Wood Wall Sculpture Inspired by Talking Dead

The DIY art continues...

This time my inspiration came while watching Talking Dead {the after show for The Walking Dead which I partially watch through my fingers or listen to as I hide under a blanket}.  Last week I showed that the end result does not have to be anything like the initial inspiration. Designers often see something and it sparks an idea that has very loose ties to the original. Personally, I think that's what being a designer is all about.

This time there is definitely a resemblance to my inspiration, but not an exact match.  I did go smaller in scale, and I also choose to leave the wood unfinished. In part because I did not want to put the extra time in, but mostly because I think the family room needed this light natural finish in contrast to all the dark upholstery and stained wood in the other furniture items.  I had the cheap 2x2 pine boards from another project that I changed my mind on {shocker}, and they were perfect for this project.  As I began chopping away with my miter saw I realized "I should plan this out."  I proceeded to cut 3", 2-1/2", 2", 1-1/2" and 1" long pieces.  I should have gone with about a 1/2" and not exceeded 2" because this started becoming heavy pretty quickly - another reason why I stopped at the approximately 13x13 inch overall size.

                 

I started with a completely random pattern...however, considering statistically it is difficult to achieve true randomness I decided why attempt that here?  Vertically the blocks are stacked according to height starting with the shortest, I add the next size on each side of that piece and continue in both directions.  I then shifted that up and down "randomly" as I went across to each column.  I used a 12x24 board I had down in the "craft room" and cut it in half for the back.  Now I have the other half for the other side of my fireplace.  Not sure exactly what I'm going to do yet with it, but ideas are flowing.  I would like it to stay in-keeping with this one, but not matching or even coordinating.  {Did you know there was a difference?}

I toyed with the idea of shifting the grouping of two {wood sculpture and framed print} over to allow for a vertical painted canvas about the same height as the two elements combined.  I really liked the grouping of three and the mixing of mediums; however, it seemed cramped and just too much on this focal wall with the mantle action happening as well.  Given the weight of my little wood guy, I thought it best to find a stud for attaching.  And wouldn't you know?  The stud is centered between the wall and the fireplace.  So, that ended the debate right then.

I used the attachment hardware than came with an old Ikea full length mirror - one centered at top and bottom.  For now, I do not think it will be necessary to add any to the sides.  Hopefully I won't have a heart attack in the middle of the night when it crashes to the floor.

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