pressed flowers, woodland series and way too much fun!:-)

 

pressed flowers, woodland series and way too much fun!:-)

this piece is one of the woodland series, inspired by penny black's work...

you can find her book here...

http://www.amazon.com/Book-Pressed-Flowers-Penny-Black/dp/0671660713

i picked it off my bookshelf the other day, just because!:-)...i wasn't particularly looking for anything, just hadn't thought about penny's work in awhile...as soon as i opened the book, i remembered that i was really lucky to have it!:-)...a gift from my mom, eons ago, i was inspired all over again!:-)...

these are so much fun to make!:-)

a background of orchid petals that turned translucent and skelotonized when pressed...

packed with colorful flowers in oranges and yellows...ferns and other greenery...even though it's not exactly botanically correct, i thought it made a beauty-full woodland scene!:-)

thanks, penny!:-)...and thanks, mom!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

pressed flowers, kansas and cabbage!:-)

 

pressed flowers, kansas and cabbage?:-)

well, yes!:-)

i was lucky enough to be booked at shows across the country with musician hubby last summer...we spent six weeks driving from show to show and spending as much time as possible exploring our surroundings...what fun!:-)

each state had it's special surprises...local food and farmer's markets...different plants, rocks and critters...the mountains, the plains, the badlands, they all held special appeal:-)

my memory of kansas was miles and miles and miles of fields...what wasn't fields was sky!...stunningly beautiful, i would stare out the car window convinced that i could actually see the curve of the earth at the horizon!:-)

once in a while, a lone tree would stand in a field with the sky as backdrop...nothing else in sight...here's my version of a kansas memory:-)

i used really bright colors in this piece, giving it an abstract feel, but hopefully portraying some of the beauty i felt traveling through this part of the country!:-)

the sunset is rose petals with wisps of real cotton, gathered along a roadside in georgia!:-)...the tree trunk is a piece of bark...the leaves of the tree are a tiny green flower that came from a wedding bouquet...and the field is a cabbage leaf!:-)...it had just the right contours and colors to be a field!:-)

and that's how we got to pressed flowers, kansas and cabbage!:-)

enjoy!:-)

rebekah:-)

pressed flowers, petal girls and fun!:-)

 

pressed flowers, petal girls and fun!:-)

i am taking the most wonderful class!:-)...our teacher is a talented pressed flower artist named anagha, what a beauty-full name!:-)

i have been making flower folks and flower critters for a long time, but i have never had the opportunity to take a formal class with twenty other people at the same time...

the class is called petal girls and my, oh my, are we ever having fun!:-)...the creativity is flowing and each little petal girl is unique and special!:-)

this little lass is my first contribution to the class...

her skirt is a velvety rose petal...cascades of red curly hair spill from under her hat...hair made with japanese maple leaves...purple daisy bloom for a hat...

dangling her morning glory leaf bag, she has picked a bouquet of tiny alyssum flowers on her way to market!:-)

if you would like to have this much fun, you can find out how to join us here... www.wwpfg.org ...only $14 for a whole month of inspiration, artwork and camaraderie!:-)...and it's online, so i can wear my fuzzy, bunny slippers!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)

pressed flowers, may day and little, fuzzy, green things!:-)

 

pressed flowers, may day and little fuzzy green things!:-)

my mailbox is magical!:-)...every now and then i open it and there are envelopes full of rainbows and promise!:-)

this time my magical envelope came from thea...it held a beautiful, handmade card and a stack of the most beautiful, little, fuzzy, green things!:-)...they looked like miniature trees and i could already see landscapes dancing in my head!:-)

but, that was for another day...today i had a may day project to complete!:-)...i have fond memories of may day...tying ribbons to a tree ...may apples decorating the forest floor...poisonous!...but, beautiful:-)

but, i think my favorite memory is leaving flowers on the doorstep!:-)...we would gather old coffee cans and chipped mason jars, cotton hankerchiefs and doilies...then decorate them, adding ribbons, filling them with wildflowers and greenery...then we would run to the neighbor's house...with giggles and whispers we would knock on the door, leave the flowers and run!

so, here's my version of may day flowers!:-)

the doily is made of queen anne's lace and is filled to the brim with beautiful, blue, springtime flowers, interspersed with tiny bits of elderberry and white alyssum...

but, wait!...something was missing!...i searched and searched looking for tiny leaves or something green that would fill in the bouquet...and then i remembered thea's present in my mailbox!:-)...the beautiful, little, fuzzy, green things!:-)...thank you, thea!:-)...they were just right!:-)

i added a ribbon of thyme and a butterfly made of heuchera leaf to symbolize the transistion of spring and that's how we got to pressed flowers, may day and little, fuzzy, green things!:-)

enjoy,

rebekah:-)