Haze. Rice papers.
Embedded with dried hydrangeas.
Geisha Girls. Draped in deep purple. Reach to the sky.
A new year filled with grace and beauty, mystery and resolve.
~Ally.
A creative who is learning to be patient and trusting all will be.
A spirit that is preparing to fly into new creative realms and share the journey.
~Ally.
Review of my past week.
- First of all, I'm over the moon about being accepted as a member of the Power House Creatives group.
The Power House Creatives evolved from Steemit Bloggers. The brainchild of @jaynie, the PHC is a private discord community of individuals, committed to producing content that adds value across multiple platforms. Members are strongly focused on supporting and caring for their fellow members and are governed by strict guidelines.
- I've continued to collect wild duck feathers at the Roseville Lake. In my last article, I mentioned the nudge to start making some Magic Wands as another product for the Homesteaders Coop.
Only wouldn't you know it? Before settling into working out how to make the new Magical Wands the Creative Muse wanted to photograph EVERY feather and was then inspired to make some new 'Flatlays' with the feathers. And there went another day ~ In the twinkling of an artist's eye for beauty.
And another few days of gathering feathers and photographing them.
Inspired by @scrawly's step by step presentations that show the different stages of his digital drawings and paintings, as well as wanting to make short videos of my own processes, I eventually settled on purchasing Wondershare's Filmora9 video editor.
Another few days of learning how to make a VERY simple video.
Opening a Vimeo account and uploading my first video. At the moment it's only a free account and my one and only video has already used 3/5 ths of the weekly limit.
In the process of finding sounds (rather than music) for my future videos, I've gone to the lake at dawn and listened ~ Just listened to the magical music of all the birdlife there. Such a beautiful thing to do that my heart tells me I need to do more often this year.
The next step is to find a device that can capture these natural sounds. Any suggestions are most welcome.
Growth of the Homesteaders Co-op.
It's been wonderful to witness the increasing interest in the Homesteaders Co-op over the past few weeks and connect with some of the homesteaders and makers there. A hearty applause for @sagescrub who has made this all possible.
Our vendors are making an effort in one way or another to incorporate sustainability into their handmade products and/or their lifestyles. We want to let a larger audience know about their hard work, who they are, their beautiful products and what they are doing to make a difference in our world. Their efforts deserve to be seen. ~@homesteaderscoop.
The Homesteaders Co-op website now has:
18 vendors from all over the world: Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal and the United States:
Offering just under 140 different products that include honey, plants and seeds, eBooks on raising chickens and worm farming, beer bottle candles, floral art sculptures and wood decor, dreamcatchers and wreaths, organic herbs, tinctures and oils, vegan creams and salves, hand-dyed cotton and wool yarns, clothing, sea glass and silver jewelry, wallets and accessories, handmade paper sheets and tags, journals and diaries, colouring books and stickers.
Two extremely well-supported contests:
The first: Contest: Find and Review a Homesteader's Shop - 14 total SBI in rewards. Deadline: January 22nd, 8 pm UTC.
The second: Contest: Product Review - 1000 SP in delegations, 50 Steem Monster booster packs and 20 shares of SBI - For Shopping at Homesteaders Co-op. Deadline: February 12th, 11:59 pm UTC.
The Homesteaders Co-op is a collective group of Steemit artisans that accept SBD and STEEM and now USD via Paypal for their handmade, sustainable, environmentally friendly products, services and handicrafts. ~@homesteaderscoop
We care about living and working sustainably, peacefully, with intention and with respect for mother earth, the environment and fellow man. We care about strong community values and making a difference together. ~@homesteaderscoop
To find out more about the Homesteaders Co-op and how you can become a vendor or support the current vendors read @homesteaderscoop's Introductory Article: Supporting a Steem Community Economy: Intention, values and ethics in our products.
My Nests.
Just before I show you the different views of Violet Haze, let me explain how I came to start making my paper mache baskets and containers in the first place.
I've been making small 'nests' from paperbark, vines and other natural materials collected from the forest floor of our nearby bushland for several years. The original 'nests' were made as hanging baskets for plants, containers for flower arrangements or for holding personal treatures in.
