Archives for posts with tag: stonington

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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.

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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)

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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 put my botanicals into three general categories — abstract, representational, and traditional. I’ve spent a lot of time on the first two lately. Time to move on to some more traditional pieces — with a twist I hope.

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Let’s face it, most gardening is a war against chaos. Maybe that’s why I sometimes have fun creating virtual files as the support for my botanical art. For this one I created colorful compartments for Azaleas (on the left) which I enhanced with a touch of turquoise, ferns at the bottom with a ‘button’ of variegated Euonymus, Parlor Palm as the centerpiece and some inner leaves of Euonymus at the top. If only it would all line up so obediently in my garden.

Like most of what I post here, it will pop up matted and framed in my Etsy shop soon.

I get most of my ideas for graphics in the morning. After finishing this piece it occurred to me it has a bit of an argyle feel. According to Wiki, The argyle pattern is derived from the tartan of Clan Campbell, of Argyll in western Scotland but there is a County Argyle in Ireland so I guess my subconscious is telling me to get ready for the wearing of the green.

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In late fall and winter, the bright yellow edges of Euonymus deepen to gold with a touch of rose. still, the inner leaves which tend to be larger, remain green.

For this simple triptych, I organized some leaves from a single plant against colors which reflect those it shows in winter — yes it stays green and gold all through the winter, blizzards and all!

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For each panel, I shuffled the three colors. See close-ups of this one and some other three-panel botanicals at my Etsy shop.

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While this beautiful grass with its ethereal feel lends itself to simple presentations, mounting it can be tricky. For most botanicals, I use an acid free, diluted white glue which I apply with a brush. Not possible with Mexican feather grass — Nassella tenuissima. The threadlike strands that hold the slightly heavier seed pods easily become tangled and bunched-up if disturbed. As a result, I must use a spray adhesive while holding the stem aloft and then mount it in one try. Careful work with tweezers allows for minor adjustments, then — voila — success or back to the drawing board with fresh graphics and fresh grass. This one cooperated sweetly.
If you’d like to see more, I have a different series of these listed at my Etsy shop at http://alturl.com/mk23o