Using Twigs as a Natural Base

This week we were asked to design a modern funeral tribute using twigs as a natural base. The first thing I did after being told this was to look for inspiration.

Inspiration

Plattel, R. (2006) Natural rhythms. Oostkamp: Stichting Kunstboek
 

The difference between Modern/Contemporary Designs and Traditional Designs
 

A traditional design

Taking this into consideration, I then began to create the design.

Step by Step Journey of Creating the Design

 

Sketches of potential designs

 

After doing these sketches, I have decided to go with the third sketch with the calla lilies down side.

Materials Used
Twigs

Calla Lilies x7

Binding Wire

1. The first thing I needed to do for this design was to collect twigs. I looked for a variation in colour and shape. I knew I needed twigs with a curve for me to be able to create the shape I wanted.

 

 

 2. Next I sorted out the twigs I had collected and selected twigs that were suitable to created the outline of my shape. I laid them out onto the desk and arranged them into a heart shape. When I found twigs that worked well together I tied them together with binding wire.

 

3. Once I had started constructing my design, it soon became clear that it wasn't going to hold its shape. When I held it up, the arcs of the heart pushed out and the shape was lost. To prevent this happening, I attached twigs down the centre of the heart. Although I didn't initially plan to do this, it has made my design stronger and it needed to be done.



 4. It was then a case of adding more and more twigs to create a better shape, bulking it out and adding movement. At this point I added the finer twigs I had collected and weaved them through the thicker ones. I wanted the design to be quite open so I could feed the stems of the calla lilies through. I made sure that both sides of the heart looked visually balanced.

 

 

 

5. Now the frame is complete the next step was to prepare the calla lilies, ready for them to be inserted into the frame. I needed to prepare the calla lilies because once they were in the design, they weren't going to be in water. When calla lilies are out of water their ends split. To ensure that this doesn't happen, I used binding wire and wrapped it around the stem of the calla lily, about an inch from the bottom. I then cut the end off.

 

6. The final step was to add the calla lilies into the frame. The calla lilies need to created movement within the design. I wanted the stems of the calla lilies to become a feature of the design as well. Because the shape of my design had changed to what I had planned I had to reconsider the positioning of the calla lilies. After several different experiments, I decided to still keep the calla lilies down one side but have them running down the middle as well. I felt that it looked best when all the calla lilies were facing the same way.

 

 Finished Design

 

 

Reflection

 

The positive features of the design include:

• The shape of the design is distinct.
• The positioning of the calla lilies.
• The movement the calla lilies create.
• The size of the design. It isn't too big nor too small. The calla lilies are in proportion to the shape.

If I was to do this design again, there would be a few things I would do differently. Firstly and possibly most importantly, I would be more careful and more gentle with the calla lilies. When placing them into the frame, I strapped one so I lost the stem. I was still able to use it however as I tucked it under another stem and it wasn't noticeable.

 

Another thing I would improve on would be how much binding wire I used and how neatly I tied the twigs off with. Although you can't see the wire that I used within the design, some off wire sticks out a little bit, reducing the overall quality of the design. Next time it may be nice to make the material I bind with, a feature of the design, perhaps covering the wire with purple/lilac wool to compliment the calla lilies.