Monday, October 08, 2012

Autumn Leaves


I made some leaf prints
on watercolor paper the other day.
Above is one of my sister-in-law Molly's Euca leaf branches.
I'm pleased with how well it printed.

This is the print on the next piece of paper,
so the image is reversed and not quite as distinct.


I also printed some ferns and a leaf from one of our Sourwood trees.


here's a detail shot of that leaf:


I love how even the torn edges appear so distinctly.
These pages will go into my sketchbook -
have yet to decide how I will complete the pages,
but I love them!

The Sourwood is one of my favorite trees.
It has a lovely blossom, similar to a Lily of the Valley, in early Summer,
and then the leaves are some of the first to turn a brilliant red in Autumn.
The Sourwood along with local bees also provides for marvelous honey.



One of our favorite walks in the city takes us by a beautiful hedge.
The tips of the branches have reddish leaves, as below:


We've both wondered out loud how these leaves would print.
So I 'borrowed' a branch and pressed it tightly between some silk.
There was a mighty oak leaf on the opposite side,
and look what happened:


funny thing, now you can see the faint image of the lovely branch
beneath the oak leaf.
The length of silk is still drying and needs washing,
but I'll show you more in my next post.

In mid August I was so thrilled with my Eco-Dyeing and printing results
that I decided to throw a bundle of silk into my compost pile 
to see how that would go.
I didn't read the fine print:
leave for only 24-48 hours!
Well, after six weeks, I opened my bundle yesterday:


the lovely critters who have been turning our fruit and veggie peels into compost, also turned my silk into compost or: nothing!
The remains are pretty sorry:
the cotton string that wrapped the bundle, a bit of silk, and primarily the polyester thread that had once sewn all of the lovely silk blouse together.
I was shocked and dismayed!!!
HaHa - the joke's on me!

I did get this little bit of a lovely print at the far end of the bundle:


Slowly but surely, 
I'm learning!

peace








7 comments:

Jeannie said...

Interesting prints on your paper. I may have to try that! LOL! The piece of compost fabric looks like tulips, loverly petal layers. I wonder if your plants are going to grow extra large next year with the addition of silk protein. :) Wishing you a beautiful week.

Ginny Huber said...

I like the concept of the silk making giant cabbages or something with that extra protein Jeannie mentions; some lovely prints-the sourwood is new to me..and I love the oak and faint branch below; isn't this just an amazing learning experience..this eco-print/eco-dye..life..

Elena Ulyanova said...

Hi Judy,

Nice prints on the paper!

Need to google Sourwood.

A good thing is that you did not put three silk blouses into your compost pile!
But on the other hand, there is no such thing as bad experience when it comes to making art. This is how new methods and approaches are discovered: it is by mistake. Now you can combine different types of fabrics/threads in one piece (poly and natural) and control the degree of disintegration and make some conceptual art pieces.
You can as well create some interesting net looking effects on poly/silk, poly/cotton types of fabrics.
I see a great potential in this approach. So, congrats!

xo
Elena

Nat Palaskas said...

Great imprints on the paper. Eucalyptus leaves are just wonderful! I'm lucky to live I Australia and dye... Funny about compost dye. Silk must be yummy to chew!

deanna7trees said...

some really beautiful results. love that oak leaf print. that silk blouse was just a lesson that you'll never forget. glad you posted a picture.

Eva said...

Never trust nature... ;-)

Unknown said...

These are beautiful Judy!! Such lovely colors and patterns!