I learned about plaster cloth from Flo Bartell in the Painting with Fire – Vol 5 classes (essenceofmulranny.com). It got my imagination going. I did a few bits of practice and then set out to make Blossom 3. It took nearly three months to construct. I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do, but no detailed design. As a result, I had to complete every ring of petals before I knew what the next ones should look like. That meant forming the petals and allowing them to dry completely over night. Then painting them, leaving the end unpainted for later gluing. There was only rough consistency in the petal shape, so I would take the painted petals and jigsaw-puzzle them into a ring that would fit together. Sometimes trimming and repainting. Finally, I would glue them down and let them dry overnight. Only then could I start figuring out what the next petals should be.

It became tedious and I avoided working on it some days, but the production line had captured my studio space. I felt like I had to soldier through and finish. In the end, I am reasonably happy with the piece. I like the asymmetry, the colors. and the contrast. I can imagine doing a whole series with different palettes, petal density, and shapes. I think not right away.

I did film the gluing step each time. I’m hoping you will find this short video entertaining (no sound):