I love using real leaves and flowers to create some of my work. It allows me to capture the intricacies of the living material that I can't reproduce myself and I get a closer look at the structure of each plant.
Each fall, I wander through my yard, down my street, or in parks looking for interesting fallen leaves. I don't want to pull leaves directly off the plant, so I focused on the ground for gathering. After pressing the plants or leaves into the clay, most of the time they couldn't be reused because they would tear when I lifted them from the clay, or they would only be good for a day until they dried out and crumbled when pressed.
This past fall, I employed a method of preservation that has allowed me to use the leaves I gathered months ago, and except for some tips breaking off, I have been able to reuse them as much as I want!
Each fall, I wander through my yard, down my street, or in parks looking for interesting fallen leaves. I don't want to pull leaves directly off the plant, so I focused on the ground for gathering. After pressing the plants or leaves into the clay, most of the time they couldn't be reused because they would tear when I lifted them from the clay, or they would only be good for a day until they dried out and crumbled when pressed.
This past fall, I employed a method of preservation that has allowed me to use the leaves I gathered months ago, and except for some tips breaking off, I have been able to reuse them as much as I want!
I looked for a way to keep the leaves hydrated for longer and came across the use of vegetable glycerin to preserve plants. Glycerin replaces water in the leaf and keeps it flexible and stable. I didn't get photos of my process, but I placed the gathered leaves in a shallow dish, then covered them with a glycerin mixture. Mix 1 part glycerin to 2 parts water and stir. They need to be weighed down to be fully submerged in the glycerin, so I put a smaller dish on top.
I left them for about 24-48 hours, and looked at the leaves from time to time. They change color a bit, looking darker and you can see where the glycerin has absorbed into the leaf and replaced the water. I removed them, patted them off with paper towels, and left them to fully dry.
I left them for about 24-48 hours, and looked at the leaves from time to time. They change color a bit, looking darker and you can see where the glycerin has absorbed into the leaf and replaced the water. I removed them, patted them off with paper towels, and left them to fully dry.
Once the leaves were dry, I coated the top surface with a thin layer of Mod Podge. I wanted to see if I could further preserve the leaf as well as make it a bit thicker for pressing deeper into the clay. When the Mod Podge was on too thick, it peeled off, so a thin layer works best. The bottom surface of the leaf is what I press into the clay, so I didn't apply any Mod Podge there where it would have obscured the detail of the leaf veins.
Once I got my slabs of clay rolled out and smoothed, I place my leaves with the uncoated side down on the clay and rolled with a rolling pin. I carefully removed the leaf so it could be reused numerous times. I found that leaves with very pointy tips would eventually break off at the points, so that is something I am going to work on this year.
The extra depth helped give a crisp impression in the clay surface, and allows my colors to lay into it better. I made more of my hydrangea vases with the leaves I'd saved from last year, although for the flowers, I cheated and used a store bought bouquet.
