This whimsical relief of pears on a branch is made of scrap paper, recycled cardboard and plaster. About ten years ago, I had bought a similar relief of pears on a branch in solid plaster that I keep on display in my kitchen and which was the inspiration for this project.

I started out by useing a recycled heavy piece of cardboard as a base. To make the pear shapes, I crumbled paper scraps into tight pear-shape balls and glued them to the cardboard shape. I then rolled more paper scraps into long narrow shapes to form the branches and glued them around the pear shapes.

Once all of the paper shapes were glued in place, I used a plastic knife to apply a thin coat of plaster over all of the paper shapes and the cardboard base. Once the first plaster layer dried, I smoothed out a few rough spots with sandpaper, then applied another layer of plaster. Once the plaster completely dried, I started painting the relief with acrylic paints.

Last but not least, I cut leaf shapes from thin cardboard and applied a thin coat of plaster over each leaf. Once the light coat of plaster completely dried, I painted each leaf using the same acrylic paints.

I used a wood frame for the relief that we made from scrap wood pieces that we cut and mitered to the size of the Pears On Branch Paper Relief. And although I used pears as a subject on this relief one could make one out of your favorite fruits or vegetables. So just have fun and create your very own piece of art.