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It's all about the colour at this stage, gently giving way more to form as the simple modelling grows in detail.
Nevertheless in the end I decided to stay with that simplicity, respecting the combined demands of the finished basic and rustic elements.

Finally Some Colour!

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The hay had dried, the gesso was fresh and inviting so there was nothing left to do but start mixing some oil colour. It's usual for me at this point to start mapping out the piece in paint and to consider the range of colours to employ.

In The Hay

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Becoming a bit fed up with all that wire, I was looking to find something a little easier on the eye, and came up with the long grass I'd cut with a scythe the year before and was keeping for a separate project. I shoved it in there still wet in clumps until there was no more room for more.

Enough Rope

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I figured a unifying factor was required to bind the two sides together and opted for the discarded rope from it's sister project [LINK]

Too Cagey

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The upside was that I now needed to make another cage to support the mattress. Making them is a hugely boring and time-consuming business and I tried unsuccessfully to find a workaround to obviate the need for the second one. Much time was wasted in that activity but, as nobody wants these things, I wasn't under a deadline to ship and so it stood there brooding waiting for me to concede to the obvious.

Flip Off

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Yet instead of placing the mattress piece in the containing cage as initially conceived, I thought it looked much better matched up beside it, proposing a second element for the work that lent it more harmony and balance.

Behind The Wire

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In a familiar vein by now, I soak it in glue, followed by liberal amounts of gesso, then build a cage in which to house it; the point being to give the piece some rigidity and allow it stand alone.

Made Your Bed

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It begins with this hacked and torn piece of foam and fabric. So what to do with it?