Been cooking in the studio again.
Queen Ann's Lace +
rust on paper =
hints of snowflakes.
Hydrangea +
rust on paper =
layers of patterns
and the essence of hydranea.
Cleome +
a big rusted rectangle atop it =
my favorite of the day.
Absolutely beautiful. :-)
ReplyDeleteThe last one is my favorite too! You must have an awesome garden...those flowers look so happy and healthy. I am vying for the world record for the tallest weed!
ReplyDeleteStunning! Absolutely Stunning!!! All of them!!!
ReplyDeletefantastic! (I must say I think my fav is the hydrangeas)
ReplyDeleteJennifer, those are beautiful! I've been playing with my slow cooker, winter foliage and fabric/watercolor paper this week and just having a blast. Thanks for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for my hydrangea's to come into bloom (it's winter here now).
Did you 'cook' these in the slow cooker also? And, do you pre-treat with anything? I'd love to hear more about your technique if you're willing to share!
Morna - Thank you! I was a bit put off by the overall brownish tint. Was hoping for more color. Next time...
ReplyDeleteThread Born - The cleome is from our yard. Queen Ann's Lace is growing everywhere right now and the hydrangea was snipped off my neighbor's bush...shhh...don't tell her.
Kim - What a wonderful word - stunning. Thank you!
Ronnie - The hydrangeas definitely shows the most potential with all that lovely layering of petals. Think my neighbor will notice if I snip a few more branches?
KrisR - I'd love to see what you've cooking. Need to stroll over to your blog to see if you've posted it.
Yes. I am using a slow cooker, or crock pot as it's called in the US. A hot plate set to low with a pot is probably the correct way to do this, but the last time I used a hot plate for art purposes...well...it wasn't pretty and holes were burnt in the cotton.
As for my technique...the very idea brings a chuckle...I'm simply selecting a thick-ish watercolor paper to layer with plants and rusted elements. Putting them in the crock pot, covering it all with water and weighting it down with a big rock before putting the lid on and turning it to low.
Sometimes it's left to work it's magic overnight, sometimes only for a few hours during the day [depending on how curious I get]. No doubt, I'm doing everything wrong, but as it's all one huge experiment...well...what is wrong and what is right? The results are fun to see.
Loving it! I am trying to work out my favourite between the hydrangea and the lacy snowflakes. Such an amazing array of things you can crate in a crockpot. Laugh - the machine re-spelt that for me as crackpot! Surely not!?!?!
ReplyDeleteOh! Thanks for the chuckle over crockpot/crackpot! There are some who probably think I'm a crackpot for using a crockpot to create with, but then there are others...
DeletePlayed yesterday with rust, green tea and used tea bags in the crockpot. Turned out more to my tastes, but I am pondering nipping a bit more of my neighbor's hydrangea to play with. Maybe tomorrow.
J- all absolutely amazing - you are really on to a good thing with your combo of rust and foliage and 'cauldron' - must be exciting opening the packages - you probably ask yourself "What gems has nature given today?" Go well and keep on bubbling. B
ReplyDeleteGreat to see you back in the studio Jennifer. Must say I LOVE your last image best. I respond to the dark intrigue of it rather than the prettier pieces. All are stunning though and make me want to explore some rust and plant reactions too. HopeLondon was all you wished it to be.
ReplyDeleteI'm astounded by the beauty of your plant prints! I've been playing with fabrics in this way, but now I'm inspired to try paper too. Fabulous work Jennifer! xxjxx
ReplyDeleteBarry - Opening the cauldron bundles are exciting. So far it's mostly shades of brown though so I'd love to figure out what produces what color. More experiments are definitely needed so stay tuned.
ReplyDeleteSusan - As fun as London was, it is good to be back in the studio. I'm finding that as enjoyable as it is to play with plants and rust, I still prefer the rust and tea experiments. Did a batch the other day using green tea, rust and a few used tea bags which had interesting results.
Julie - Thanks for visiting the blog! So far my experiments have been with paper with one exception - a stained t-shirt that I bundled with rusted washers and rose petals. Turned out pretty good. I'd love to see what you've been doing. Are there photos on your web site?