So I started this piece way back at the beginning of April when spring really was just starting to poke through the snow and dead leaves and then I got a little sidetracked-First I plastered paper mache strips made from art supply catalogs over the beginnings of a painting that has been sitting on the wall for years and obviously was never going to be completed. I stuffed some old rags underneath it to the top center of the piece to give it some added depth.
Then I took more strips of paper, soaked them in glue water and then twisted them into sticks and let them dry.
After they dried I mounted them onto the canvas with glue and leftover paper mache clay from a previous sculpture.
After that set up I set about plastering the entire surface with a layer of paper mache pulp made from old paintings on paper that I tore up. The little sticks seem to be transforming into what looks like a cross between antlers and sprouts.
A little more sculpting and this piece will be ready for it’s skin of paint-