Handmade For The Holidays

While this isn't exactly related to my art, it is about art, so I thought I would share.

With the holiday season just around the corner, I am happy to say I am about half finished my gift shopping. I made a decision a few months back, while I was staying up late making jewelry and other pressed flower items. I decided I wanted to support other artists by having a  "handmade Christmas". After all, handmade items are truly from the heart. Artists put much time, energy and love into their products. Many handmade items are unique, and sometimes customized. In addition, I have read or heard more than once, people are venturing into craft or art shows and sales after being forced into unemployment by the bad economy. So as I continue down my list I will continue to seek great gifts online at places like Etsy.com, and at local art or craft shows. So far I have found soaps, custom hand painted wine glasses, lots of jewelry, blown glass ornaments, knitted scarves and gloves and so much more. I know I will not have 100% of my gifts handmade, but my goal is 75% and I am nearly there. So I encourage you, before visiting the mall and the big department stores,  go find some pretty, unique, customized, hand made and hand picked from the heart gifts. I have really enjoyed the shopping so far. No lines, no wait, no parking wars and good service...all while supporting other artists.

One of my many wonderful finds: A beautiful ceramic dish.

Creating With Autumn

Though autumn often reminds me that colder days are coming with winter just around the corner, I can't help loving the season for it's cooler sunny days air and explosion of colors.
The sunny days of early fall still host some warm temperatures, while the leaves just begin to change to orange, gold and nearly red.  It is those days, when nature is recreating it's art that have inspired my latest works.

" Fall Exploding"

                                                      Fall Leaves Collage

"Autumn's Art"

 

These are pressed botanical pictures on canvas, which were painted in several layers before the leaves were added.

Green Jewelry

Guess I've been in a "green" mood. New pressed flower necklaces featuring ferns, larkspur and skeleton leaves.

Summertime

     The summer months are continuing to keep me busy. When you are a flower presser ( or squisher  as per my peers) on the east coast, this is prime time for us to be harvesting and stocking our inventory. My flower presses are full, my garden still struggling from the heat. It has provided me plenty though, so no complaints.

     Earlier this month I returned from the 2012 conference for the World Wide Pressed Flower Guild. We had a great time in the Finger Lakes region of New York. We even pressed grapes, which seemed so appropriate being in NY wine country. I learned many new things, that you will be seeing in the near future. I taught "Christmas in June", and enjoyed seeing all of the creations.

     Following my return, I jumped into teaching my online class "Totally Unframed Pressed Flowers" which was available to the Guild members. Here are some examples from that class.

    

Of course I have squeezed in time for my etsy shop and some jewelry making.

I also joined the world of facebook pages

https://www.facebook.com/PrettyPressedPetals?ref=hl#!/PrettyPressedPetals

Come check it out!

See You next time!     Micki



   

Lately

The summer is going by so fast. My garden is struggling in the summer heat but I've managed to press a good bit of flowers so far. I have spent hours watering and weeding, pressing and sorting. I've also managed a little time creating. The time behind the scenes of creating pressed flower art is endless.
Lately I've been making lots of jewelry. I'm always looking to make something a little different from the last.

 Hummingbirds design

Red Daisy

Recently I also attended the World Wide Pressed Flower Guild conference in Waterloo NY where I taught "Christmas in June".

I will share more about the conference and my current class in my upcoming blogs. Right now I've got some jewelry that needs to be made.

Awards From Korea

Recently Korea hosted two international pressed flower competitions. Since it was an overseas contest, entries were previewed online via pictures. Entries that were selected then had to be sent to Korea for final judging. For the first round of the competition I submitted three pieces. Two, both jewelry, were chosen for the final round. After several weeks I was excited to hear that both of my entries received awards. My busy life as well as my role in other competitions, frequently prevent me from competing. But it is something I like to do. It's not just about the win. It's the process of creating something new, unique and sometimes very challenging. While these pieces were more fun than challenging they led to my creation of my mini garden jewelry.

The backgrounds were done in pastel then cut to shape. I designed the "gardens" and the little butterflies all from pressed flowers.

Pressed Flowers On Canvas

Pressed Flower "Garden And Butterfly"

This is my newest creation. It's time to start using some of the different supplies I just had to have. This is a 16 x 20 inch canvas with a painted background. I like doing pressed flowers on canvas because sometimes a slight thickness in the flowers or stems creates a light 3D effect. The flowers kind of pop off the canvas, ever so little.

This picture is featured in my etsy shop, which is a slow and growing  process. I started it a couple of years ago, but never really filled the shop. Lately I have been determined to give at least a little of my "not so spare" time to it.

You can visit here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/prettypressedpetals

As I said , it's a slow process. I'm working on better pictures, since I finally got a new camera.

