Brook in the Woods

Finally got back here! What a summer on the High Plains! Cool and wet for the most part. The perennials and the weeds loved it...the annuals and veggies shivered but finally gave me something for my hard work. Beans are still blooming, but the tomatoes are about to give it up!
Well, I did get a few classes completed this late summer. This one is called 'Brook in the Woods' and was a class done by guild member Elaine McMahon. We learned how to use mushrooms for rocks and onion membrane (yes, membrane...the very thin silvery skin between the layers of the onion!) for the water. And I used sanwa tissue over the background to soften it. Loved this class...thanks, Elaine!

The fourth piece in my 'South Dakota Wildlife Series'

My goodness...what a challenge and a stretch this picture was! I learned so very much and thank Irina for another wonderful class. This one is titled 'Calm Morning on the Slough'...don't get many calm mornings on the High Plains! Our goal in the class was to learn how to use bark for sky and water. Since I don't find birch bark in this area that is readily available (would have to raid someone's yard tree!) a friend from the WWPFG sent me some from Pennsylvania...thanks, Nancy!
Birch bark is a tricky material to work with. If it is cut from the tree in the spring when the sap is running, I understand that it is easier to separate into thin sheets. And besides the obvious white their are a variety of pinks, yellows and beige colors in the individual sheets. All of the material used for the sky and water are done with sheets of birch bark. The muskrat houses are made of the faded day lily leaves. The trees are made of various skeletonized leaves and the mallard ducks are made of white poplar, banana skin and fall leaves.
Oh, just a bit more info about the muskrat houses that I didn't know til recently...ducks and geese sometimes make their nests right on top of these houses...high and dry and with a pent house view to boot!

My Latest Commissioned Piece

What fun this one was! I was commissioned to do this by a customer (and now a friend!) in Tyler TX. This is the biggest piece I have done to date. It measures 4' x 1 1/2' and is designed to go over her headboard. I always enjoy commissioned pieces...first because I have made many new friends this way and also because I learn so much from them and the experience. They usually ask for something I have never done before so I get to stretch in a direction that is new to me. And I am also about to learn a whole lot more about shipping!
So, thanks to my new friend in Texas, here is my latest piece.

Picture of my Pasque Flowers

Today I had time to run out and take a picture of my pasque flowers. They are so pretty and delicate. I found some interesting info on the 'State Symbols USA' website. Here is an excerpt:

Pasque Flower

The pasque flower (or pasqueflower) was designated the official state flower of South Dakota in 1903. Also called the May Day flower, prairie crocus, wind flower, Easter flower and meadow anemone, the pasque is one of the first flowers to bloom in the spring (often before the late winter snows have thawed).

Pasque is a tallgrass prairie flower and grows wild throughout South Dakota. The pasque flower is member of the buttercup family and is highly toxic (pasque flowers were used as a medicine by native Americans for centuries).

And...our 'other' state flower is starting to bloom now. We will see millions, maybe trillions of golden heads nodding soon and see their fluffy seed heads blowing in the wind. And we will have all the dandelion leaves we can consume! Dandelion wine, anyone?!

Hope your day is warm and sunny wherever you are!

Finally a Bloom Out There!

No wonder the pasque flower is the South Dakota state flower! It's the first sign of spring here after, usually, long and very cold winters. There are not too many left now in the wild as most of our ground is either inhabited or, more likely, planted in crops. They are a very pretty lavender with a thick, long center. I have not tried pressing these yet but plan to very soon. I shall leave some of the blooms to go to seed. There should be, I hear, a lovely seed pod that can be used in fall arrangements.
Enjoy!

My Indoor Garden

Well, it's supposed to be spring here, but all I have blooming in my garden is my pasque flowers. I would put a picture of those here but it is so windy, cold and cloudy that I don't think they even bothered to open up this morning! Can't blame them...not sure if I want to either!
But I do have my indoor garden in full bloom. The red amaryllis finished up and now my next one is open. Also you will see my orchid 'bouquet'...15 blooms on that beauty. Under the orchids is my cyclamen. The other one is my out-of-control trailing geranium. It is pink with a burgundy throat. Not sure of the name. But they are colorful and sure brighten my day! Hope they add a little something to your day!

Third Piece in My South Dakota Wildlife Series

Well, got the third one done and I am having soooooo much fun with these! This one is a group of buffalo silhouetted against one of South Dakota's majestic sunsets. The sky is made of fall maple and oak leaves and the ground and buffalo are made of very dark poinsettia leaves. Hope you like it!
Next I hope to do an artwork with mallard ducks in a slough complete with cattails. This one will be done as my interpretation of the May class on the World Wide Pressed Flower Guild. Irina Orlova will teach this one. Can't wait!
We are getting warmer weather finally...my tulips are poking up. Need to find time to get out there and clean some things up a bit. Are you in your gardens yet?