The Chronicles of Amber (Tree Progression Thread)

[Roan]

Fixing Mistakes and Completing the Base

Once we have the base looking pretty much the way we want it, the sand is poured out and we are ready to add some color.

India ink, not acrylic or any other type of paint, is used to color the sand. It's important to have the ink seep into the sand mix and not just sit on top. You want the texture and grain of the sand to remain and that's what gives the base depth and a mossy look.

India inks give intense color, without clogging the sand particles. I use a lot of different colors, depending on the effect I wish to convey. In this instance I start with a dark green (always working from dark to light):



The base is completed with the dark green, and I hate how it looks:



Too many roots showing, not enough depth and too much crushed coral. Blech!

Now, I can't just pull some of the coral out as the surface of the sand-mix is dry (the center is not) and that would leave large holes. So I go back -- and redo my final layer and the dark green ink. I've also, very carefully, created a lean in the tree trunk:



Much better!

Once the dark green is dry I add a lighter green to various areas:



Then yellow:



After those main colors have dried, I use a dry brush technique and reapply the same colors in various places and dry brush white for highlights as well:



. . .

[Roan]

We're almost ready to start adding stones, however before we can do that we need to add a signature and a coat of wax to the base first.

At least three coats of wax is applied and each must dry for at least three hours before it is polished and another coat is applied.

The wax I use is bowling alley wax, which is non-yellowing and very resilient. It will give the base some shine and help protect it from glue droppings.



I use my Dremel to carve my signature and the month and year into the base. The letters and digits are then filled with white ink.

. . .

[Roan]

Sept 15, 2008 10:59:29 GMT -5 cbjames said:

I am loving this tutorial. Before reading this I thought I might want to make one of these trees one day. Now I think I will just buy one. What a labor of love!!

Thank you!

I do love making these trees! I never even thought of how much work they were until I started this series -- WOW! Even I wonder where my patience comes from ;D

Eileen

[tombodc]

Eileen, I too want to add my thanks for the tremendous amount of time you are spending showing this to us. It is truly a selfless act and the result is already precious. I so look forward to seeing updates everyday that I log on, lol.

Thank you!

[darrad]

That lean of the tree you added was perfect. It added age and time and the base is definitely a bed of moss. Your painting skills came in real handy there. You are certainly an Artist of many talents!
Dave.

[sitnwrap]

I had to back up cause I missed a couple of your posts. Your reply to my question about hammering each loop made me laugh.

Seems to me you could use a paper hole punch with reverse spring action. That way you could punch and flatten each loop with the tree standing. ;D

This is so enjoyable!

[SteveHolmes]

ooooo-oooo-oooo-ooooo...UPDATE!! Yipeeee!! ;D
I like that lean in the tree too. It's looking very nice. Can't wait for the next steps. Thanks a Bunch!
Steve

[Roan]

Sept 16, 2008 21:02:44 GMT -5 sitnwrap said:

I had to back up cause I missed a couple of your posts. Your reply to my question about hammering each loop made me laugh.

Seems to me you could use a paper hole punch with reverse spring action. That way you could punch and flatten each loop with the tree standing. ;D

This is so enjoyable!

Hrm, that would take too long, really. Hammering a tree takes me about an hour and a half. If I were to do what you propose, I'd have to wait until it was dry in the base or it would pull out. Drying takes a day at least for that type of activity, so that would add 23 hours to the time it takes from start to finish. I'm too impatient to wait that long

I'll just stick with hammering. It works and I do it fast

[Roan]

Thanks guys!

More coming in a few minutes . . .

Just need to take a couple of photos and process them.

Eileen

[Roan]

Time to Add the Amber![/img]

This part can take a while because each section has to dry for at least an hour before you can move on to the next. If you don't wait long enough, you risk pulling stones off.

The bottom row of branches is bent straight out and each "twig" is separated so that it doesn't touch its neighbour. Don't want to get glue in the wrong places!

I have five pairs of tweezers that have all been coated with Tool Magic. This helps a LOT when picking up little slippery stones and even with the coating, it's easy for them to get away. Squeeze too hard and WHOOSH!, away goes the stone. Don't squeeze hard enough and WHOOSH!, away goes the stone. It's a riot, hah!

Amber is a nice "stone" to work with because it's not slippery and it was nice not to have to get down and pick up a zillion little rocks off the floor. 'Course sometimes they fall off the branch because I don't get it settled just right and those ones usually end up adhered to my clothes or skin.

Okay, so the branches are separated and I've put glue on half of the twigs on a branch. Then I carefully place a stone on top and lightly touch it to make sure it's settled:



Repeat with each twig until each branch is filled. Here's the bottom row done and now we have to wait for this to dry before we can move on to the next row:



More pix coming . . . processing them.
. . .

