Corn Husk Nativities

Brown Trout

My dad has been an avid fishermen since he was a young boy. Now writing fishing articles for magazines is how he makes the family living. Trout are probably one of my favorite types of pictures to make. I enjoy the challenge of trying to mach and blend the colors. The fish itself is made completely out of plant material. However the total picture strays from the plant material a little because the background is mica mounted on cloth. Although mica is not plant material it is a mineral found outside so it is natural. It is helpful having Dad around to tell me if the fins look out of proportion to the rest of the fish or if the eye is a little too far over to the right. Dad enjoys reeling in trout from the west fork of the Chattooga River. I reel mine in from the garden.

This picture is made of: money plant, cronflower, cosmo, hydrangea, cantaloupe peel, dusty miller, skeletonized leaves, onion peel, tomato peel, corn husk, black maple, sea moss, mica (also called isinglass) and various other leaves.

Log Cabin Quilt Square

Who doesn't like a quilt or know some special quilt maker? It puts me in awe to look at the time, exactness and artistry that goes into some quilts. My grandma, on Dad's side, who is a quilter, recently showed me her big quilt book, which featured some such quilts. I've started quilts but the only ones I've finished so far are the ones that are made of leaves and flowers. That's OK. after all, the first coverings were made out of fig leaves.

This picture is made of: oak leaves, dusty miller, money plant, Queen Anne's lace, corn husks, birch bark, yarrow, bougainvillea, black hollyhock, zinnia, Japanese maple, larkspur, rose, skeletonized leaves, eucalyptus, cantaloupe peel, daisy, primrose, bloody dock, lamb's ears, onion peel, nasturtium and thyme.

Draped in Loofah

An interesting question I ran into in the process of making this picture was that of what to make the Spanish moss out of. It seemed natural, being a plant presser, to use Spanish moss to illustrate Spanish moss. But I found that real Spanish moss looked out of proportion on this tree. Its lines were thicker than what I wanted. So I ended up going with loofah sponge. Some people think loofahs come from the sea, but they actually grow on vines, making them fit very happily into my medium. So here I have a live oak draped with loofah sponge. Also of note: the tree is comprised of lots of small strips of different colored leaves, some of which are live oak leaves off of trees from St. Simons Island.

This picture is made of: delphinium, parsley, dill, orange peel, black maple, live oak, fall leaves and loofah.

Dog Picture (trying to think of a more creative title)

Our first dog, a springer spaniel named Solomon, used to chase squirrels. I'm not sure he would have known what to do if he had caught one, but he did seem to enjoy chasing them. We've gotten two dogs since Solomon died, Esther and Melody. Neither seems particularly fascinated with squirrels.

This picture is made of: corn husks, fall leaves, skeletonized leaves, hydrangea, gray poplar, cockscomb, black maple, bark, cattail, moss and poppy seed.

Tea Time, Again

My 3- year old sister recently received her first tea set. If things were her way we would probably have tea parties several times a day, but Mom says one per day is enough. I used to have lots of tea parties with my friends. I particularly remember having them with Kristen. She and I would have what we refer to as "non-breathing tea parties." Those were the tea parties where we couldn't stop laughing because one thing after another kept happening to start us off again. Tea time suffered a decline for years in our house, but now the tea parties are back!

This picture is made of: hydrangea (flowers and bark), dill, hollyhock, bougainvillea, baby's breath, gray poplar, cockscomb, golden rod, nandina, forget-me-not, alyssum, Queen Anne's lace.

2010 World Wide Pressed Flower Guild Gathering

In June I attended the World Wide Pressed Flower Guild gathering in Shipshewana, Indiana. Classes included dyeing techniques, tips for competing, several make and take projects etc. One of the best parts about these events is simply asking questions and talking to the artists. It was also neat being in Amish country. We saw horses and buggies along the road and people working in their gardens. The hotel was nice. The food was good. People were friendly. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to put this event together!! I look forward to next year!

My New Discovery

Have you figured out what this is? I'll tell you: It's my new way of drying corn silk, corn husks, wool and anything else I can put on it. It is made out of layers of bread trays. I think they will be perfect for the job, they stack nicely with spaces in between, have excellent ventilation and since they do stack I don't have to spread corn husks all over the floor to dry. If you want to see where I got theses bread racks you can read about it here on our family blog. I didn't like tearing down the old fort where they came from but I will admit that they do make capital drying racks. Please, if you have any spare corn silk, please may I have it? It may look like I have enough all ready but I want as much as I can get. I use it in my pressed-flower pictures, corn husk dolls and as the hay for my Nativities. So I go trough a lot of corn silk.

La Santa Maria

I'm finished navigating through this picture! I sailed through many confusing waves. This picture involved many tough decisions for me. I had to figure out how to make a sea, work with my perspective, shading and just general logic of what causes what and how that should look. It was a healthy challenge. I sought counsel from lots of people on different elements of this picture. Unframed the picture measures roughly 12X14. I'm glad I don't have to navigate a real ship.

This picture is made of: gray poplar, eucalyptus, dead daylily foliage, dead sunflower foliage, Spanish moss, cotton, candy tuft, baby's breath, moss, corn silk, birch bark and poinsettia.

I'm Spinning!

Mom has always told us not to spin because as a little girl she ended up with a concussion when she spinned and fell down, hitting a table. Another time when she spinned and fell, she broke her collar bone from the way she landed.

