimulating new root growth. The old roots withered into cavities that served as dwellings for a variety of keystone species, and became underground cisterns collecting floodwaters for drier seasons. Their coats dropped kernels and cuttings as the winds ruffled their beards and chaps, and when they took dirt baths in buffalo wallows dug with their horns. Massive roaming compostors, a single bison cow daily dumping 40 lbs. of fresh manure onto these seeds and drilling them into the earth with their spade-like hooves, sprinkling them with the perfect prescription of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium-rich urine and then moving in a predator safe tight herd on to the next buffet. With time the newly sowed fields sprouted new growth of blades, stems, and leaves of countless shapes, sizes, and heights. This diversity of leaves fit like puzzle pieces into dense living solar blankets, harnessing carbon from the air and returning it as sugars to feed the dynamic root microbiomes below the earth’s skin. The complicated relationship between the soil microbiome and the human intestinal microbiome is one of the most dynamic topics in biomedical research. Flocks of birds mutualistically
living off the pests harbored on the bison followed the herds, drinking from and bathing in rainwaters that collected in the bison wallows, building their nests from clumps of bison fur. Recent studies show the fur provides a health benefit to unborn chicks. Bird and butterfly habitats were abundant when the bison roamed.
Relevance
Global warming, food security, drought/flooding, wildlife habitats, economic instability, and health – these problems are not new to humankind. The archeology of ancient civilizations has recorded connections between the longevity of civilizations and the health of their soil. The United Nations reported in 2014 that the world's topsoil would only last 60 more growing seasons. Soil scientists around the globe agree that solutions to these issues are rooted in our treatment of soil—the skin that covers our planet.
Message to the Future
The armor that protects the epidermis in the Gulf Coast prairie is grass. The animal whose population peaked at 30 million, is B. Bison. Combine native grasses with ruminants and the grasslands decompose into rich organic matter; for every 1% increase per acre of biological organic material, the soil can hold an additional 20,000 gallons of water. Restoring native prairie vegetation decreases water runoff and flooding, increasing soil absorption of water and slowing floodwaters on land. With extreme building practices and concrete hardscaping, reimagining the landscape of Houston's 600 square miles of real estate can make a significant impact on the region’s flooding. The prairie grasses' roots can extend from eight to fourteen feet deep: these roots sequester carbon like an upside-down rainforest. Changing our agricultural practices is an important step towards turning global warming right side up. Telling the dynamic story about these relationships between the grazing herds, the living soil, and finding ways to reimagine urban landscapes and agricultural practices in holistic and regenerative ways are the center of my current research and sculptural practice.
The impact of the bison on sustaining topsoil—and, therefore, life—need not be Endangered Knowledge. The role bison play within the prairie ecosystem—their ability to increase photosynthesis, reduce competition for water, and regenerate depleted, unsalvageable, lifeless prairies back to productive and bountiful, nutrient-producing land and wildlife habitats—needs to be carved into our modern systems. Recording this Endangered Knowledge into the consciousness of humankind will stimulate grassroots efforts and stop the cultivation of soil depletion and return the natural process to the treatment of the skin of our planet. A Parietal artist in 2020, I will use grass to record the Soul of Humus so that it will no longer be Endangered Knowledge.
Additional work
Soul of Humus will be the first piece in my Endangered Knowledge body of work. The complete body of work will eventually consist of the following sculptures: 4 pedestal-shaped sculptures of roots and soil, measuring approximately 12" X 12" X 36"; installations made from native grasses and their roots (size and number to be determined); 1-5 bronze castings of bison dung with their spade-shaped hoof prints, dung beetles, and mushrooms. I am also currently in conversation with a bison rancher to secure a bison heart to float in a glass case of formaldehyde: the bison, the largest mammal of the western continent, is the heart of our soil diversity, it is the western symbol of a healthy planet. The health and longevity of civilization, as we know it, is dependent on finding ways to mimic the natural process stampeded into the bayous of Houston. In this sculptural series, I look closely at the components of this process and the environmental interrelationships unique to the Houston area and world health.
Footnote-
Bison vs Buffalo which name is correct? The common name Buffalo has been widely used, since early settlers were naming them as their European and Asian counterparts. The correct name of the last American surviving bison is B. Bison.
Further Reading and information –
- Allan Savory on how to fight desertification and reverse climate change
- Soil as Carbon Storehouse: New Weapon in Climate Fight? - Yale E360
- A Prehistory of Houston and Southeast Texas,– D. Worrall, coming fall 2020
- Can Livestock Grazing Stop Desertification?
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-livestock-grazing-stop-desertification/
- Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations, by David R. Montgomery
- Soil Biology and Land Management https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_052489.pdf
- Wildlife that Depend on Bison
Sample Work and Visual Support Materials for Proposed Sculpture
Two small sculptures that are made with the same structure, process, and made with native plants-
The bison will be furrier than these small birds are and would be dripping in a thick coat of textured dried grasses.
Hay Day Peace Pigeon 2016
15” X 12” X 8”
welded steel armature, plaster and hay
Feathery Finery Peace Pigeon 2016
12” X 12” X 6”
steel armature, steel lath, plaster and plants
Three large sculptures that are made with the same armature and process, but I have used metal instead of dried plant cuttings on the surface for texture.
