The Process

• Artist / Project Statement:
  When brainstorming ideas for this sculpture, a bonsai tree was one of the first ideas that came to mind. Bonsai trees are like little mini trees that are small enough to be houseplants. I love how much detail is in each bonsai tree and how unique they all are. 

• Design Process: After creating some sketches for my bonsai tree, I got to work, creating a small base for my sculpture. I jumped right into making the base of the tree by using a paper towel roll, tearing it apart, bending it into the perfect life-like tree trunk, and hot gluing it into form. I added geometric pieces of cardboard to create the branches from there. I was originally thinking about using crumbled cardboard for the leaves, but I decided on a more abstract design instead, using geometric layers to create the dome shapes. I also used this geometric layering technique on one part of the trunk to create more emphasis on the flow and movement that I wanted the trunk to show. Throughout the whole process, I kept all of my cardboard scraps and repurposed many of them to add more detail to my sculpture. I decided to leave the cardboard showing because of how interesting the texture is and to help display the layers and dimensions in the cardboard.  I loved creating this sculpture and it really made me think outside of the box and consider new ways to utilize cardboard and layers to create 3D forms. 

• One thing that I think I did well was utilizing many different ways of showing dimension with cardboard. One thing that I think I could have done better would be to make the lowest branch stronger to support the weight of the leaves/dome better.

Exhibition / Competition: Benilde St. Margaret’s Showcase, 10/1/2023 – 6/5/2025

Awards / Recognition:

Team Recognition: