". Arranged Words: Ferns
Showing posts with label Ferns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ferns. Show all posts

21 Feb 2023

Cyanotypes and Ink Making

 Hi everyone,

Making Cyanotypes, or sun prints last summer was fun, and I am looking forward to the season ahead.

Eco printing on fabric sounds great too. I can only imagine what the kitchen would look like when I finished whipping up a batch, using fabric and leaves, bits of iron, string, alum, vinegar, and a cauldron for boiling up the whole lot. 

 For now, back to Cyanotypes.

Below a print of my Grandmother, Lilas. First printed as a negative and then placed on watercolour paper brushed with Cyanotype mixture. The sun does the rest of the work.



   
 Original picture. 

I decided not to "fix" the picture in Photoshop by removing all the nicks etc. I like it the way it is. 

My grandmother, Lilas, was a midwife. She also travelled with and assisted the doctor. If the doctor wasn't available, and he often was not, my grandmother went wherever she was called, day or night, alone. 

My mother told me that my grandmother was also called upon to "lay" people out.

Back then life was more uncertain and precarious, and I know it wasn't an easy life for a lot of people. 
My mother told me a few stories about my grandmother's life and work. ( I wrote them down.) 
I only remember seeing her a hand full of times. She was quiet, and warmth and serenity radiated out from her person.

 Apparently, Grandmother cried a lot, but she carried on, brought up a large family, and never turned  down anyone who needed help. Nor, as far as I know did she take any payment. All that makes her remarkable in my books. 

                                                                                * * *
Ink Making...

                                                       
                                                      Sumac gathered for ink making.

 Late last fall,  I decided to make ink.  So I gathered some Sumac,, but there were too many bugs in most of the Sumac at that time. This fall I will gather earlier.


        The ink turned out lighter than expected, so will make a few adjustments next year and                                                          see what happens. 



                                    Trying a dagger brush from Jackson's Art. 

Jason Logan from Toronto has a book out titled Make Ink that I have ordered. Click here to read an article about him and his reasons for making natural botanical ink.

A little greenery...


                                          Succulents living quite well on a cold window sill.
                                                            Dried  Fern and clover

Matcha Latte



Asparagus Fern...Love ferns.



No mention of books here for awhile, so…
 A Year Unfolding. 
 I admire Angela’s expressive, detailed style. She’s an amazing  artist.
Check out her website here


The sun shines on the wall now. Such an uplifting sight.
Spring has begun to stir.

Thank you for your comments on my last post. Fun to read the different opinions about the Snowman. 

Cultivate Your Dreams

                                   Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. 
                                                Thanks to all for hosting.  


30 Jun 2020

June's Tune

June 30, 2020


Hi there,

I hope you all had a good month!

Here in Canada, June with its puffy, free floating clouds, bluest of skies, and blossoms running riot everywhere you look is the best of months. And one truly longed for which makes it even sweeter. Actually, for me, June is like a poem or a song from nature, and to heap accolades on it, it's the best painting of all.

Greens intensify.
Container plants take off.
Ivy trails.

                                                             
                                                               Peonies bloom.



Bees forage and buzz out arias.

Weeds show off.

Roses bloom and bushes too.


Woodland Ferns grow large. And so much more, but I will move along for now.

           * * *                



 On the making front, this month I tried eco-printing. I don't have a heat press, and a press would really enhance the colours. But, overall, it worked quite well using a regular iron and pressing everything between two sheets of Teflon. Another time, I will experiment with lighter weight paper, and, of course, a wider variety of flowers and leaves. And who knows I may brave it and boil everything up in an old pot on the stove. Dahlias would make a lovely print. I don't have any, but I may be able to 'borrow' a few.


                       
Bunting also piqued my interest, so I decided to make one, drawing whatever comes to mind with gel pens on black paper. Approximately 12 more to go, although I may make it smaller and string it across my desk.

 I left comments for everyone who visited last time. Thanks for your company!

'Til Next Time...

Cultivate Your Dreams

Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. Do drop in for a visit. Thank you ladies for hosting. 

13 Mar 2018

All About Wildflowers

Hi there,

I've noticed that certain wildflowers like to create a statement by growing in great drifts. The trout lilies form a carpet and Solomon's Seal seem to drift like clouds through the woodlands. On a good year, they are a sight to behold. But there are several varieties of wildflowers here that I have yet to see. For example, I 'd love to see a yellow Lady Slipper and the Bluebells.

One of my co-workers used to bring Mayflowers to work. What a heavenly scent! I may be able to find them in the woods along the Parkway. I hope to go exploring there this year. In the meantime, I decided to create a few wildflowers of my own.

                                                                   Wild Geranium
Ontario's flower: the Trillium

 Definitely hands on. Since it won't wash off, I'm hoping it will wear off by, say, July.  :)
                                                     Gift tags and envelopes.

                        Trout Lily ~ sienna and black ink on Strathmore mixed media cards.
I ended up carving two trilliums stamps. Apparently, precision counts.






 
      White gel pen on Strathmore paper.

            Wildflowers: Solomon's seal, Trout lily, Trillium, Bloodroot, Turk's cap lilies, ferns, and a Monarch butterfly.


Just now, I hear the geese overhead. Music to my ears. ( Running to and throwing open the window.) I heard them a few times recently. They are flying home for the season.

Next: A sample of what was and is yet to be. 'Yet to be?'

Sounds familiar? Googling.  Ah yes. I remember now. "The best is yet to be." Robert Browning's full quote: "Come and grow old with me. The best is yet to be." Lovely! ( But I digress...)

                                                               Solomon's Seal
                           
                                       "Do you suppose she's a wildflower?", said the daisy.
From Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ~ Lewis Carroll

"Wildflowers are the stuff of my heart."
Lady Bird Johnson

* * *
And finally, to give a nod to the green. A Shamrock ~ Happy St. Patrick's Day!

'Til next time, lovely people. . .Cultivate your dreams.

29 Aug 2017

Tuesday It Is

Hi everyone,

Since I've been on the go, it's been awhile since I've been here on Tuesday. 
I hope you all had a great summer, and or fall/winter. Not that summer is over yet, but I do feel that nip in the air.  And a few trees have been stroked by nature's paintbrush to keep us aware of the beauty yet to come.

Because I wanted to travel light, I only had a cell phone with me while traveling. I don't have the pics organized yet, but, hopefully, I'll have a few arranged soon, especially a pic of the seahorses that  I saw at Ripley's Aquarium in Toronto. I've waited all my life to see them. Sweet things!

Chrysanthemums . . . traditional autumn blooms.

I love the divine colour of these Begonias. 
My dahlias didn't grow very big, but they are appreciated.

 Common Arrowheads. So pretty!
Abigail--mission control.  
My first attempt at fashioning paper clay. A trinket dish painted with acrylic paint and stamped in the middle with a stamp I carved awhile ago. Can't wait to try another. Next time I'll try watercolour paint.
If you haven't tried Paperclay, I think you will love it. It's light weight and versatile.  It air dries in a day (no heat required) and you can paint it with acrylic or watercolour.  

 Water colour added to my sketchbook doodles. Tricky...you can only add a bit liquid or the paper lifts. My Stillman and Burn Zeta series sketchbooks recently arrived, so they should be better for watercolour.

Fern frond and maple seeds.


On the needles. . .
Swallowtail shawl.  Yarn Brooklyn Tweed's Vale... so lovely and squishy to knit with.


Cultivate your dreams.

  Have a lovely week...and enjoy a great long Labour Day weekend for my U.S. and Canadian pals.