Broken 2018
40” X 29” X 55”
Welded steel armature, stainless steel lath, concrete, wire cloths and wire
Sonata in 4D 2018
6’6” X 5’5” X 5’
steel welded armature, stainless steel lath, plaster, wire cloths and wire
Bringing Home the Bacon 2019
66” X 42” 60”
welded steel armature, stainless steel lath, hydro stoner, wire cloths and wire
There are many textures of native grasses at the Katy Prairie Conservancy and Buffalo Bayou.
If you accept my proposal, I plan on asking the Katy Prairie Conservancy and the Buffalo Bayou Partnership to allow me to source my grasses and plants from their properties.
Sample of one of the many amazing textures on the various grasses and plants in the coastal prairies.
This shows the movement I am visualizing on the coat of the Bison
Below are Some of the source images I will use while sculpting the bison.
most of these I took doing research at Roam Ranch this summer, fall and winter.
This shows the position of the head I am looking for, it is grazing but you can see the face. This is a cow (female) My piece will be a burly big old male.
This is a large bull but it is not very old. My sculpture will be an old male that will have scrapped up and chipped horns from fighting and digging wallows and a massive thick (and dripping with dried grasses) big beard and chaps. This side view is pretty close to what I have in my head. I might have his head turned slightly to one side. That could be determined by which side of the building the silo would be on. The face will be more interesting and textured than the back side of the bison will be. My sculpture would be grazing on taller grasses. I would also raise his head for more eye contact
This is a good image of a bull’s face. Not my photo.
another view- not my image
It was never my intent to become an environmental activist – I am beginning to wonder if that is what I am. Since the below email I have had one meeting with Sally Alcorn and her assistant Hannah Cobb. They are on board with my thoughts and want to help. We decided the first step is to look at the citi’s present landscape ordinance, and then Coronavirus 19 hit Houston.
I guess even in a pandemic certain things have to continue, such as city budget planning. I received an Instagram message from Sally April 27th at about 11:00 pm regarding a video of the City Council meeting and the City Parks budget. I will make another blog post summing up the results of that meeting. Maybe this pandemic will open some doors that normally would not budge.
TO: Sally Alcorn salliealcorn@comcast.net
Dec 27, 2019, 10:14 AM
RE: Houston’s impact on bees.
Sally,
It was great to run into you at the mother-daughter Christmas party. I appreciate your interest in positioning Houston to become the leading city in the U.S., addressing the native bee environmental issue. You have a lot on your plate with your new elected position, so I thought I would recap a few of the important topics we discussed.
Scientists predict that without pollinators, human life can only continue for four years. In 2017, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Rusty Patch Bumble Bee on the endangered species list. The campaign to list a species as endangered is lengthy and complicated. With this system, it is difficult to gauge how many species are actually endangered.
Bees are responsible for pollinating 75% of the world's flowering plants; they are crucial for the production of most fruits, nuts, and berries – our agriculture depends on pollination by bees.
Rural areas are highly impacted by the unanticipated consequences of our industrial agriculture’s dependence on chemicals that weaken bee’s immune systems. Urban bee populations can be more diverse than in rural areas. Researchers are finding in cities such as Chicago, Berlin, Berkley, and Melbourne that have reimagined their parks, neighborhoods, city centers, vacant lots, street medians, and rooftops planted with native flowers, grasses, and fruit, and vegetables support healthy, vibrant wild native bee populations.
In the US, there are four thousand native bee species. They pollinate over three hundred times more effectively than honey bees. For example, A single female Leafcutter Bee visits 100,000 plus blossoms per day whereas a honey bee visits 50-1000.
Unlike the honey bee, Native bees do not swarm, are not aggressive. Native bees are perfect for urban population centers.
Houston covers 600 square miles of land and has one of the longest growing seasons in the U.S. As it continues to sprawl across Texas, its gardens must increasingly become a refuge for native plants and animals. With 2.3 million people living in the most vital economic, cultural center of the south, we can become the most critical urban native bee habitat in the United States.
I have spent the last year and a half studying the bee situation as it pertains to my art and my interest in regenerative agriculture. I am determined to take this knowledge and save the bee in urban settings.
With Houston's land size, population, and location in the Sunbelt like it or not-we are impacting the bee population.
I realize we will have to start with baby steps. Let's put our creative minds together, save the native bees, and build a better energy capital. This is a great opportunity for our new city council.
I am very flexible are weekdays or weekends better for you to get together?
Best,
Cindee
P.S.
If Cuba can create urban gardens to feed it’s poor can you imagine what we can do.
Bombus dahlbomii Thread on denim
Bombus dahlbomii I 30” X 44” watercolor monotypes
Bombus dahlbomii Il 30” X 44” watercolor monotypes
My daughter special requested this piece. She asked if I could make her a sapling. My response was I could try, but the pencil size steel limits how thin I can make the tree limbs. Long story short, the sapling grew old fast. After the first coat the sapling limbs we're no longer sapling thin.
Covered in lath
Keeping an eye on my mix
The first coat - the bronze leaves are covered in green plastic to protect them.
First, I paint on the bonding liquid.
The piece is now ready for coat number 2.
Coat number 2 ✅
Here is the image edited super light in order to show the texture.
More details
Detail of upper branches
A little more concrete need under the bird.
Detail of trunk
The lower trunk and base.
The abundance of knots is evidence that this tree is the host of many insects and good bacteria. Bees and other insects use trees for nesting and receive antiviral properties from the fungus and bacteria that grow on the tree.
