Concrete “Wedding Tree” ??? 1

Bob Ross, the famous frizzy haired painter on PBS calls them, “happy accidents.”   It’s when an unplanned move in art creates an unexpected and favorable result.

With less than three weeks left to go before my solo art show at Zero Degrees Gallery in Marquette, MI, I was quite disappointed to learn that there was no way I could get seven, healthy potted plants that would cover the pots in time for the show.  I had already spent two weeks making the Living Tree Art piece meant to hold the pots in rings.  I had no choice but to use artificial plants for the first time against the very namesake of Living Tree Art.

After spending several hours over the course of two days searching Michael’s Crafts store, I spent $120 on faux plants and seven, 4″ Styrofoam balls.  When I got home, I cut all the leaves and flowers into individual pieces and stuck all of them into the Styrofoam balls that were now painted a blotchy dark brown and green.  Then I forced the Styrofoam balls onto the pin posts that were originally meant to hold the rings that were meant to hold the intended pots of living plants.

I decided to name it “Wedding Tree,” intended for the wedding table that holds the gifts.   The flowers on this Wedding Tree could just as easily be made to match the tone and color of the bridesmaids’ dresses, or colored appropriately for a completely different social event where say, fall colors might work.  The permutations in display possibilities are as endless as choices available in living and artificial plants and their combinations.  Most important, making these trees might open doors for a welder type person looking for some spare income while creating opportunity for florists waiting to entertain an, as yet, untapped market for Living Tree Art.

I videotaped the entire process of making this tree including the steel plinth on which it stands, and even how I put the flowers together.  It is now my newest webinar training program for people who want to start small before attempting bigger Living Tree Art that involve automatic watering systems and such.  This tree is 36” tall, made of concrete and steel, and could be made to any size.

I had no choice but to go faux to make the show, and it worked!  Here’s “The Wedding Tree.”