Make Your Own Pressed Leaves

Today is Blog Action Day and thousands of bloggers will be posting articles that relate to the environment and the earth. The weather has suddenly turned cold and, for us northerners, that means the leaves are going to change and fall from the trees. That, of course, means that the fall leaves will be available for art and craft projects! So I thought this would be a good opportunity to post a leaf pressing project. By sealing fall leaves between wax paper you can keep all those natural earth colors around to enjoy and appreciate through the winter.

You'll notice that all the leaves in my pictures are yellow or still green. The yellow leaves seem to have begun to change before any other color. It's still a bit early here for this project but it shouldn't be long before all the leaves have changed.

I know this isn’t a serious post about the environment and what you can do to help, but it will allow you to take some time to appreciate the art that nature has created. Maybe the beauty of nature will inspire you to try to protect it. Plus, we can’t be serious all the time!

Supplies Needed:

Leaves in a variety of shapes and colors
Wax paper
Iron
Ironing Board
Dishtowel

Scissors

Begin by cutting two pieces of wax paper. Place one sheet on your ironing board and set the other sheet aside.

Choose a leaf to press. Put the leaf on the sheet of wax paper, making sure the leaf is as flat as possible. Lay the second sheet of wax paper on top of the leaf. Line up the edges of the two sheets of wax paper.

Cover the top with your dishtowel. Set your iron to the hottest setting and iron over the dishtowel to melt the sheets of wax paper together. Try to create a tight seal as close to the edge of the leaf as possible. My towel was too thick so I used a paper towel. This worked a lot better but there is the added risk of starting a fire.

You can then cut off the extra wax paper, leaving just your beautiful leaf. Please note that the wax paper does not melt to the leaf itself. It will only stick to itself or another sheet of wax paper. When you cut out your leaf, leave enough wax paper around the edge to maintain the seal. You’ll be able to enjoy it through the winter and all year long.

Repeat these directions with as many leaves as you’d like to preserve.

Tomorrow I’ll post some projects that will let you use your pressed leaves.

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You can create a leaf mosaic between your sheets of wax paper, too. Just arrange different colored leaves into patterns, shapes, or pictures. When you’re happy with your mosaic, lay your dishtowel over the top and iron the two sheets of wax paper together.

Try cutting the leaves into different shapes and then arranging the pieces of leaves into patterns. This will work best if you cut out the stems because the wax will create a better seal if all the pieces are the same thickness.

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If you really want to get creative, combine leaves with melted crayons to create a fall leaf sun catcher to hang in the window. Choose a beautiful fall leaf to be the centerpiece of your sun catcher. Lay the leaf in the center of a sheet of wax paper.
Use a pencil sharpener to create crayon shavings in different colors. Arrange the shavings around the leaf. It’s okay if they overlap the leaf but no light will shine through the shavings that are on top of the leaf.

Place the second sheet of wax paper over your artwork. Lay the towel on top and iron until the crayon shavings and wax paper have melted to seal your sun catcher together.

Now you can use some construction paper and glue to make a frame. Then punch a hole in the top of the sun catcher, thread some ribbon through the hole, and tie a knot.

Hang your sun catcher in the window to enjoy.

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NaNoWriMo

I have decided to participate in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). During November I will attempt to write a 50,000 word novel (about 200 pages, double spaced). This will be a great challenge but one that I believe I’m up for.

I will still post five days a week during November and I hope the articles will meet standards, but please bear with me if you notice that you are reading many entries about Vincent van Gogh. He will be a character in my novel and I have been and will continue to do a lot of research on him.

NaNoWriMo also has a Young Writer’s Program for writers 12 years or younger. You choose your own word-count goal ahead of time and you will be victorious if you reach that goal by November 30. If you need help setting a reasonable word-count goal, your parents or teachers may be able to help.

If you decide to participate in NaNoWriMo, leave me a comment and we can encourage each other along the way. At the end of posts throughout November you’ll notice a word count and, if you’re interested, you can track my progress. I would love to hear about your progress throughout November!

19 Days until NaNoWriMo!

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Book Recommendation: The Young Artist by Thomas Locker

Thomas Locker’s picture book, The Young Artist, tells the story of Adrian who becomes an artist through apprenticeship. Adrian’s story is different than that of the typical apprentice because he is the artist’s only apprentice. Also, this artist’s main goal is to teach Adrian, not to make money for himself.

Still, Adrian struggles with many of the issues an artist of the past would have had to deal with. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about how an artist would have lived in an age without art schools. Find out how Adrian is able to create the art he wants and still earn enough money to live.

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Learning Art Through Apprenticeships

Until only recently—the last 200 years or so—artists learned about their trade and made their name known to art buyers by becoming a famous artist’s apprentice. The artist acted as the teacher and the apprentice was the student. For some, becoming an artist’s apprentice meant they could do a job they loved and earn enough money for their families to live. Others never became artists, either because they weren’t talented enough, or did not please the artist they were supposed to be learning from.

A new artist’s apprentice would do tasks that were not even related to art, such as cleaning the studio. Eventually, he would be allowed to clean the paintbrushes and help mix paints. After several years of these tasks, if the artist liked the apprentice enough and thought he had enough talent, the artist would let him work along side him. Sometimes the apprentice would get good enough and become well known enough to be an artist himself, with his own apprentices.

Today, anyone can be an artist. Anyone who wants to can go to school to learn art. Though art apprenticeships still exist, they are different than those of the past. They do not involve years of cleaning another artist’s studio.

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Create Your Own Papier Mache Sculpture

Making a huge papier mache sculpture like Niki de Saint Phalle is not easy, but making a smaller one is very simple. Follow the directions below to create one of your own.

Supplies Needed:

Newspaper, torn into strips
Flour
Water
Salt
Bowl
Acrylic Craft Paint
Paintbrush
Cup for rinsing paintbrush
Craft Sealant
Coated Craft Wire (Optional)

Cover your work space with sheets of newspaper to make clean up easy. Gather your supplies.

In a bowl, mix one cup of flour, two tablespoons of salt, and two cups of water and stir until the mixture is smooth. You’ll know you’ve stirred it enough when it looks like thick glue. In the picture you can see that my mixture still has a few lumps left but it worked fine. Keep you wooden spoon handy for stirring later because the floor tends to settle at the bottom of the bowl .
I find it’s easier to create a sculpture if you make a frame out of wire and then attach the papier mache to the frame. This is what Edgar Degas did when he created Little Dancer, Age Fourteen. You don’t have to do this, though. Be careful when twisting the wire—the ends can be sharp.
Dip a strip of newspaper into the papier mache mixture and wet both sides. Try to wipe off any extra mixture. This will allow your sculpture will dry faster. I find it’s easiest to run the strip through your fingers to wipe off the excess. Then add the strip to your sculpture. Keep adding strips until the sculpture looks the way you want it.
Let your sculpture dry. This could take as long as two days depending on how much papier mache you used.

When the sculpture has dried, use your acrylic craft paint to decorate it. Let the paint dry and then brush on some craft sealant like Mod Podge to protect your sculpture and to make it shiny.

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