It's December and I have neglected this blog and haven't posted anything since August. I should restart.
I have also started new prints and seeing as it has been Autumn, and is now winter, seeds have been interesting me again. I read a book called "The Triuimph of Seeds" last year. It's a very interesting and gripping read by Thor Hanson.
Probably you haven't really thought about seeds? Think chocolate and coffee for a start.
"They give us food and fuels, intxoicants and poisons, oils, dyes, fibers and spices. Without sees there would be no bread, no rice, no beans, corn or nuts. They are quite literally the staff of life, the basis of diets, economies and lifestyles around the globe."
Anyone who has an allotment or a garden they tend, knows the power of the seed. From little acorns etc etc. Seeds are a marvel, as Thor Hanson says. They are to be praised and looked at. From a purely aesthetic point of view, seeds are amazing! From pine cones, to acorns, dandelions and burdock, they look amazing, their means of travel is amazing and in autumn, there they are, beneath your feet, stuck to your jumper, flying through the air, going out of their way to procreate somehow.
I have collected some this autumn and hung some of the on the wall in my studio and think they look grand! Pine cones are surprising! So many different ones, in all sorts of shapes and colours.
Here, also, are my little ceramic seed pods I made years ago. I have been drawing them and adding to my collection of drawings and prints around this theme. Sometimes they work and sometimes they feel as if they don't but I keep them and cut them out and make something new.
In the studio, I have been making prints and looking at textures and mark making.
Some of my 'ghost' prints have been interesting and I have used one of these (below) and added layers. I like the result.
Sometime I have used the actual plant or seed to make the image. Nothing final yet but the process is ongoing WIP or work in progress as they say. This blog is a way of thinking through this process. Looking at a way to communicate the pure beauty of what I'm looking at in nature.
It's winter now, and although people consider this to be a dreary time of the year and moan about the lack of light and the cold, for seeds this is where it all begins! There they are, hopefully nestling into the ground, little packs of energy with everything needed to start a new life that will begin with a root, a shoot and a new leaf. Some seeds even need a proper cold snap to get them going. I found some magnolia seeds in the early autumn. It is recommended I put them in the fridge for three months before planting. As it stands, however, I could put them outside. The temperature today is currently at 1 degree (feels like -3). By the time I get back to my car, I will probably have to scrape the window screen again!
Below are some cutouts and a couple of the monoprints I will probably include in my collage. But who knows?! Maybe I won't.
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