Crepe Paper Seaweed

The keen-eyed may have noticed a handful of decorative seaweeds and kelps I had on my old art wall in my home studio make-over post.

My friend, would you believe me if I told you that I made them out of paper. Well, paper, wire, beads, and glue. ...?!?! How dare you doubt me?! I'll prove it to you! Join me on this trap back to a simpler time, a time our ancestors called... 2019.

First I attached thin wire "stems" to wooden beads, to create those little floaty bobs that keep seaweed leaves (are they leaves?) buoyant under the water.

Oh! I just learned they're called "floats"! I mean, it's not labeled on that diagram above, but I couldn't find a nicer image to share. It does show that seaweed leaves are not leaves at all but "blades", and their stems are "stipes". We're all learning so much together!

To make the leav-- BLADES, I then sandwiched wire in between two sheets of crepe paper, which I then cut into the appropriate not-leafy shape.

Once I had my individual blades arranged along the floral wire that would serve as the spine of my creation, I then secured all the wires together by wrapping them in thin strips of glue-y crepe paper.

To create a more natural coloring, I brushed on pastel pigment like it was paint. Oh! I guess I should explain why I'm using crepe paper specifically, huh? Crepe paper is really finely, uh, pleated(?), so when you pull on it, it stretches and retains the curve that you've created in it. Did that make sense? Uh, how about: crepe paper is stretchy and it retains its shape? I cut my teeth on free paper flower tutorials, especially Lia's.

The thing that draws me to seaweed is its fluidity. It's constantly in motion, and so elegantly, too. It's funny to see my seaweed-in-progress with all the bits going in the right places, but it's RIGID. It's like an electrocuted seaweed.

What a crazy transformation. All the same pieces are attached at the same points in each one of those pictures, but you throw in some bends and- wham!- it's a completely different sculpture.

The seaweed by itself was a little barren, so I made a red kelp-y companion. Again, another example of what a transformation the piece undergoes when you add bends and curls to it. And then I made these guys:

Those hot pink thingies are fake flower filaments, and I also picked up (not pictured) a bag of decorative mosses. Once I had enough undersea accoutrements, I needed a place to display them.

You know, now that I think about it... I think that maybe the whole inspiration for this project came after I bought these, uh, pipes(?) at a hardware store. Matt and I were somewhere for some home repair stuff and in the plumbing aisle I found these absolutely delightful, heavy... I don't even know. What is this? It needed seaweed blooming out of it, that was for sure. Matt very kindly nailed together a temporary wooden mount so I could arrange my sea plants upright.

And THAT is how I made this undersea bouquet!

At the very least, it makes very fine music.