GETTING STARTED

My miniatures club is planning an exhibit representing a town square and members chose the type of project each person wanted to work on. Although I am not very enamored of making flowers I happened to see photographs of the exhibit that Dale Chihuly did for Phipps Conservatory and one of the buildings piqued my interest. It consists of plants with platforms displaying the glass "flowers" designed by Chihuly. A representation of this exhibit is what I am trying to accomplish.

The first thing was to build a structure which will be added to as I work for ease in "planting" it. I used a piece of 1/2" plywood with low edges which will be covered with faux brick. I started to lay out a brick walkway, and used brown foam meat trays to start my plantings.



When I first started I was just using dried material to start the plants but I soon discovered that the foam worked much better so I switched gears.







Whenever I had a bit of time I worked on making leaves. There are a lot of different plants to make so I experimented with materials. I first started out using Makins Clay which I like because it can be made paper thin and doesn't need to be baked. But I also experimented with my trusty egg cartons and found that they too could make very nice leaves. These are some of the experiments I have been working on.

 This first batch were all done with Makins Clay 

These later thin leaf grassy plants were done with blue egg carton which will be slightly colored for a grey-green color. I also experimented a bit using egg carton foam for some of the broad leafed plants as well.

I also started work on the platforms which consist of strip wood and mat board. The "glass flowers" are made using acetate that has been baked for a short while and shaped before they cool. They are then painted with acrylic paint. You can see the first additions.

     

It is going to be slow work but a lot of fun seeing it unfold. I am visiting family in MA and having a  bit of time to work on making more leaves so by the time I get home I should have a good supply.