The Battle of the Displays!

So many decisions have been made since the last post BUT there are STILL more to be made! Here are some models I made to help me filter out my ideas and options:

model with yarn








silver painted branched join in center with hot glue

close up of glue

Joining the branches by sticking them into something; here I used styrofoam

white painted branched joined with twine

Ok from these I made some decisions and resolved some issues:

• Scale
• I am doing my model and stencil at half scale
• Branding
•  I am either going to do it right on my stencil or I will do a tag that can be taken off after purchase
• Hanging the stencil
• I am going to use clear jewelry string with a silver hook that loops into a hole in my stencil. That way the birds will be appearing to float in the air. It also adds visual separation between the branch installation and the stencil so the two compete less for your attention. As of right now the focus starts at the branches, that you will catch your attention from afar and then as you get closer you will see the stencils hanging
• Color- I am really torn between 2 models, the yarn wrapped and the silver painted. They really evoke 2 very different things. 
• Yarn- has a very warm, cozy, tactile feel. Prof. Anderson says it reminds her of a knitted sweater that you want to reach out and touch. In that aspect, the piece becomes more interactive for the consumer and admirer. It adds softness to the branches as well and gives off that crafty vibe I have been striving for. In addition it is much more structurally stable than some of the other iterations I have tried. The yarn is also fun to make :)



Branched painted silver and half wrapped with white metallic yarn



close up view



silver painted half wrapped with silver yarn



wool yarn in cream and specks of blue, brown, and tan - close up



from feedback I got in class it was the general consensus that this yarn made the branch look dirty



wrapped with white metallic yarn- I thought it reminded me too much of Christmas



close up view of white- it also wasn't bright enough 



silver wrapped 



close up



cream yarn with specks of purple and blue

• I am struggling with the color choice of yarn though. I want it to be a neutral toned color so it is not as distracting from my stencil. I would like for you to intuitively know that there are branches underneath the yarn but I don't want the yarn to mimic tree bark. I would like for there to be contrast. 
• Prof. Anderson suggested a wire in the cream, gray, white, or silver color family. I tried some of those ideas but they weren't achieving that warm feeling I was going for in this model
• Painted- the silver gives it a very sleek, smooth, and modern look. It masks the imperfections in the wood and makes it appear smoother. I used hot glue to connect the center and it makes it look very uniform, on the same plane, and deliberate. It reminds me of the silver tree in the sculpture garden next to the National Museum of Art on the National Mall.
• Do I want to add a feminine quality and daintiness to the piece?
• Handle
• depending on the route I pursue it will either be a branch attached to the installation by silver wire for the yarn model. I have to decide if I want to leave as is or add yarn to that as well. For the painted model I would use a smooth dowel of sorts (painted silver) and attached by silver wire.
• For my final I am going to complete 2 models; the silver and the yarn and based on how they turn out I will decide which route will ultimately translate my message to my audience. Modern vs. Retro, here we go!