| In 2005 the Milwaukee Public Museum hosted a traveling exhibit from the Field Museum in Chicago called "Chocolate". My assignment was to create a Cacao tree (Theobroma Cacao), the tree from which chocolate is made. The tree was fabricated from telescoped tubes of PVC, heat bent and covered with sculpture epoxy then textured. The pods were molded and cast from real pods. The leaves were vacuum formed with help from real leaves and the tiny flowers were made from paper, by hand. | Cacao Tree/ Plant Modeling vacuum formed plastic  |
Cacao molds/Plant Modeling silicone mold making materials  | Here are the silicone molds and plaster pods used for fabriaction of the Cacao tree. |
| This is another photograph of the Cacao tree where one can see how the pods and flowers grow directly from the trunk. | Cacao Tree / Plant Modeling plaster  |
Water Lily/ Plant Modeling vacuum formed plastic  | When MPM hosted "The Quest for Immortality Exhibit, Treasures of Ancient Egypt" I was assigned to create two Blue Lotus (Nymphaea Caerulea), ponds for the exhibit. I was fortunate to find silk flowers that I took apart, shaped and painted to resemble the Blue Lotus. The lotus leaves proved more difficult and in the end I sculpted them from clay, molded and vacuum formed them. The plant parts were then set into on a large piece of plexi glass that was covered with a clear resin to give it the irregular sheen of water.
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