Tierney's Trash

I wanted to post the "trash portrait" done of fellow refurbished rubbisher, Tierney Moses.
This portrait was done entirely from Tierney's trash she collected for this portrait.

Up-Close Photos of the Tree

I am in need of more trash! I have used up most of what I could find around the house, luckily some emails have been sent out and donations should be coming in soon!

I wanted to post some up-close photos of the tree as I am starting to blend the colors on the "bark" to a neutral grey-tone.

I am in need of small grey, silver, brown, or black trash to use as fillers for empty spaces on the tree and thin materials in the same colors to be sewn to the outside of the tree.

18 days left!!

Looking More Like a Tree

Here are the most recent photos of the "Recycled Avocado Tree." I have the majority of the main branches in place and am continuing to add smaller and smaller attachments. I have begun applying avery wire to the outside of the trunk and continuing to add it to the branches. Items will be sewn onto the avery wire to fill in areas that can been seen through, add texture, and blend the colors of the "bark" so that it resembles the grey tone of real avocado trees. Branches holding the leaves and avocados will be assembled to the avery wire using coat hangers.

Adding Branches

Here are a few more photos of the tree as it is accumulating more trash and branches.

I have been closely observing avocado trees and their structure. The trunks can be very large and are usually stumped to keep the size contained and from getting the tree to grow too large. For the sake of the structure of the tree I have decided to keep the trunk thick and sturdy as the tree grows in height. The trunk can split off in different directs and the branches are much thinner with lots of small arms coming off the main branches. The main and smaller branches reach up to the sky while the branches that hold the fruit drop vertically, weighted down by the avocados. The leaves splay in all directions up the entirety of the branches. The bark is a rather well blended grey tone with hints of white, brown, and black.

Beginnings of the Tree

Here are a few photos of the very beginnings of the "trash tree"

Here I have started with the base and the basic structure of the tree trunk. Materials used so far are a couple wooden pallets, a stool, a space heater, and a 5 gallon water jug. Now time for some branches!

Recycled Avocado Tree

For this year's Avocado Festival in Fallbrook, CA, I have the great pleasure of creating a recycled avocado tree sculpture in which participants in the community and festival will be encouraged to decorate their own leaves and avocado fruits for the sculpture. In the end, the sculpture will stand as the "Fallbrook Family Tree."

Trash donations are needed for the sculpture!

Here is my "trash collecting" method. As you can see it doesn't take up a lot of space in the house. After the collection bags are full I just transfer them to a larger trash bag or bin in the garage.