Date: 2012

Location:
Scotttsdale Civic Center
Scottsdale, AZ

Commissioning Agency:
Scottsdale Public Art

Project Manager:
Jana Weldon

Details:
20 ftx 10 ft
Recycled materials

Collaboration with Pete Goldlust.

This 20-foot tall soft-sculpture tree was built almost entirely from recycled materials. These materials included: used bluejeans, hand-me-down Hawaiian shirts, secondhand swimwear, and all kinds of donated or thrift-store-bought clothing. The stuffed tree trunk was filled with a cotton insulation material manufactured from recycled denim. A ropey trunk of twined jeans-legs climbs the Bell Tower wall, opening up into limbs that weave their way up the tower.The interior structure is formed from recycled livestock feed bins.

The canopy of the tree, made of colorful floral fabrics, features stylized flowers, leaves, and pomegranates stuffed with recycled pillow filling. Giant Swimsuit Dragonflies hovered overhead and Necktie Snakes lurked in the corners.The sculpture was situated in an open-air, covered bell tower located in the downtown Civic Center arts complex, between the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and the Scottsdale Performing Arts Center.