[Roan]

Row after row of branches are completed with at least 1 hour drying time between each row. The tree after 272 stones:



After 418 stones:



Finally, after 572 stones are placed on the tree, all the branches are completed:



Now we wait. . . again I give the tree at least 48 hours to dry and cure before I start yanking on the branches and shaping the tree. If I don't wait, stones fly. Heck, some could fly anyhow, but it's a good test to ensure the stones are secure.

Retrospect:
1. Cut the amber smaller. Some of it was on the large side and I don't like it when the size of the leaves overpower the size of the branches. That's what got me into this to begin with. I saw "gemstone" trees on eBay where there were 10 branches in total and leaves were ½" tumbles -- IMO those look silly. If I'm going to make a tree I want a it to look like a tree!

2. Order more amber! Gah, I almost ran out before the tree was done. Here's what I had left:



3. Try tumbling the amber in the rotary first and see if I can get a better shape to it. I hate "blocky" leaves.

I do have more amber on order. A lot

We're almost done! Next step is shaping the tree.
. . .

[ejs]

This is all so interesting, Eileen. Thank you for sharing your art with us!

[nansaidh]

Wow, you did cut it close on the amber stash! I don't want to be repetitive but this is just amazing. We may have to start insisting on seeing all your trees take shape....

[Roan]

Thanks guys!

If I DO post any more progression threads, remind me to axe the "paper towel behind the tree" thingy. I thought it would help make the tree more visible against the marble slab and table, but all it really does is cast a shadow. Thffpt!

[Roan]

Shaping the Tree

This is going to be the most difficult part to try to write as it's very much a "touchy feely" type of thing

Before I even start wrapping a tree I usually have an idea of how I want the tree to look finished. This is important because the method you use to wrap the tree and create the branches will determine the final shape.

Trees have four basic shapes: rectangular, square, round and oval. Of course many trees don't exactly fit into one shape and may be a combination of different types. Square on the bottom, round on top, for example.

The amber tree is a "round" type, sort of like some species of oak or elm, but I want to leave some gaps so that some of the primary branches show. This will help break up the "amberness" of it.

Now, I have to apologize for the pictures. They didn't come out as well as the previous ones I took and it's difficult to show what I'm doing. So I'll do my best to explain what is taking place.

Using my beading and flat-nosed pliers, I start at the top of the tree at the highest point and pull the first row of branches upright:



Each twig is bent so that it points towards the end stone:



Each twig is also bent at the ends so that the stone is either horizontal or pointing downwards. This helps to:

a) hide the wire(s)
b) expose as much of the stone as possible to view
c) give the illusion of hanging leaves

As I do this I also bend branches and twigs this way and that -- trees, for the most part, don't have perfectly straight branches:



I continued on down the left-hand side of the tree, making sure I exposed the large primary branch that shoots off the trunk. The tree leans to the right and will be bushiest, and therefore heaviest, on that side. Our "white space" or "open area" is to the left and has the large tumbles in it, so we need to have some "lightness" to the left to give it balance. It's okay if the tree leans, but the entire sculpture has to have balance or it will lose its aesthetic appeal.



All sides have to be worked for balance, but especially the back and front. It's 3D and needs to be shaped so that the tree looks good regardless of which side is being viewed.

Now I start to work on the right side. I use the same method as the left, but the stones are not separated as much and the tree is far bushier on this side:



Again, it's important to shape the back as well as the front:



. . .

[Roan]

The next series of pictures are ones that I took in the light box and will help illustrate the final design.

Once the shape of the tree is finished, some of the branches need to be cut. This will not only give the tree a more realistic look, but cut down on the bushiness on the right-hand side:



I also cut some branches and twigs from the left-hand side as well. In total I have removed some 50 stones from the tree.

Final count is: 522 stones and 93 branches

Once I am done and am happy with the shaping, I polish the slab with a soft cloth and



Here is our finished tree!

Front:


Back:


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope everyone has enjoyed this!

We need a name for this tree so I'm going to start a new thread for that.

Eileen

[adrian65]

Gorgeous tree! Thank you for allowing us to watch its growing from "seeding"

Adrian

PS. At a seccond look, I have a sugestion for you: it would be great to use end-cuts ("heels") instead of slabs for the base, they would look much more like a natural terrain.

[rockon60]

Beautiful!

[nansaidh]

Wow - I'm speechless, Eileen. This is an incredible undertaking just to do one, and you've done a LOT more than one! Very creative and artistic - I hereby officially dub your stone trees "The Best" this side of mother nature. (feel free to use that in advertising - lol)

I thoroughly enjoyed this trip with your creation. I hope there are more!
Nancy

[colliel82]

thanks for all the hard work. I really enjoyed seeing the process