Last Saturday, I began constructing the “trellises” that will hold the painted canvases. Here are some photos of the construction process.

These are some of the tools I’m using at this stage of the construction.

After trimming off the unnecessary small limbs, I tested a layout using copper pipes as cross supports.

I joined the copper pipes to the uprights with small screws, after hammering the ends of the pipes flat and drilling pilot holes.

This is one of the trellises beginning to take shape.  I used twine to tie some of the smaller limbs to the copper pipe and to the uprights.  The shape has a bit of Gothic window look to it.

 
This second trellis is in process.  There will be more horizontal pieces added in order to attached the canvases higher on the structure.

Here is the third trellis.

Constructing the trellises is a bit of a discovery process; or perhaps it’s more like a jazz improvisation.  I have a general idea of what I want the piece to look like and have all the “notes,” but putting them into the correct sequence isn’t predetermined.  I don’t have a score, to continue with the metaphor.  I haven’t sketched out what I think these things will look like, ultimately, but when I start creating the canvases, I may start putting the whole piece down on paper, although since this is, in part, an organic piece, it may grow organically.  Part of the improvisation.  

More to come.