Leaf Print Maps

For a while I’ve been brainstorming ways to combine plants and maps. I was originally inspired by a call for art from the Arboretum, but it’s also been interesting to me since they’re two things I get really excited about so there must be some way they can work together. I had an idea to do something specimen-inspired, and drew out some ideas:

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I tried drawing on actual leaves, which was fun but less than archival. But I had more success drawing around leaf prints.

I tried a few ways to make prints, including painting leaves with wash and leaving them pressed against watercolor paper to dry:

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The detail came out pretty well, although I was initially disappointed by the spottiness. As I played with the forms, though, I realized I could draw hybrids of leaves and maps, using mapping to fill out the missing spaces of the leaf print. I like how they came out!

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The above array of leaf prints was accepted into the Arboretum show, so it will be on view for the reception on Thursday, September 18th from 6-8 and through JP Open Studios weekend (September 20-21) from 10am-5pm at the Arboretum exhibition hall.