My Sculpture...of a painting made from paintbrushes!

The finished piece:

Let my start this post off by saying that I'm not a Sculpter. My comfort zone remains in the 2D studio arts...BUT I had an assignment where I had to make a sculpture out of several of the same objects. So I decided to stick with my areas of expertise and make a sculpture of a painting! The objects I used were paintbrushes.
Below I'll post pictures of my process in creating this work of art!

So this is the art work I framed my idea around. This is a Mondrian painting from the Modern art period. Modern art is characterized by the bare minimum. 2D and basic materials; just paint, shapes and a canvas.

My first step in making art is to always sketch out my ideas! This is a picture from my sketchbook. I drew out the basic idea of what I wanted my project to look like and my ideas for materials.

I got a TON of used paintbrushes from a used art supply store in Portland, Oregon called Scrap PDX. Each paintbrush was only 5 cents so I was able to get a bunch without breaking bank. :) Then I cut some 1x2" wood into 20 in. long pieces with the ends cut to 45 degree angles to fit the pieces together. I used wood glue and a nail gun to put it all together.
If anyone wants a video on how I make a canvas, let me know! :)

NEXT I decided to drill holes to the inside of the canvas frame. I figured I could have the paintbrushes along the edges fit into the holes to provide support! I can't remember what size drill bit I used, but I tried several until the paintbrushes fit without slipping out.

Now came the fun part of trying to get my envisioned sketch to come to life! I spent several hours messing around with the colors and design until I was happy with how it looked. I didn't start attaching the brushes to each other until I had them all laid out in a general area where I wanted them.

I ended up using zip ties to hold the brushes together! It was cheaper than wire and easier to handle. I used wood glue on the brushes that went inside the drilled holes along the frame.

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And DONE! I wanted to stain the frame a darker color but was pretty happy with how it turned out! My first sculpture was a lot of fun and I look forward to making more in the future!

Thank you all for reading!
~emily-rose