bamboo ribs, abaca skin

We have made several of these bamboo and abaca structures and we’re still learning. We’re inspired by Peter Gentenaar’s amazing works.

abaca and bamboo artwork held up to the light to show the translucency of the paper

We have made several of these bamboo and abaca structures and we’re still learning. We’re inspired by Peter Gentenaar’s amazing works.

bamboo slivers and hot glue

Bamboo design, hot glued together. We taped off the contour on a pellon on top of a felt on a vacuum table. Then took the bamboo frame away.

pouring the pulp

We laid on the 6 hour abaca pulp as evenly as possible. We drained about 2/3 of the water to make it easier to handle. We put the bamboo back in position and covered just the ribs with more fiber pulp.

See For the other side to see an object like this one in a composition.

Assisting the shrinkage

With the pulp vacuumed until it was dry/stong enough to lift, we set blocks and bunched cloth under it to help the bamboo and pulp to dry in an aesthetically interesting way.

As it dried, we pushed the manipulation further.

As it dried, we pushed the manipulation further.

We inadvertently made it very thick, but the dry object still glows in back light. It would hold up well as a wind spinner in a Wisconsin winter storm.

LandesSullivan at gmail.com

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LandesSullivan at gmail.com