I have an unlimited supply of these perfect little whorls of Sweet Woodruff, but perfection can be boring. Everyone sees something else in abstract art and probably in plants as well. In this case, I see Laugh-In and Volkswagon Busses. I love the rich color of the Sweet Potato Vine. Since my garden is shady, I usually choose the vivid green variety better to emerge from the shadows, but now that I know how nicely the deep purple dries, I’ll have to bend the rules a bit more this season.
For my latest pressed botanical, I used some asymmetrical whorls of leaves from my Sweet Woodruff and added miniature ivy. I like the juxtaposition of soft and severe shapes. For the background, I chose some soft blues and mild rather than dramatic contrast in the alternating colors. This is a continuation of a series I did with oranges, golds, and reds and featuring the variegated leaves from my Euonymus shrubs. See the others in my Etsy shop.
I played a bit with a design I made several weeks ago when the first pressed flower heads of my Andromeda were ready. I tweaked the color scheme, narrowed the divider ribbons, added a neat embellishment at the center and gave the little andromeda trees some clusters of pressed Sweet Woodruff for a more vernal look. Maybe I’ll consider a series that represents all four seasons. Off to the Art of Craft in Cambridge tomorrow. Visit me at the Fayerweather School between 10:00 and 6:00. In the meantime, most of the work can be seen in my Etsy shop.
A few posts ago, I showed the same graphic in different colors. That version was cropped and used dill as a filler to drape over the edges of the base. This time, I centered the full image, changed the color scheme and fashioned some minimalist “flowers” out of Roses, Sweet Woodruff, and Ivy. I have yet a third one in the works in some colors that will jump out of the frame. Can’t wait to design the contents of the vase.
I’m not sure why these little pairings remind me of daggers today. The last time I arranged ivy in this way, I called it a bow and used it to tie off a pretty double-tipped frond of ferns.
I’ve been playing a lot with very organized foliage so thought it might be time for a return to a little craziness. This is also the first time I can remember mixing my Mexican Feathergrass with other plants. Some days you just have to go for it. I used a little simple origami to make trumpets out of rose petals and put them on dried twigs from a shrub that originally looked pretty much like this except without transplanted flowers. if you haven’t already noticed, there are no rules. See this and dozens more at my Etsy shop or, better still, see the work in person at The Art of Craft in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 11th (the day before Mother’s Day)
This is the last, for a while, in my series of collages made with pressed rose petals. I substituted ivy for the sepal of my ersatz roses and placed each one in a pastel yellow oval. A cross between, floral art and deviled eggs? I still have some Mexican Feather Grass in my inventory. Maybe that will be next on my agenda for right-side brainstorming. Is there such a thing?
I loved making this vase which could have come straight out of a coloring book. It is simply constructed as a word document using overlapping ovals, squares and triangles with wide black borders. To erase the parts of the borders that needed to be invisible, I used more borderless circles and squares. In all, the simple little vase is probably constructed of about 10 or 12 superimposed shapes.
I filled my vase with dill and made the flower with dried petals from my Andromeda that I treated with floral preservative then dusted with shavings from blue pastel chalk. I think I’ll make another one in just black and white so the foliage will pop even more.
To see the whole collection, go to my Etsy shop.
I’ll be showing my botanical Art at The Art of Craft Fair in Cambridge, MA in connection with a larger open studios event on May 11 — the day before Mother’s Day.
Here are some examples of my work on A Pinterest Board
I hope some of you can join me there! Here’s part of the event’s Facebook announcement:
The Art of Craft 2013
Posted on March 18, 2013 | Leave a comment
Join us on Saturday, May 11th and Sunday, May 12th, Mother’s Day weekend, for a family- friendly day at The Art of Craft. This indoor/outdoor open market of contemporary and traditional arts, crafts, and artisanal foods celebrates our local artists. This year we are also part of Cambridge Open Studios and will have a trolley stop at The Art of Craft.
We have over 60 incredible artists and designers joining us for The Art of Craft from Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. For those of you on pinterest you can see some of our vendors here: pinterest.com/theartofcraft/. Although this is a family-friendly event, the open market will be enjoyed by all those who appreciate art and design. It is the perfect opportunity to shop with your mom for mother’s day,
Children are invited to participate in many activities from dancing or listening to live music by local musicians, having their face painted or grabbing a snack at one of the Fayerweather faux “Food Truck” booths. In celebration of the ever-growing food truck scene in the area, the children and parents have been inspired to run a faux food truck of their own. Whether you want to grab a bite to eat on the run and some finger foods for the little ones or sit down and enjoy lunch with a good friend you’ll find the perfect food and spot to enjoy it at The Art of Craft. In addition this year, we will be inviting some of Boston’s best real food trucks to join us for “high tea” time and dinner!
Fayerweather Street School is located in the Fresh Pond area of Cambridge at 765 Concord Ave. There is plenty of free parking. Admission is free with a suggested donation of $5 for a raffle ticket to use in our artisan showcase raffle. The Art of Craft is on Saturday, May 11th and Sunday, May 12th from 10:00 to 6:00.
I create all of my graphic backgrounds with Microsoft Word. For me, at least, this is never as easy as I expect. It’s taken me a long time to master the intricacies of adding shapes, erasing lines, modifying color, superimposing images, embedding text, and — today’s lesson — modulating color. For this swirl of Azalea leaves, I wanted a background that started light and deepened as it descended the page. I started by trying to wing it.Highlight a few lines, Click on “format” click on “shading” select a color for a stripe. Click on the same color, then click on more colors, then click on “custom”, then move the arrow…and so on. It didn’t go smoothly. Then it occurred to me to look at the luminosity numbers next to the color scale gauge. Eureka. Check out my other backgrounds in my Etsy shop.
I have other ideas that seem like they will be easy to execute, like creating a color block “vase” with nothing but lines and shapes. We’ll see. It never turns out to be as easy as I expect when I envision it at 5:OO AM.
My Stonington Garden 
