Urban Hive

This 8 foot tall organic sculpture was specifically designed for striped skunks, and finches.
You can view some of its evolution by clicking here.
I made a chicken wire armature with metal joinery to hold the 3 sections together.

I applied a layer of plaster to the skeleton. 

The huge amethyst crystal was embedded at the top.

Next, I brought it to Andy Payne. Andy is an amazing resin artist who agreed to collaborate with us by adding a surface that would be weather resistant, beautiful, light weight and strong. 

Andy normally works on flat surfaces, but was excited to try a three dimensional collaboration. 
His first layer was super bright, so we decided to tone down the colors. 

He added layers of sky blues & grassy greens. 

His work came out perfectly! Next, I installed it in my backyard located in City Heights. I turned it into a urban wilderness preserve, by digging entrance/exit holes around the fence and planting a butterfly garden. 

I see areas where skunks are digging for grubs in the yard, so I know they are using the space. 
The DNA of Creativity bought us a "camera trap". Tonight I'll try it out.

After a long hard day at work, my wife is very ill and I'm not sure if I'm setting up this camera correctly. 

I guess that I did it correctly. I awoke to excellent footage. I can see our skunk coming out of the sculpture and heading off into the night. Hours later, she returns to sleep the day away.