Our neighbor next door sadly just showed us what we are guessing might once had been a ficus plant. Wilting, limp and yellowed...the plant was quite close to setting off for that great big garden in the sky, illustrating our neighbor's uncanny mutant ability to turn perfectly healthy house plants into compost material in a matter of a couple weeks.
We might have to turn her onto this decorative display which brings in some green into the home without the worry of watering/overwatering, or any care for that matter. The Leaf Art Frames are handmade artificial leaves sandwiched inbetween clear acrylic sheets and framed for wall display.
There are 21 different varieties available, and knowing the Japanese eye for detail, we bet these look pretty darn realistic. The bad news is we don't think they ship these to the U.S., but we're looking for a domestic retailer so we can prevent further plant abuse next door.
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Comments (3)
I agree. But in this case, I think these come off looking almost like prints, rather than facsimiles of nature. But I definitely prefer the real thing!
I'm thinking... craft project! I have many varieties of leaves around my yard such as big beautiful hosta, fern and other picturesque flora.
The first idea that pops up is to harvest some choice specimens and dry them in an old fashion flower press set up. I worry the leaves would discolor during the drying process, I've tried drying flowers in the past but lost patience before I mastered the technique.
Second idea is to gently paint the face of a leaf and print it on watercolor or other art paper. I'd use a deep green or whatever color you choose and practice until I figured how much paint and how much pressure etc to achieve a pleasing image. I've seen printed fish, I think a Japanese method that were wonderfully detailed and natural - maybe on Martha - I don't remember the name of the technique however.
Actual prints would be more organic than the photo-reality pictured above.
gosh- color photocopies of real leaves are just so splendid too.
Another not-so-gentle option is to do leaf hammer prints:
- take a real leave
- sandwich between paper
- hammer away on the 'sandwich', transferring the pigment of the leaf onto the paper. (may also want to try place a board on top of the sandwich before hammering too).