Beginning the glass collage part of the French Door Project... The idea here is to build up a life-size tree and grass in the insets of the door, then fill the panels with polyurethane resin to seal and stabilize the collage.
So far i've got the branches done. I wanted to make them realistic, but also idealistic, so i researched the pattern of the mathematical distribution of branching, which follows the Fibonacci sequence. In the natural world, this varies based on environmental influences, but more or less adheres to the general pattern.
Fibonacci branching sequence.
Source: http://oeis.org/A000045/a000045.html
I built the branches up using layers of antique newspaper and corrugated cardboard (for depth). The newspapers i used are several pages from 1915 issues of Scientific American. I like to use these antique papers both for aesthetic value (the phrases of text are fascinating) as well as historic authenticity. By historic authenticity, i mean that i incorporate as many authentic vintage or antique pieces as possible in my work to contribute to the 'time machine' overall concept i am attempting to express.
Branches in progress
The branches aren't quite finished yet, as it is taking time to build up the layering for depth. You can see in this picture the outlines of where the leaves will go, also following a mathematical distribution pattern. I traced the pattern for the outlines of the leaves and branches on the back side of the glass with a dry erase marker so i can follow the pattern and remove it later.