Hi,
I'm trying to figure out what materials to use for a piece somewhere around 15' high. I'm leaning towards burning it at the end. It would need to have complex curves so I'd rather not use dimensional lumber for the exterior. Maybe thin strips of wood or bamboo? Fabric coated with something to make it hold a shape?
I kind of like the idea of the strips since I could leave gaps between the pieces for light to come out and wind to pass through, but I worry about how much that would cost and about how long it would take to assemble.
Any suggestions on other materials or sources for the ones listed? Salvaged and/or cheap would be ideal.
Burnable, cheap art materials?
Burnable and FREE:
Become acquainted with construction projects around your locale...The dumpster is the artists' friend.
If you have access to wooded areas, nature creates the finest complex curves you can get....look for fallen branches, or thin "trash trees" like sassafras. Grapevine is a wonderful material, too- I'm in the process of collecting some for a nestlike construction. It holds its shape nicely while burning, too.
If you're in an appropriate climate for bamboo, utilize it. (Hell, it grows outside here in Michigan!) Fresher bamboo has a "bonus feature" when burned- It goes BANG!
Lots of shipping companies are DESPERATE to get rid of surplus palettes- Thin, burnable wood.
A note about making complex curves- If you have access to a miter saw (or bandsaw) you can make complex bends in thicker wood stock by cutting many, many little slices most of the way through the wood and gently applying pressure. I recently read an article about a backyard monorail builder who bent custom rails from laminated 2x4s that he had bent after soaking them in his swimming pool!
How about some details on the project, unless it's a "surprise"?
Become acquainted with construction projects around your locale...The dumpster is the artists' friend.
If you have access to wooded areas, nature creates the finest complex curves you can get....look for fallen branches, or thin "trash trees" like sassafras. Grapevine is a wonderful material, too- I'm in the process of collecting some for a nestlike construction. It holds its shape nicely while burning, too.
If you're in an appropriate climate for bamboo, utilize it. (Hell, it grows outside here in Michigan!) Fresher bamboo has a "bonus feature" when burned- It goes BANG!
Lots of shipping companies are DESPERATE to get rid of surplus palettes- Thin, burnable wood.
A note about making complex curves- If you have access to a miter saw (or bandsaw) you can make complex bends in thicker wood stock by cutting many, many little slices most of the way through the wood and gently applying pressure. I recently read an article about a backyard monorail builder who bent custom rails from laminated 2x4s that he had bent after soaking them in his swimming pool!
How about some details on the project, unless it's a "surprise"?
Howdy From Kalamazoo
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theCryptofishist
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Lassen Forge
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And segregate those pots from the ground. We potted bamboo, and (lucky for us) we moved it about 6 months later, and already had runners from the bottom of the pots into the ground.theCryptofishist wrote:Note to anyone who decides to grow bamboo: Keep it in pots. Do not, repeat do not, grow directly in the ground.
My ex had a house before we met, they had bamboo in a wooden box next to their pool, assumed it to be "safe" - both they and their neighbors found out differently 2 years later when it was all over their yards. Ended up plowing a few times to try to kill it. Moved before they knew if it was really dead, tho it's assumed it wasn't.
Nasty stuff, that Bamboo.
How easy is it to peel off strips from the bamboo? I do see posts every now and then on Craigslist of people trying to get rid of large quantities of it.
It's going to be a figure of a person sitting, leaning forward, with knees pulled into the chest, almost like a fetal position but sitting up. I want it to be all curves on the outside, no sharp angles. I'd also like it to be relatively uniform.
It's going to be a figure of a person sitting, leaning forward, with knees pulled into the chest, almost like a fetal position but sitting up. I want it to be all curves on the outside, no sharp angles. I'd also like it to be relatively uniform.
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theCryptofishist
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Bamboo grows in sections of maybe 2-5 inches long. I don't know about strip peeling. Maybe if you soaked it first then tore it apart.
And BBS--I understand taht in China they used to grow bamboo in islands in gardens so it wouldn't spread.
And BBS--I understand taht in China they used to grow bamboo in islands in gardens so it wouldn't spread.
The Lady with a Lamprey
"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.
Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri
"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.
Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri
Not easy, to get uniform strips....Unless you start with BIG stalks. Those are harder to come by, and often get grabbed by decorators and furniture makers.
One not-free-but-cheap solution would be LATH- Available in bundles of fifty four-foot lengths, it's the same stuff that wooden snow fence is made of.
If you want a smooth, biomorphic contour you might want to use papier mache' over lath, or over twigs or vine or what-have-you. For a REALLY slick but somewhat ambitious finish, you could build your figure the way that the Statue of Liberty was constructed- A framework with a sectional skin over top, in your case a skin of cast mache' sections instead of hammered copper. Select portions could even be cast in reverse in plaster or wooden moulds to enhance the detail- The face, hands and feet could be cast, and the rest of the body roughed in "freehand".
One not-free-but-cheap solution would be LATH- Available in bundles of fifty four-foot lengths, it's the same stuff that wooden snow fence is made of.
If you want a smooth, biomorphic contour you might want to use papier mache' over lath, or over twigs or vine or what-have-you. For a REALLY slick but somewhat ambitious finish, you could build your figure the way that the Statue of Liberty was constructed- A framework with a sectional skin over top, in your case a skin of cast mache' sections instead of hammered copper. Select portions could even be cast in reverse in plaster or wooden moulds to enhance the detail- The face, hands and feet could be cast, and the rest of the body roughed in "freehand".
Howdy From Kalamazoo
Ok, I did some crude number crunching and I think I could cover it with about $500 worth of lath then cover it with papier mache if I'm not happy with the finish. I'm not sure it's flexible enough to get the curve radius I need though. Is there anything thinner and the same or lower price?
It will have to have a framework of some sort as I want to be able to take it apart for shipping/storage (I'll need to finish it before the end of the year) and bolt it all together on site.
Is wallpaper glue burnable or would it have to be flour? What about a coating to make it reasonably waterproof?
It will have to have a framework of some sort as I want to be able to take it apart for shipping/storage (I'll need to finish it before the end of the year) and bolt it all together on site.
Is wallpaper glue burnable or would it have to be flour? What about a coating to make it reasonably waterproof?
You might be able to talk your neighborhood lumber company into slicing you some thin strips of lauan, or luaun, or however the hell you spell it...The thin sheets of nice quality wood for finishing cabinets and such. A soaking would probably render it malleable enough. You could also build a steamer, the kind that Ozarks woodcrafters use to bend willow for furniture- Plans are undoubtedly available online.
Now you've got me curious about waterproffing and burning. Time to go to Menards and read some labels....
One idea I've been playing with for a burnable armature is to train grapevine up, onto and around a simple framework...The downside being that it requires lots of what I lack....PATIENCE. It's got great potential, though.
Now you've got me curious about waterproffing and burning. Time to go to Menards and read some labels....
One idea I've been playing with for a burnable armature is to train grapevine up, onto and around a simple framework...The downside being that it requires lots of what I lack....PATIENCE. It's got great potential, though.
Howdy From Kalamazoo