Welcome to the wonderful world of pressed botanical collage! Following you will find a step by step tour of the process of creating inspiring artwork from what grows outside your door. Feel free to contact me with any questions you have about the process and results - I love hearing from guests to my website!
collectingWhen selecting my materials, I respond to color, texture, and form. I use almost all types of botanical materials that can be pressed - leaves, vines, petals, stems, bark, grasses, berries, wildflowers - the list goes on. I pick when the flowers are at their driest on the outside (not in the early morning/evening or after a rain) and press as soon after picking as possible.
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preparationWhen pressing, I often have a number of choices to make. Sometimes I choose to press the bloom in its entirety. However, if the center of a flower or blossom is thick and/or moist, this can offset the pressing of the petals. In that case, I will remove the petals from the center and press them on their own. Sometimes the center of the flower is the point of interest, but it is too thick. If this is the case, I will cut it and get a cross section, or slice it to make it thinner. Experimentation is the first step to creating a new experience from botanical materials.
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pressingIn order to remove as much moisture from the material as possible - which is how you retain the most color from the growth - you must set up a situation in which the moisture can be absorbed. This explains why all of our childhood pressed leaves in waxed paper came out brown, no matter their beginning color. The waxed paper trapped the moisture in and the moisture destroyed the color of the growth. I use layers of cardboard, blotter paper, and paper towel repeated below and above each sheet of materials to be pressed. I then put this in a center spindle wooden press, tighten the press and continue to tighten it for a minimum of 2 weeks. The pressure is evenly applied through the center spindle and results in a beautifully thin and dry medium with which to work.
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getting to work and creating!Now the real fun begins! Opening the press is like a holiday or birthday each time – I never know what gifts will be inside - how the colors may have changed, shapes altered, aspects of the plant that weren’t visible prior to pressing – as I carefully remove the materials from the press I am already thinking about how I will use them. Many times I feel that I am working on a jigsaw puzzle whose final scene is not evident until the last piece is in place. Other times I have a sketch of the collage in my mind (or on paper) that I then fill in. Similar to a painter using many different tints, tones and shades, I work with endless possibilities in the color, texture and shape.
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