Upcycle Project Update: Artificial Nature

Since my last post I have been gathering materials to use in my project. From a variety of recycling bins, including both in my home and more industrial spaces such as the engineering center, I have found boxes, tubs, bins, cans, computer parts, and more. This array of materials is giving me the freedom to play with different textures and appearances in different parts of my sculpture. With the amount of materials I have right now, I expect for my project to be about 6 inches tall and roughly 3″ x 4″ at it’s base. It’s fun seeing how these different shapes and materials fit together with each other to create a whole.

In addition to collecting my materials I have also been researching and sketching several species of birds to get ideas for how I want to go about building mine. I don’t plan on designing this to look like a specific bird, but more of a patchwork of the parts of different birds. I’ve been choosing aspects of birds that I found interesting and adding them to a list that I can reference to compile the parts. Even without copying the look of a specific birds, my project will still be unmistakable as a small bird. I’ve had fun toying around with my materials to see how I can emulate the unique textures of a bird like the feathers on it’s wings, the heavily textured feet, and the smooth beak.

The construction of my project has been tricky but very fun to play around with. I used hot glue to attach all of me pieces which was done with some difficulty due to the variety in shapes and textures. All in all I think my bird came together very well and has some cool details that can be seen around the construction.