Recycled Bottle Art ~ The Beginnings of my Bottle Tree

 

 

 

 

 



Bottle Tree' ~ photos taken earlier in summer by RLHall, ArtfulExpress

I chose this tree for the bottle tree outside my studio, since it was in the perfect spot, was quite symmetrical and at a smaller size so that I could easily hang bottles higher in the tree before it grew too large. It has also always been quite sparsely leaved so that the bottles wouldn't become so hidden by the foliage. I've begun dangling bottles from the limbs, and have many more strung with wire and ready to hang. I plan to continue collecting discarded bottles and adding them as I find them.

 Since this year the summer weather came so early and has been much hotter than usual, along with the adequate amounts of rain we've received, the woods on our land are much more lush than usual. The undergrowth and weeds are three times higher than it normally grows. The trees are growing faster with abundant greenery. It's beautiful, but as a result my bottles are becoming harder to see! 

I'm hoping that once I get the rest of the many colored bottles in place and am able to gradually add more as the tree becomes larger that they will be more visible. And once the weather returns to normal, if global warming hasn't taken a permanent stand as yet, I think it will be as I first imagined.

This tree will grow into a gnarly, kind of ancient looking tree in time and stay fairly low growing, if the others of this type on our land are any indication. Since I have always been drawn towards trees that have character I am looking forward to the bottle tree that resides in my determined imagination.

Though I love the way it looks now when the sun illuminates the colored glass and the shadows of the leaves add interest. It is located at the bottom of the trail that leads to my shack and visible as you are heading down the hill, it is just across the way from the building and visible from inside. I often find myself lost in thought, watching through the windows as the sun shimmers and shines off of the glass, and sparkles brightly as the breeze gently rustles the leaves.