In the above photograph, the outer casing made from Spanish Moss, embedded with dried loofah fiber, dried fern fronds and lichens is barely visible.
And so now, I'd like to show you the actual 'nest' and how it was lined with one of my first Japanese rice paper baskets. Sometime I'll describe and illustrate the whole process of making of this actual 'nest.'
But then it always seemed to be such a shame to completely hide their inner beauty.
~Ally. WHAT IS IT? Ephemeral Art.
These nests have been wonderful as gifts for friends, but I'm not sure yet as to whether our Australian Customs will allow them to travel through Australia Post ~ Even within Australia. It's still on the agenda to find out of course but in the meantime, this 'challenge' led me to the idea of making paper, embedded with dried flowers and leaves, fiber and lichens, to then make my current range of Heart Art Baskets with.
The inside of the Heart Art Basket: Violet Haze.
This Heart Basket measures 130 by 120 mms and is 70 mms in height.
It was designed and made with two layers of different rice papers: The outer layer was made from a fine rice paper in soft violet. The inner layer was made from an off-white rice paper embedded with dried hydrangeas.
Look for the embedded dried hydrangeas in the enlarged image.
Embedded dried hydrangeas between the layers.
Before I actually made the basket, I first embedded a few dried hydrangeas between pieces of medium weight and lighter weight Japanese rice papers.
I make and use my own paste from organic tapioca flour.
The underneath side of the Heart Art Basket: Violet Haze.
The outer layer was made from a fine rice paper in soft violet.
The sides of the Heart Art Basket: Violet Haze.
This view shows the separate layers of the different rice papers.
Unlike conventional paper mache, I like to leave some of the paper that makes up the layers slightly unstuck in areas. So that instead of a completely even surface, it looks more like the bark of a paperbark tree.
I also leave the edges of the baskets 'wispy' and carefully separate the different pieces of paper, curling and twisting them when they are semi-dry.
Creating textures between the layers.
If you look closely at the photograph above showing the sides of the Heart Art Basket, particularly on the left-hand side, there appears to be a separation between the inner and the outer casings.
The 'separation' was actually made with the teased out fibres of a dried gourd, sandwiched between pieces of medium weight and lighter weight Japanese rice papers. Creating the most wonderful texture.
Heart Art Baskets. What can they be used for?
These Heart Art Baskets make wonderful bowls for flower arrangements or they can be used simply as ornaments or containers for your keepsakes, jewelry or spare coins.
While they are lightweight and look quite delicate, the baskets are reasonably sturdy.
Resilence of Heart Art Baskets.
Unlike glass or ceramics, these Heart Art Baskets won't break or chip: It was hard for me to do, but in order to test for breakage, I let one of the baskets fall from bench height, onto a hard floor and it just 'rolled over.'
Being made of paper you won't be able to put one of these baskets into a dishwasher or soak them in hot water.
While I wouldn't recommend it, I tested one of my other Heart Art Baskets to see if it could be rinsed under cold running water and it stood up well to that. Just had to leave it to dry naturally overnight. So that if one of these baskets was accidentally splashed with a little bit of water it would be fine.
I could coat the baskets in resin to make them completely waterproof. However, it would lose its charm of being an eco product. Besides if a basket is taken good care of, by just giving it a light dust every now and then, it should live for many years.
However, if there ever comes a time for you to 'farewell' your Heart Art Basket, unlike plastic it will completely breakdown in your compost or garden.
A creative who is learning to trust the mystery of what will be.
A spirit that is willing to fly into new creative realms and share the journey.
~Ally. Handmade Heart Art: With summer flowers from my garden.
Assemblage and Photography: ©Alison Lee Cousland.
SONY Mark2 A7: 35 mm:
Posted from Earth ♥︎ Sand ♥︎ Water ♥︎ Ice with SteemPress : http://www.allyinspirit.info/2019/01/16/handmade-heart-art-violet-haze-geisha-girls-in-my-garden-homesteaders-coop-original-photography/