A Leaf Motif

So once again, I'm late to the party. Serves me right for being so dissatisfied and waiting until the last minute. And then there's the little matter of the offspring commandeering the computer for the-middle-school-research-paper-that-would-not-end. Including a 20-minute "discussion" as to why his mother is old because she still says "footnote." Harumph!

But I digress.

As I started to import photos to show you for my choice of shape, it dawned on me that I had more than one or two examples. Dozens more. Holy cow, Michelle -- how did you know we get obsessed when we don't even realize it ourselves? 

My choice, obviously, was leaves. In keeping with making my own tools, I basically fell back on three things. One was some birthday wrapping paper with this cool leaf pattern. Which inspired this. 

And this.

But I wanted to go a step further. I've been admiring Lotta Jansdotter's work lately and started to cast about for an inexpensive printmaking technique. Then, one day while I was wandering too far from the toothpaste aisle at my local Target, I noticed some fun foam sheets. It dawned on me -- fun foam is cheap, easy to cut and takes impressions with a pen or pencil. In fact, it reminded me of a printmaking technique done in elementary schools using those styrofoam meat trays. Just the thing for simple printmaking.

Once home, I cut and scored my shapes, then applied paint. First with a sponge roller, later with a chip brush. (I prefer the brush's streakiness.) After placing the stamp on the surface, I burnished with it my brayer. 

Some stamps I applied directly to the page.

Others were printed then cut out for collage elements. (See top of post.) Then I decided to do a little paper cutting. Some free-form.

Some symmetrical by cutting a folded piece of paper.

The same shape, applied differently becomes a petal. Well, you knew that.

So why leaves you ask? Simple. A plant will generally have one basic "style" of leaf, but repeat it endlessly in all sorts of variations to create a greater work of art. Why not follow the genius of Mother Nature?

Now if she could only tell me how to speed up middle school research papers.