Sustained Investigation #4

Foam Wood

Foam, hot glue, carving tools, acrilic paint

This art was independent studies #4 in 3D design, the inquiry question was, how can I show natural plants through unnatural materials.

The materials I used were foam, hot glue, carving tools, and acrylic paint

For this work, it started as the others, pondering different ideas I could use. once I had settled on one, I started to prepare the larger block of carving foam by hot gluing two smaller ones together to create a larger piece. After that, I used the carving tools to start taking off material and shaping the foam into a log. Once I had it to the rough cylinder I wanted, I used another type of carving tool to create the ridges and groves in the foam to simulate the way real wool looks and feels. Then, I started to mix the paint to the two colors I wanted, one for the main color and another for detailing. Finally, I painted the main color onto the foam, making sure to so at least three coats. After that, I used a dry brush technique to add the darker color of brown for more detailing.