The play ground

[Daniel]

Ray

That means we are talking a 50mm wide leaf so 23 to 24mm long 'thorns' (or whatever those pointed radiating strokes are called. If they are 24mm long they must be something as2 to 2,5mm wide. Cutting one side with the bandsaw wouldn't be an issue
but and even long cut at just 2,5mm while the piece stay attached to the mass of the pages staple by only 3mm or so makes me scratch my bald...
Anyway i will give it a try. Not that i have hope but too often a faillure makes one open the eyes to other posibilities so it is worth.

Lawrence

Hi!

Yes, etching would be probably the best... and most expensive at least if one doesn't count with the basic equipment and some experience.
The good thing is it would provide a half etched line for the foldings...

Probably you are right about no need of a metal 3D print for a mould but. I am no aquainted with the last years added materials to the Shapeway's range so couldn't say.

A doable option could be making a two parts silicone mold from a handmade pattern.
It would be very easy (even for Magoo) to make a styrene pattern using 1mm Evergreen angle and a strip of half rod, rod or even square strip where to attach the individual pieces. Probably a thin H profile would be even better for attaching all the leaves properly and more secure way.
Then one would get the foldings already done from the mold. Giving the inidividual leaves the very gente curves for making the patern would be easy work...

[Daniel]

Tall grass from Sisal

IMG_0017 (45) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

IMG_0010 (62) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

I don't know if such a variety of colours is available but anyway i enjoy preparing my own:

i drop enough Sisal in Boiling water, salt and my choice of colour(s)...

https://www.patin-a.de/en/deka-l-dye-10g-sachets


After  15 minutes or so i remove it from the bath and set it to dry.

Once dried i cut  the Sisal in pieces as in the photos  because it makes very easy to uncoil the different bundles.Then it is enough to tense a bit each bundle with the hands and it gets straight. Anyway i like to play a bit with the easy curves  left by regulating a bit that tensioning...

IMG_0012 (511) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

I have this bananas vox for the still long pieces...

IMG_0011 (559) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr


... but like to have a provision of ready to use tall grasses...


IMG_0013 (47) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

IMG_0012 (51) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

IMG_0035 (34) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

IMG_0021 (51) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

I like to mix also different colours and shades of green (and some times also ockers and browns)...

IMG_0022 (45) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

IMG_0024 (43) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

... and i can keep them more or less aligned in rings of toilette paper card cilinders...

IMG_0026 (49) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

For planting the grass sometimes i spread a generous layer of PVA in the wanted area and proceed to apply a lot os small bunches on it.

Other times, specially if some kind of relative precision is wanted, i preffer to have the PVA in a container and wet in it individual bunches of grass...

IMG_0027 (47) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

IMG_0023 (43) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

IMG_0191 by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

Once the PVA is dry one can easily work the grass with a beard trimmer, scissors or the wife's hair curling tongue.
Sometimes i do the curling before the Sisal is glued in place.

Anyway none of the Sisal in the images above has been curled at all.

I will search the images of that process and add it here later.

IMG_0071 (16) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

[Daniel]

... a little bit of creativity can also improve Sisal's magics...

IMG_0033 (36) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

[Ray Dunakin]

The grass which is green at the top and straw-colored at the bottom looks especially good. I've never seen that effect in any commercial products.

[Daniel]

Thank you, Ray.

Yes, it is a too often unseen aspect of nature. I noticed a couple of years ago and am learning the different ways to render it.
Sometimes a paper or just tape mask and thge airbrush are enough. Other times one must be a bit more creative and, for example, dip the under end of the green grass in clear paint before glueing it on the ground. I still want to try ading a bit of carylic colour to a bit dilutted with water PVA glue. It should work in some situations.
But the most effective way for Magoo is to rely on Daniel's little mass production & supply...

IMG_0017 (467) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

IMG_0018 (478) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

IMG_0019 (477) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

Daniel

[Daniel]

It seems to me there are two essential questions for a modeller. One is of tactical importance but the other is the core of strategy.

The tactical question is: "Which material could i use for modelling this or that?"

The strategic one is "What could i model with this or that material?" while you scan the whole world arround you.



(Of course, one cand detect some subtle influence from Mr. Wallet in the above but it works.)



IMG_0001 (80) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

IMG_0002 (80) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

IMG_0003 (73) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

IMG_0004 (82) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr


But there is more than one way to Rome...


IMG_0005 (37) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr


The last is made of wire mesh. I have somewhere photos of the process and will post them as soon as they decide to appear before Magoo's eyes.
Basically it was simply keeping the vertical wires in place and pushing the horizontal ones down until they reach each other.

Magoo

[Stuart]

You certainly seem to be the master of ingenuity.

[Daniel]

Thank you, Stuart, but i am not a master at all.

Sometimes people believe i have some skill that they don't but is not true.
The fact is that i use something they don't use: true attention.

I will try to be more clear:

Imagine we have all a special amazing inteligent flashlight. Most people uses it for searching what they want and often they succeed.
The trick is you give it the order to search for 'this' or for 'that' and the flashlight's inteligency automatically exclude in the search all the rest.

I use it sometimes also that way but mostly don't: instead of seeking 'what i want' i use for finding out what could i do with whatever simple daily life puts in my way.

That means in the first case one has a preconception of what 'should' be found.  That means one is operating from a previous moment therefore not trully in the now. The natural consequence is that the flashlight will exclude all the 'unknown' (the new!) and focus on the expectation.

My way is not to search but to pay attention and see what could i do with whatever happens to be around.

It may seem a bit confussing at first but what gets 'confussed' is the pre-conception: the illusory 'center' created by the 'will' (the preconception, or expectative, if you prefer) vanishes and there is only attention listening to what 'is'.

That is the reason why i dislike plans: they are always an intent of the past to dominate the future and that way one finds oneself doing a boring task just because it was decided in a moment than doesn't exist anymore and therefore had no chance at all of realizing what the now (the present moment, the only moment that exists) really is offering.

Someone used to say: "One couldn't find anything new through searching."


Attention is the essential 'thing' (actually 'no-thing') and the only gate to the present moment.

Attention vanishes when there is in-tention!

The tricky aspect is 'knowledge': we are trained to rely on it but that is the boobytrap that keeps the mind focus and operating from the past, not from the now!

So real, true freedom is freedom from the mind >>> freedom from the known.

It may sound as 'thinking out the box' but is not!

'Thinking out the box' is still thinking and thoughts are always archive stuff!



Well, if all the above is boring: please, forgive me and just skip it. But if it opens a gate don't spoil it with thoughts: just jump into the now and enjoy.

Daniel