Monday, July 11, 2016

The Tree Wrap Experiment: Conclusion

A year ago, I wrote about wrapping trees...something I wanted to try after seeing it done by artist Lesley Turner of B.C.

As far as I can tell, the last time I posted about the project was six months ago...in December, 2015.

Well...Saturday (July 9) marked the 365th day of the Tree Wrap Experiment.  Here's the last photo of the fabric on the trees:

Last day - July 9, 2016.

Doesn't look much different than the first day, does it?

First day - July 10, 2015.

Close up, though...there's been some staining of the fabric and some interesting lines.   And some critters had to be gotten rid of...

I deliberately didn't want to wash the fabric, because I thought that might remove some of the stains -- especially from the synthetics (there were a couple).  So I bundled the fabric and string and put the bundle in a hot dryer for 20 minutes, as I'd read somewhere that this would ensure even ticks were eliminated:


Ready to disinfect!

 After this process, I laid them out on the freezer/work table on my back stoop:



Here are some close-ups...





Although they're really only stained -- no deterioration evident -- I have in mind a project...might even risk dampening them to add rusting...It will be awhile in the making...but I'm excited at the thought!

6 comments:

arlee said...

I tried this a couple of years ago,here in Calgary, and had poor results also. The coast is so much moister and has such bio-diversity that i'm sure that's why the deterioration and marks are more pronounced there.

Giddings Art said...

This is so interesting! I wondered how this would turn out. I thought there would be deterioration. Can't wait to see how you use these pieces!

Jo Vandermey said...

Great experiment.
I am collecting rusty objects at the moment for some rusting experiments. My family thinks I am a bit loopy. lol
I will be fun to see what you make from it.

Anonymous said...

There's a lot of interesting lines. I think adding rust would be perfect. I can't wait to see what you decide to do with them.

Linda A. Miller said...

I had not heard of that before... yours has some subtle and interesting marks. I like the idea of the environment affecting the cloth.

Judy Warner said...

Glad to see your results, Margaret. I am curious how you will use these. Great idea to put them in the dryer!