The Bakehouse Factory were invited by Bracknell Forest Council to conjure up a unique place making event that would celebrate the local area and create a reason to visit, they came up with The Forest Giants – three spectacular installations supported by a programme of immersive wrap-around activities all designed to celebrate the woodland, the biodiversity, the preservation work and the tree planting schemes within the borough. I was one of our five person scenic team working on making the heads of the giants and dressing their bodies to match.
The design and build team at Bakehouse created and installed the three forest giants in the town centre, with the tallest standing at over seven metres high. Each giant represented a different element of the tree strategy and the forest ecosystem. Each giant was designed with a unique aesthetic and personality.
The tree giant installations were designed and built entirely by Bakehouse in-house, using locally sourced slab wood (normally a waste product) from a sustainably managed woodland.
Giants In The Making
The base of the heads came to us as CNC carved polystyrene we then scrimmed them with hessian fabric creating tree knots and bark texture. Once dry we used splatter and dry brush techniques to build up their rich colour.
We added real bark and a mixture of real or saw dust moss to build up the tree quality to their skin.
The giants project has been requested to be used and upgraded for summer 2022 Bracknell forest council have commissioned Bakehouse to do two more giants. The only feed back about the existing giants was that the Baby Acorn Giant wasn’t cute and endearing enough. It was my job to go back and re-sculpt the face. I did this by building up the cheeks for a fuller face using PVA and hessian.
Heres a process video of me adding colour, texture and moss to Baby Acorn Giant after his face alterations