Santa Fe Opera 2019

Using a front and side rendering I drafted out a branch plan in tape on the floor to give me a guideline for fullness and blending. Luckily the trunk could be fairly straight until the top split - so an additional full-scale front rendering wasn’t completely necessary. To get the most organic shapes, I would pull approximate measurements from the front view and tack weld on a long, unbent piece of tube steel. I then would heat sections with an oxy-acetylene torch while an assistant bent and twisted until I was happy with the shape and interaction with the branches above. As the branches split I moved to smaller tube, then fleshed out the actual sculptural shape of the trunk and branches with rings and organically bent 3/8” rod wrapped with chicken wire. I decided to make the bottom several limbs weight-bearing in case of blocking changes during the tech process. I was also responsible for building out the base and root system to blend and create a more realistic “earth.”