My obsession with wire hangers continues.....

.....I had made these to show off jewelry at a craft show: 8 wire hangers twisted into a tree. It's almost 2 feet tall! Now they sit as centerpieces on various tables in my house. Excellent for displaying ornaments for the holidays. Or pictures...or notes....or anything, really. 

These are not hard to make, just awkward, and a little hard on the hands. I ended up with more than a few blisters! 

A quick and easy way to use up the multitude of wire hangers lurking in my studio. 

And a shameless plug: there are several smaller versions for sale on my online Etsy store,

www.watercoloredwindows.etsy.com! 

I love trees. I may have mentioned that a few times already.

For the Love of Trees

I am fascinated by trees. A tree takes carbon dioxide, and creates oxygen. A tree also houses countless flora, fauna, and insect life. Paper, fabric and a variety of dwellings are made from their branches. Some are edible! when the tree falls or dies, it continues to be useful through decomposition. Such an amazing testament of a life cycle. My favorite part of a tree is their shape. And I am fascinated by their shape in winter, against a white, sunless sky.

To honor my friends, the trees, I used wood that was from a previous project, and fabric that was not much more than rags. I found jeans to be a really great canvas material; so are old dish towels and tablecloths. Fabric was stretched and stapled over the simple square frames, then primed with white latex semi gloss paint. 

I traced the branches using a projector onto the canvas, then filled them in with black oil paint. This turned out to be one of my favorite projects to date. The paintings really pop against a red wall.

I enjoyed the task of canvas making so much, I gathered the rest of the miscellaneous wood and fabric and made about 35 "new" canvases. How's that for environmentally friendly art?