I Spent 1 Y Modelling Copper Wire Ancient Plants And Needle Felting Forest Creatures
Last year I’ve discovered wire modelling and noticed that it soothed my mind from stress as sculpting demanded complex workmanship. This way I was able to express my nostalgia for the passage of time in the natural world and the essence of plant and animal life in their habitat.
A complex model takes me minimum 2 full weeks with multiple phases such as the vision, research, diving into work enthusiastically, unending patience, unplanned change of concept, final touches and mild despair ending in partial reconciliation with myself and the subject.
In memorial to the passage of time of wildlife in their evolution favoured environment these are ghosts from the past where ancient plants once lived disappearing into the fossil record of time. Meanwhile in the mountain forests wild rabbits that burrowed are assimilated by the ever growing foliage waiting their essence to degrade with forgetfulness of the present dwellers.
This is my way of paying tribute to the dwellers of the past and looking for a symbiotic experience in the future.
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Cretaceous Flower Cone
Wire reconstruction of the Cycadeoidea dacotensis flower shaped cone, part of the Bennettitales seed plant group extinct in the late Cretaceous. The cycad like leaves formed a crown on top of the short rounded trunk with embedded cones all around it. Some species of Cycadeoidea had 500 cones on a single trunk which would suggest a one time flowering behaviour.
First forest of the Devonian
The extinct Calamophyton primaevum, Cladoxylopsida Class, a plant from the first forest on Earth dated in the Devonian Period 385 million years ago. Enamelled copper wire plant reconstruction based on latest studies of the Calamophyton tree roughly having a 2 m height. Scale is at 1:1 and showing the crown of dichotomous branches attached to the dome part of the trunk apex. Also suggested is the shedding behaviour of the palm-conifer looking plant that led to the rise of the Carboniferous Era and its rich coal deposits found today.
Horsetail of the Permian
Horsetail of the Permian, Stylocalamites suckowi are extinct for 290 mil years. These grew tall averaging 5m for a trunk, but my model here is 3 times smaller. An interesting feature common for prehistoric trees was their hollow trunk which filled up with sediment to form the insideout fossils found nowadays. This is also modelled in wire inside the main trunk seen here.
Generations hare
The Generations hare, a symbol of his kind, sitting above the burrows, an eyewitness of time as many generations of hares lived and perished. His evermore tree stump shelter is adorned with Polyporus versicolor known as Turkey tail tree mushrooms, Marchantia polymorpha liverwort and moss species Tortula truncata and Philonotis fontana at a macro scale.
Keeper of the forest
The Keeper and protector of woodland homes, the mighty hare stands tall never fleeing from his burden. He’s a witness to the changing seasons with his moss green tinted fur, emerging from a living forest stump covered with Xanthoria lichen. Lost is his eye to a malicious owl when he still had a warm breath, but now light golden metal runs through his veins protecting and supporting him in his guard.
Slumbering leveret
This is the four baby hares’ eternal slumber in a woven grandmother tree stump decked with Conocybe appendiculata and Trametes gibbosa mushrooms and a touch of Cladonia chlorophaea lichen and Physcomitrium pyriforme moss.
Blackberry vivariums
Needle felted wool sculpture of blackberry leaves, fruits and macro flowers with copper wire stems and stitching.
Blackberries are a pioneer species that creates shelter for the small woodland trees helping the forest move in abandoned places and grow healthy and strong.
Keeper shadowbox
Modelled frame with tree mushrooms and moss, hand shaped and painted paspartu with giclée art print on acid-free paper, illustrating the wool and wire sculpture Keeper.
The frames’ forest floor is covered with reinforced real lichen and two copper wire macro moss specie Dicranoweisia cirrata and liverwort Lunularia cruciata. The backing of this little world is made out of cork and stands on little metal feet.
Generations shadowbox
Modelled frame illustrating the wool and wire sculpture Generations.
Wire macro moss species Tortula truncata and Philonotis fontana.
Slumber shadowbox
Modelled frame with tree bark and moss illustrating the wool and wire sculpture Slumber.
Forest floor includes two copper wire macro lichen species Cladonia chlorophaea and Cladonia Coniocraea.
Sculpted frame
Modelled frame with tree mushrooms and moss, hand shaped and painted paspartu with giclée art print on acid-free paper, illustrating the wool and wire sculpture Keeper.
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