EL wire Steam Burton bonsai (steampunk)

Hi everyone,
My project is a dead bonsaï recycled as a El lamp. I'm sorry but i've lost my datas recently and most of my making off pictures have been deleted :( I'l try to explain this design as close to the original as possible. Feel free to rate it and If you have any questions, just ask!

Step 1 Tools and stuff

Well for that project, you'll need :

-a lot of watch gears
-copper wire
-thin copper layer (not in the picture)
-a dead bonsaï (not in the picture)
-a bonsai pot (not in the picture) Try one with holes in the bottom, 4 will be perfect
-some line tape (pinstriping line tape for exemple. i've got 3 size, 3, 5. 7 mm)
-a cuter
-a lot of patience (not in the picture)
-some bigger gears
-spray paint, color of you choice
-different pliers
-marquetry  wood (not in the picture)
-a thin chisel
-el wire of course (not in the picture)
-a vintage photo frame (not in the picture)
and that's it, or maybe a lot of patience again

Comments

[azolina3]

Fantastic! I've been considering something like this!

[ilpug]

this is one of the most beautiful peices of steampunk art i have seen. favorited. Amazing.

[cjlopez213]

Awesome going to have to make one myself :)

[jnicewander]

Coolest thing I've ever seen. Make a Giant one. er life size, you'd win a lot of money in art contests.

[stico]

Haha thanks a lot dude, actually i'm doing a second one, double size and a bit different, but i'm really looking forward to do it life size, with a beautifull dead tree ;)

I've winned the second place for a contest on instructable, but never get my prices, so hope i'll be luckier next time !

[XeroTrinity]

:O Would you ever sell it? =P

[stico]

I think i will but i don't know when. I'm working on another one, but it's a pretty long job ^^.

[Danger is my middle name]

this is so cool! Where do you get so many watch parts?

[Ward_Nox]

more Cyberpunk than steam punk but cool

[typenamehere_____]

?how? Cyberpunk is much more like what we (optimistically) envision today's future to be(the cyberpunk derives from cybernetics and punk, cybernetics being, in very simple terms, study of how things are controlled. Cyborg is also derived for it refers a borg or robot helping to control and regulate human functions). Steampunk, on the other hand, is what we envision yesterday's future to be, and by yesterday, I of course mean the 1800s industrial revolution- filled with gear boxes and based on steam, as opposed to our modern world, filled with CPUs and based on voltage.

[a.nony.mouse]

agreed :)

[shizumadrive]

I like it just wish people wouldn't call everything steam punk. This isnt steampunk in any understanding of the word. It could be called futuristic or even retrofuturistic though.

[a.nony.mouse]

I'm sorry, I thought retrofuturistic was a pretty damn big part of steampunk. You know, the whole "if the Victorians designed the future and modern/future technology" thing. Sorry, my mistake.

[akrambler]

Exectly right. Calling something steampunk doesn' t make it steampunk

[stico]

I agrre but when you've got a weird tree full of watches gears and copper stuff, it's definitly not Impressionism...

[stico]

sorry for that :(. To me, it's steampunk, but i don't want to hurt someone feelings, call it a dead bonsai :)

[shizumadrive]

Ahh don't worry its a cool project. I think im just tired from seeing Boing Boing use the word steampunk in every other word of their articles.

[makerdan]

Great project! One question though--does your EL wire make a high-pitched noise when it's turned on? Mine does, and it's kinda annoying. Again though, great project!!

[stico]

Thanks! Nope, my el wire doesn't make a noise at all.

[eviltechie]

You should add some el wire into the grooves of the tree that lead out onto the branches. That would be cool.

[SteamDaibhidh]

Steampunk = Neo-Victorian in some manner, Cyberpunk = modern-futuristic. This is definitely the latter of the two. I don't ultimately care, but as you can see above, some folk do, so maybe this helps. Both styles are among my favourites anyway, and in the end whatever else you call this, it's still art and it's still awesome!

[stico]

Thanks for that answer, maybe it can help. Acutally i don't know how you do to differenciate both styles for this project. It can be Neo victorian in a way, or Cyberpunk for thoses who are used to cyberpunk, but i really have trouble to differenciate both, and to see where the point in all that conversation :D. But thanks again for that, i'll try to use those words with care !

[cavalaxis]

Brilliant. Beautiful. (Also, there's no wrong way to do steampunk. Context is everything. The idea is what counts.)

[stico]

thanks, i can't agree more

[samanella]

Wow, it's beautiful!

[walamoonbeam]

Dang dude. You've it dedication. I don't think I'd be able to spend that much time on something like this! But it sure is a cool final result! Good luck in the contest!

[QuackMasterDan]

The tree looks very beautiful. I find it interesting how raw metal gears, screws, nuts, and other "junk" items can become such interesting leaves and decorations. Just as a bonsai tree condenses in so much detail into a single pot, your hard work exemplifies good miniaturization. Your lighting of the pot rim with EL wire is stunning, great work!

[stico]

Thanks! I'll try to do the same project on a bigger tree, it can be nice too i guess. Now i can fit my bonzai in its box! : http://www.instructables.com/id/Box-made-out-of-slats/ One more time, Thanks a lot!

[steveoondyou]

very awesome, love the way it looks

[stico]

Thanks!

[EvlPwnda]

Beautiful!

[DIYDragon]

The truly amazing part.. I totally have a dead bonsai on my lanai. LOL Time to turn it into a creepy tree. Have to find some watch parts..

[stico]

Yeah! And share the result please!

[SubFusion]

Nice, I saw this cool thing: a dinosaur custume with EL wire, making the guy wearing it invisible at night :)

[ChrysN]

Wow, this looks amazing, especially the gears at the base of the tree, great job!

[nickodemus]

Holy wow. That is awesome.

[stico]

thanks!

[Slightly Askew]

This is not a craft, or instructions on how to make something useful. This is art, pure and simple. Well done!

[stico]

thanks a lot, i really appreciate! Hope some people would find it usefull anyway, or inspiring for other projects. art...THANKS!

[jeff-o]

Wow, fantastic result! Stellar work. You've got my vote.