Blender Blues

I received the replacement part for my blender and have been busy beating invasive plants. A few weeks ago, I beat the first round of Phragmites and last week round two of garlic mustard. Today I was on round three of garlic mustard when my blender started smoking. I don't know the name of the part, but it melted. There has to be a better way of doing this without spending $5,000 on an Oracle Hollander Beater.

Garlic Mustard

Here's the pot of garlic mustard I boiled over the weekend. I'll beat it next week and then see what kind of paper it makes.

While the garlic mustard was boiling, I cut up a big barrel of phragmites, which will be boiled next weekend.

Collecting Phragmites Australis Subp. Australis

It's official. I have now turned into one of those crazy people you see collecting plants on the side of the road, though I am proud to have joined their ranks. I just got back from collecting a HUGE bin full of Phragmites australis subp. australis, pictured above. This time I collected newer plants whose stalks weren't as thick in hopes that they'll be easier to chop and I won't have to spend so much time at the blender. I should have enough for a steady stream of paper-making this winter. 

Two Prints for Donation to Michigan Nature Association

I just finished these two prints, newly transferred and still wet, for the Michigan Nature Association's Silent Auction to Benefit Environmental Education this Friday at the Kellogg Center. Click here for tickets and more information about the event. (Sorry for the horrible picture.)

The images are shadows of cream wild indigo (Baptisia leucophaea) and shooting star (Dodecatheon meadia), transferred onto paper made from Phragmites australis subsp. australis. 

Exhibit at Gallery Karahashi in Otsu, Japan

Here are some pictures from the exhibit at Gallery Karahashi (ギャラリー唐橋）which runs September 19th – 30th, 2014. Thank you Tomoko Hirao and Takayuki Fukuyama for making such lovely frames for my prints! And a big thank you to all who helped hang the show!

 

Exhibits in Japan Opening Next Week

The exhibits for the Art from the Lakes exchange program open next week in Shiga, Japan. I'm so grateful to Takayuki Fukuyama and Tomoko Hirao for allowing me to send my work even though I will not be traveling to Japan with the other Michigan artists due to health issues.

The work arrived safely, which was a huge relief!

If you or anyone you know happens to be in Japan during the month of September, please pass along this information regarding the Art from the Lakes exhibitions. There is also a nice article written about the program here.

September 19th – 30th, 2014
Gallery Karahashi (ギャラリー唐橋）
Otsu, Japan

September 21st - 28th, 2014
Fujii Honke (藤居本家)
Aisho Town, Japan

Final Prints for Japan

These are the ten prints I'm sending to Japan this week for the exhibition in September. They are matted, packed up, and ready to go! There were no guesses in response to my last post on what plants they were, so I'm divulging their names below.

compass plant (Silphium laciniatum) on Phragmites australis subsp. australis paper 

cream wild indigo (Baptisia leucophaea) on Phragmites australis subsp. australis paper 

prairie smoke (Geum triflorum) on Phragmites australis subsp. australis paper 

prairie trillium (Trillium recurvatum) on Phragmites australis subsp. australis paper 

shooting star (Dodecatheon meadia) on Phragmites australis subsp. australis paper 

spiderwort (Tradescantia bracteata) on Phragmites australis subsp. australis paper 

rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) on Phragmites australis subsp. australis paper 

virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) on Phragmites australis subsp. australis paper 

cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum) on Phragmites australis subsp. australis paper 

cream wild indigo (Baptisia leucophaea) on common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) paper