The Life Of A Sandcast Leaf * Part 3

...Time to work! This one looks good for the first casting of the season!

Not the largest I could do, but there'll
 
be more very soon!

All set to go ~ on a sand bed and

"shaping stones" I make with

leftover cement.

Oooo! Isn't the Redbud pretty against the blue sky?

Oh...back to work...sorry..

...thought this was CLEAN work, did you? V
 

...Starting to play in the mud!

Almost done (for now!). All I need to do is add one more layer of the cement.

Elapsed time: approximately 1 hr. 15 min.

Part 4 coming soon!

The Life Of A Sandcast Leaf * Part 2

Vicki (my Victoria Rhubarb) is getting bigger! i would give it about 2 more weeks at this rate, and i should be able to start casting anytime after that. (The white thing she's beside is my cold frame i built with PVC pipe a few years ago) The strange thing is, i have another Rhubarb plant- on the other side of the cold frame - and the leaves are much smaller and totally different! i'm glad they're different, though, and the small one will catch up eventually, but i like Vicki's speed!

The Music of Nature + The Music of Man (...or Woman!)

I now have an iPod ( Hey, I'm old-it takes us longer to "tech up"!). The main reason I have one is my discovery that when I'm working on my castings in the backyar...er...studio, songs run through my mind but , for some reason, they're songs I don't really care for! Very weird. I'm either humming a Christmas song (I like those the WEEK of Christmas, that's it. The rest of the year, I don't want to be reminded of that time of year- i.e., cold, dark, snow...), or something from Mary Poppins (Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, of all things!!!). Over and over! So, I have my iPod so I can "clear the palate", be inspired by song, and quite often, I actually REMEMBER what I listened to when working on some of the pieces. That is fairly humorous, considering I usually can't remember what I did ten minutes ago! These are some I remember...

"Layla" - Derek and the Dominos

"Toussaint L'Overture" - Santana (This is in my garden)

"Ain't My Bitch" - Metallica ( Hey, I don't write 'em, I just listen to 'em!)

As you can see, I listen to a broad range of music - there's a comparison I use regarding songs AND plants (and some of the reasons I like both) - there is a nearly endless variety to choose from, there are always some out there that have been around for years but become "new to me" when I discover them, and there are hundreds or thousands of brand new ones every year! Don't think I'd ever want to do without either.

I don't always see the correlation in what I'm listening to and how the pieces turn out, although I find sometimes that the faster the beat of the music, the faster I get done (LOL!) I also catch myself listening to different styles and songs than I would while, say, driving!

Am I An Artist???

My father is - no question about it- these are a couple of his works of his that I own. Dad always believed that "art" was synonymous with "painting" - an "artist" is a "painter", not a glassblower, not a sculptor, nothing three dimensional. I'm not sure what exactly he thinks those disciplines are, but apparently they're just not Art. He's 86 years old, though, so I forgive him! ;o)

As for me, I like to think I'm an artist, too. O.K, not Fine Art, but definitely beyond crafts. There's the big question among craftspeople and artisans, "Is it Art or Crafts?"

I did read an article just recently that explained it well. Crafts are something that anyone who is creative can do with a little training, but Art is more specialized, and something not everyone can master. Hopefully what I do falls into that category! I know I shouldn't concern myself about it, but of course, I want to say I am an artist, and following in my father's footsteps!

I have had people tell me that my leaf castings are very artistic, which I'm very grateful for - what do YOU think? (I won't get upset if you don't agree, I promise!)

The Sacred Lotus

The plant these leaves came from (Perry's Giant Sunburst).

Here are some of my recently finished Lotus birdbaths. I embed a copper pipe fitting into the back and place them on 1/2" copper pipes. The Frogs are cast and painted by yours truly, also, mainly because I can't find any Frogs I like anymore!

...Note the other frog (also a fake!) on the rock in the pond in the background :)

Below is the latest one, and my favorite (although I just think that my favorite is always the last one I did!)

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HAPPY EASTER!

Sending everyone an Easter Greeting (...and a Peep!)!!!

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My Favorites

This is a Catalpa leaf. I had it in my inventory for a while,

but I liked it so much that I finally decided to keep it!

The first Caladium leaf I tried

One of my Lotus birdbaths (and friend!) that fit on a 1/2" copper pipe

I call this a "triplicate" Sycamore. These looked exactly like real leaves, even to me!

Another Sycamore, this time with Autumn colors

A Moonflower blossom with freshwater pearl stamens

and an aluminum armature wire stem. It was too

top heavy for any conventional vase, I had to make a

cement "vase" to hold it!

Hosta painted as the variety "Independence". I don't own this cultivar (yet!).