Custom Planter

Image Posted on April 18, 2016

A couple weeks ago I decided to use my terrain-making knowledge (such as it is) to create a planter for the annual NASC (North American Sarracenia Conservancy) auction.

I began the usual way, this time using some high-density insulation foam I found at Lowes:

I cut out the profiles with my hot-wire router table, and did the rest with a simple steak-knife, carving out the large details and pinning the layers (4 in all) in place with toothpicks.

Then I looked up some reference images on google and drew a bark pattern on the outside with a sharpie, before taking to it with a steak-knife again to get the finer detail:

At this point, I glued the layers together with PVA, cut out a base of 1/4″ plywood, glued on with liquid nails, and sealed the plywood and the hollows with brown silicone caulk. The white texture you see is simply spackle, which I used to fill in any huge gaps or seams left over from the rough carving.

Then I proceeded to apply the plaster shell, to which I added some PVA (approx. 1/4 the water content) and some paint to tint it so that it wasn’t bright white.

After that had cured, it was onto the painting stage, again using my google reference image, to simulate tree-bark. Many layers of undercoats, washes, dry-brushing, and stippling later:

At which point I sealed the whole thing with three coats of brush-on Minwax Polycrylic which, even though water-based, is water-proof once fully-cured.