But I'm not practicing that kind of spinning. The kind I'm doing earns her approval. A few months ago a friend taught me how to spin. At the time I was borrowing another friend's spinning wheel, and went to another place to use it. By doing that I was able to practice, but now I am pleased to announce that God has blessed me with a spinning wheel of my very own! A friend fixed it up and sold it to me. I think the color of the wood and its extra details are so nice. It will be good for spinning in a cabin during a re-enactment. I've been buying my wool already carded and clean but I want to work on cleaning and carding my own wool. Please let me know if you know of a place where I could find wool, raw or clean, for a good deal.

He Makes Dreams Come True

Dad is a freelance outdoor writer.

Dad and I on our way to California. He went fishing. I attended a World Wide Pressed Flower Guild conference.

First we saw the sequoia trees.

Dad makes dreams come true. He brought me to California for the World Wide Pressed Flower Guild conference in 2008. He used to draw pictures with me when I was a toddler. Now he counsels me in my art business. Dad has helped me write receipts for pictures sold and has stayed with me through long show days when nobody came by. Dad gives me opinions on pictures when I'm having a hard time deciding on something or something doesn't look quit right. He helps me discern what shows I should do and how I should price my work. Thirty-two hours after we got home from our family trip to Michigan, Dad went back north to Ohio. He went so he could bring my younger brother, Nathaniel, to a dulcimer competition (By the way, Nathaniel won first place!!!). Yes, Dad makes dreams come true. I don't know why God gave me such a good Dad but I'm sure glad he did.

Sketching

Sketching is one of my new projects. My drawing teacher thinks I really need to look at things- not just assume that I know what they look like. So I've been assigned sketching. Hopefully it will help me be more observant. I, along with my family, are leaving for a trip up north this Thursday. We'll be gone for about a week so I won't be blogging- I'll be sketching. Along with visiting relatives I'm going to a World Wide Pressed Flower Guild gathering where I'll be taking classes and will be able to talk to pressers who have been pressing much longer than I.

My Room Smells Like A Thrift Store

I had two jean skirts and a pair of pants that I didn't like and so I cut them into pieces. After mixing up my pieces I sewed several of them back together into a skirt, using a sewing machine. I sewed the little flowers on by hand. I used the top of one of the skirts for a waist. That way I didn’t need to mess with zippers or buttons or anything. I want to make more of theses skirts to be able to wear around the house. They're practical. Because of the textures and colors I don’t think stains will show up to badly on them. Mom, Autumn and I went to the thrift store where we bought all sorts of frumpy jean jumpers and pants to turn into skirts- hence my room ended up smelling like a thrift store.

Warm Amidst Cold

This lady I imagine is walking through the snow in order to carry a hot meal to a family who may be sick or who may have a new baby. I admit, I did get help from Jo March of Little Women. I got on youtube and found the 1998 Little Women clip were Jo and her sisters carried food to a needy family so I could get a better idea of what it should look like.

This picture is made of: garlic peel, poinsettia, Japanese maple, poppy seed, bark, corn silk, bean strings, cotton and I'm not sure what her dress and bonnet are made of.

I Have A Great Mom

My Mom Allows Me To...

Use her baking soda to boil magnolia leaves to skeletonize them

Fill the house with explosions of cattail fuzzies when a picture needs a little snow

Use her cutting board when I need to slice open daffodil flowers

Fill her refrigerator with flowers that I haven't gotten around to pressing yet

Take two rooms to use as pressing studios

Use her toaster oven to activate my desiccant board

My mom has listened to me practice the same talks over and over again for various programs and been a constant encouragement and motivation with my art work. The list goes on and on. Lately Mom has pressed dozens of butter cups for me. Thank you Mom!

Framed!

My rose picture finished getting framed! I remember in the beginning of my picture-making career how much it struck me that a frame can make a picture look so much more like a piece of artwork. There are some artistic mediums where I think some of the pictures look better without a frame, but I think mine are best framed. It is also very interesting in the frame shop to see how different various colored mats make a picture look. There are some mat colors that will make the whole picture look sad, mats that will draw too much attention to themselves and then of course there is that mat that looks just right. Something that we try to keep in mind when framing is to let the framing compliment the picture not the other way around. The art is the focus; framing frames it. Anyway those are my two cents. Enjoy the picture.

She's On Her Way

Miss Cecile

No, this is not Miss Cecile. This is the scarecrow my friend Miss Cecile made. This scarecrow's name is Daisy. I think this is the fourth or fifth year of Daisies. Daisy stands in the vegetable garden of the Mauldin House Gardens, the public garden where I volunteer. This year Daisy's a little older, she is now wearing her hair up. Miss Cecile has her dressed to be a governess or a teacher sort of person. I think she made her face by covering a gourd with paper clay, which is like paper mache'. Miss Cecile is a seamstress who worked in the fashion industry. She can make anything she wants to make. Her main art form is jewelry since that's how she makes her living. You can see her work here- always so well done.

Spring Tresures

Pitcured above are very young oak leaves. Now that they've started growing they will very quickly grow big and green. So now's the time to catch and press these little tresures. But it's not just oak leaves. Many trees have young leaves this size but in different shapes this time of year. The maples are pretty neat right now but they don't have the little red coating on them. They look bright green. These oak leaves feel like they have a soft coating over them. One side is redish and the other side is grayish. You can gently scrape off this coating and find green leaves under it. Bellow you can see how I used some tiny oak leaves for one of my pictures.

Things In The Works

Making a tree out of leaves.

Creating a camel.

Beginning the Santa Maria.