New Art Supplies!

I have some new art supplies! Now, these aren't any you will find at your local art supply. These are from Mother Nature. Many of the plants in our area have flowered and are now producing seed. The leaves have been gathered in the fall, the pansies from my garden all summer and most of the tulips are from fresh bouquets (the deer are much too fond of tulips I have tried to grow and I finally waved the surrender flag!) I have used these beautiful 'art supplies' to make cards and larger artworks. First I dry the plant material using Lee Valley's microwave flower press - worth every penny - is fast and preserves the colours of the petals and leaves. I then use beeswax and encaustic wax medium to embed these natural objects into the substrate. Gathering and drying this material does take a lot of time and effort but when I open the container the sight and smell of of these beautiful petals is a special reward in itself.

Tulips, Pansies & Poplar leaves

Stinkweed seed pods (not the loveliest of names!) Latin Name: Thlaspi arvense I think these will look amazing embedded in wax!

Notecards
Leaves, flower petals, beeswax, on card stock
Watercolour backgrounds that are stamped and
drawn on.

'Flowers for Grace'
(5"X7")
Tulip petals in wax medium on birch plywood
These petals were not pressed,
but dried naturally. They soaked up the
wax and by pressing gently were
easy to embed into the wax.