Pressed Flower Art and Artists At the Philadelphia Flower Show

The artistic class I am involved with at the Philadelphia (International) Flower Show is titled "Pressed Plants". It sounds so....blah, yet is vibrant and amazing. I am not tooting my own horn here, but that of the many entries that come from all over the world. For years the Philadelphia Flower Show ( PFS), has been the most prestigious, international pressed flower art competition. Entries are submitted from across the US, Japan, China, Russia, Korea,Taiwan and other countries. The "Pressed Plant" wall as I refer to it, often hosts some of the best pressed flower art and artists. These entries, mostly pictures, are sometimes so detailed that they look like paintings, not pressed plants. Some of the entries take months to finish. Using only pressed plant materials, where coloring/dying is not allowed, often presents many challenges when trying to create depth,shadows, lighting and the likes. I'm not just talking about a few flowers glued to paper in an arrangement . I am talking landscapes, buildings, portraits,oceans, animals and many other themes.


Take a look at some of this years pictures, fully created using only plant materials. I am sure you will agree with my "wows!"

Above: First place winner in the Pressed Plants novice class, calling for a scene that depicts a lei. This was one of my favorites this year.

Above: A wonderful beach and ocean scene using many different shades of hydrangea to create the water, wave and sky. Unfortunately it was unable to be judges as it was stamped by the artists, which is not allowed, so blind judging can occur.

Above: This picture of a volcano took First Place, "Best of Blues".

Above: Another of my favorites, Third Place winner in "Waialua" calling for the colors of the Hawaiian rain forest.

Above: First Place winner in "Wailalua" class.

Above: Honorable Mention was awarded to this rain forest scene.

Above: Second Place winner  for the "Waialua" class, done by Shelly Xie, another member of the World Wide Pressed Flower Guild.

Above: Some of the Youth Class pictures , titled " Hala-Hakiki" ( Pineapple). The Youth Class is fairly new to our competition. I think we started it three years ago, four at the most.

Above: Another rain forest entry     

If you read the title for this blog, it stated artists as well as art. So, onto the next part....

Being a Pressed Flower Artist in our country is not common , but not necessarily uncommon. It is definitely a different art form than most people choose, but none the less, it truly is an art. That being said, when you find people who really get you and what you do, you bond. You teach, share, and sometimes steal flowers together. (Yeah, I said it). Again, these people "get" me. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, I belong to a group of Pressed Flower artists."The World Wide Pressed Flower Guild" is an international, online based group from around the world. Many us rarely meet.We hold classes and forums online. However, I am centrally located near a few members, and fortunately the Philadelphia Flower Show brings a few of them to me every year. In addition a few friends and members fly in to perform judging.  This all adds to the excitement of the show for me. Being with my "petal family" is always fun.

Below are pictures from our activities during the first few days of the show.

 World Wide Pressed Flower Guild Members visit at The Philadelphia International Flower Show.

Friends, Family and Fun At The Philadelphia International Flower Show

The race to finish my pieces for the flower show has come and gone. Show prep, set-up and judging are all in the past. For me, the opening weekend of the Philadelphia International Flower Show is mixed with fun,stress, time with family and friends, excitement and very little rest. I wouldn't be honest if I said I didn't like it, despite all the work involved.

Some of the highlights for me include days with fellow pressed flower artists, lots of good meals, and the opportunity to see the show before mostly everyone.

The theme this year is Hawaii. It ranks at the top of my list of recent flower shows. I love the show every year, but this one is a winner in my eyes. There have been many changes behind the scenes and on the floor. Regular show goers will notice things aren't in their usual place. For those of us in the Pressed Plants classes, and other small artistic classes, this is great news. We have relocated from the very back of the show to just behind the main entrance. I love it. I have seen more people view our walls this weekend than ever.

Here's a few pictures, more to follow.

New Jewelry Designs

I've been working on some new jewelry designs. My latest styles are one inch round silver pendants that are covered with a clear acrylic "bubble".  I have to thank a fellow World Wide Pressed Flower Guild member, Lynn Lang, for sharing this technique of using the acrylic bubbles at our recent conference.

This is a miniature design on a light blue background ( I know it looks white.)  I used some small greens, and dyed spirea to get the finished butterfly garden.

Wedding Keepsake

When I received the request to do this wedding keepsake, along with the fresh flowers, I was excited to create a really special piece. I love the materials I had to work with. The brown ribbon, the calla lilies and the roses were rich in color and paired well with the elegant dark brown frame. I included a photo ( blocked for privacy) and the program cover to make a great gift for the wedding couple to enjoy for many happy years to come.

RED ROSE WEDDING BOUQUET

Made from a pressed red rose and evergreen wedding bouquet, the finished result is in an 11x14 inch black frame.

Art For Pakistan

By request, many members of The World Wide Pressed Flower Guild have made pieces that will be on exhibition at the Lahore Art Museum of Pakistan. Our Public Relations Director has been in contact with a small group of pressed flower artists there, helping them in many ways, to grow, learn and promote pressed flower art. This month we were asked to create art to add to their exhibition. The request came recently, so time was limited, in order for the art to travel the distance and arrive on time. The only requirement for these pictures was that the art should be 9x9 inches.

So with limited time I sat for a few hours one night to make two simple pictures. With my fresh stock of fall leaves, I created the picture on the left " The Colors Of  Fall".

Then I wanted to do something fun with flowers. While tempted to do one of my fairies, I didn't have time to search through my stock of flowers, so I grabbed the first few packets I found and composed this whimsical design that I titled "Happy Flowers Dance".