I’ve been making pressed-flower cowboys ever since I sold my pictures on cards for $2. My very first cowboy was inspired by a piece of plant material that reminded me of a cowboy’s vest.
This picture is made of: maple, mulberry, banana peel, bark, tendril, orange peel, cockscomb and aucuba
The trees in this picture are made by cutting different shades of brown leaves into thin strips and then gluing them in such a way that one side of the tree is darker than the other, with a natural transition from one to the other. It seems like pretty tedious work but I really enjoy it, sliver by sliver forming each branch. I haven’t figured out what the cardinal on the branch is looking at or thinking about. I just felt inclined to put a cardinal there.
This picture is made of: corn husk, various brown leaves, raspberry, maple, tulip, money plant, banana peel and orange peel.
What is our fascination with butterflies? It seems like anytime anyone sees a butterfly it brightens their day. Most of us don't get that way about horseflies. “Butterfly” was one of the first long words my two-year-old brother, Eli, learned how to say. Anytime one would fly through the yard he'd exclaim, "bo-fly.” This picture is made of: cosmos, statice, bark, corn silk, delphinium, banana peel, aucuba and maple.
The robin is Michigan's state bird. Mom grew up in Michigan. She was proud to "own" this bird. When she got a lot older she learned, to her dismay, that the robin is also claimed by two other states as their state bird.
One advantages of the medium of pressed-flowers is being able to match textures as well as colors. If I was a painter I'd have to figure out how to illustrate fur with the way I manipulated the paint. But since I'm a pressed-flower artist I can just grab a fuzzy pampas grass head that already looks like cat fur to illustrate cat fur. I like making pictures of cats.
