Pressed Flower Art...Will it last ?

If you have ever wondered just how long a pressed flower piece will last, I want to share this with you. I stumbled upon this picture which was bought in 1939 as a wedding gift. While some fading has occurred over 74 years, you can see the picture is still quite beautiful, and many of the flowers still have vibrant color. Thank you to the special lady who shared this and let me take the pictures of her treasured gift.

2013 "Brilliant" Philadelphia Flower Show

From January through March each year almost all of my "free" time is spent preparing entries for the Philadelphia Flower Show. My "free" time is often "sleep" time.

This year the show's title was "Brilliant". It was a tribute to Great Britain. Of most interest to me was the "Pressed Plant" exhibit, where entries from all over the world, including mine were exhibited and hung to compete for "oohs, wows and ahhhs" and of course ribbons. My entries usually take several weeks each to prepare.

My first picture took three weeks longer thank I had planned, as happens with pressed flower art.  Making those botanicals work like paint is sometimes a challenge.( I won an Honorable Mention on this entry. )

That left me much less time than desired to finish two other entries.
With ideas in mind, I first thought to rethink my choices for my "Stonehenge" entry ,but I have always wanted to do a castle, and I couldn't stop myself. I did however replan the structure and intricacy of the planned castle entry. The result, though not what I intended, did come out nice, and did bring in a second place ribbon to my surprise.

With only two nights left to create an entry for the "Royal Wedding" class, I had to completely abandon my visions of a beautiful wedding gown made with the sheerest of flower petals. My need to think and create fast put me on a whimsical track. Certainly not the caliber of a picture I wanted to enter in the show , but with the only other choice being not enetering, I came up with this piece:

This ended up with an Honorable Mention.

 

So my never ending learning continues. I know the end result in art ( and in life) is not always what we plan, but it is what we create when things just don't go as planned. Mistakes, and "things" happen. Only my first picture turned out as I imagined, after struggling too long on the bridge.  The other two were a result of timing.  It's not always a bad thing.

 

- Micki

 



So Little Time, After A Long Time

My lack of blogging time is only a reflection of my creating time. I have lots to share and much catching up to do.
I recently spent some time to make cards for a small craft show I was going to put some things in. I don't focus enough of my time on making cards. There is a reason for that. I always think they will be quick and simple. That's rarely the case. I painted all of the backgrounds used in these cards. I really enjoy preparing my own backgrounds. I feel it makes my cards more original and artistic. Plus I really enjoy making a mess with my paints. It's true!

 A butterfly made from petals flies above a single, but beautiful cosmos flower.

  Just some simple designs on my fern inspired backgrounds.

   Vase from a leaf, filled with larkspur, leaves and ferns.

Holidays

 Ginko Leaf ornaments

 

This was a super busy holiday season in my world of art and craft. I rarely use those words together, as I like to think of what I do as more art than craft. But sometimes I combine the two, as you can in these photos.

 Snowman ornamnet made with white poplar leaves an other pressed flowers.

 Hand stamped silk scarf. The stamp was a real fern.

Zentangle inspired, pen and ink heart with a pressed flower necklace

 

Overall I think I created over one hundred ornaments, two dozen scarves, about sixty necklaces, and many,many other items. Afterall , who needs sleep when the is fun to be had creating?

 

Hope you all enjoyed the holidays. Happy 2013!

Micki





 





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.