Keepsake for the brilliant workshop 一份紀念品

My CA workshops with Vilte Kazlauskaite and Irit Dulman was so great that I learnt a lot the skills, what's more is friendship that made my wonderful time in the sunny California.  What's best to do my practice with the new skills? 

 In the mid winter the fallen leaves were still rich in color, brown, red, yellow.......  Can't resist to pick up some......

The old oak trees behind Melinda's house are so huge

A lovely day with Monita to pick some windfalls in Central Park.... 

All the good days made me to make a keepsake with the leaves.  I steamed the leaves in between iron mordanted fabrics and papers to make the clear outlines.   

Here they come....

 I learnt the skills of nuno felt of sculptured texture, I made the book cover with wool and fabrics dyed there in the "witch pot" of euc, onion and wallnut.....

Now I'm back in the fascinated Hong Kong with lots of good memories in CA.  

Each page with the leaves picked there.  Oak, euc, liquidamber.. and other unknown sorts

They're pretty in shape and color.  I love all.

I binded it with plain paper in between for writing. 

A little journal for my keepsake of the nice days 

I made 3 little journals in a row 

These are nuno felt covers with euc leaves prints steamed 

One with a ceramic button closure

One tied with a wool felt knot 

 

 Both are nuno felt covers with textural look and pages also with prints and plain papers

 

These two little journals are special keepsakes for special friends who made my fabulous trips. 

Tied with a little ceramic button with "no secret"

Brought my heart back from Levis' Plaza, San Franscisco .....

Story of a binding book 手作小本子

 Inspired by others, I started eco print.  The more I find the wonder of leaves, the more I want to dig and experiment.

 從喜愛植物印染織物到現在用簡單加熱法將葉紋印在紙質上這是我的新嘗試, 繼而做了這小本子.

 In the past I tried leaves prints on fabrics. Now I love the subtle prints on paper.  Just  done some and made a little book with the felted covers. 

 See how it's made.....

1. Last week after lunch with colleages in the cafe near offices, I picked some wild yellow daisy, some leaves of  Melaleuca tree (paper-bark tree) , maple leaves  and blew off euc leaves. 

 2. I wet the conqueror paper and sandwiched the leaves. 

3 - 4.  All clamped and boiled in a thermo pot for an hour and stayed overnight. 

 Prints of Melaleuca are quite brown, euc leaves are bold and yellow daisy is quite obvious. 

 I also put on some other leaves of euc cinera (round ones).  I thought to have some red prints as on silk fabric but it didn't, only yellewish.  Believe due to silk is of protein.  Paper is of different materials. 

 Flat drying

Wondering what to do with these papers.

 Come to my mind to make a little book with a felted cover. 

This isthe binding book made with little curly wool fleece and...... 

 Oh, sorry I didn't alert you the cover is made with my cat's hair.  Please don't find it weird.   My cat's hair is clean and soft as merino wool. Every day I comb and save it.

Base of the cover is of chiffon, layered with cat's hair and wrapped the cardboard resist.

 Finished and embellished with the dried Melaeuca leave.

 Front cover of mirrow prints of maple leaves 

 Yellow daisy prints

Subtle and vintage look

 That's why I thought to make a vintage little book

 Marks of Melaleuca are wonderful

Mogi asked, "it's a sunny day, any news? "

 "Oh, yeah, mum's showing me something?"

 "What? mum done this little book?  Hummmm.....still got the fragrance of leaves.... "

 "Got something of me?"

 "Mum's crazy!!??"

 I'm not crazy, I'm imaginative. I want to make use of everything.  I love nature, I love leaves, I love wool felt, I love crafting.......

This little book may be a wrap up of my work after decades with the memories of working environment and workmates, also a new chapter to mark my fabulous ways of life next....

這小本子許是我的職場總結, 記載著我工作環境的花草與同事的點滴, 也會是我往後展開豐盛創作的 新一頁……
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Mogi telling story 說說故事

 "What did Mum write on the book?" Mogi queried.

"Ah...... Mum's imagative and always day dreaming."
大自然是創作的靈感, 但地球上資源並非耗之不盡, 有些物料可加點心思, 使其物盡其用, 且聽 Mogi 說 Mum 的 "雲與海".....

 "She said this looks like me - fluffy and cheerful.  I'm in cloud nine!"

 "The beach near Mum's studio she always shows us something from there ."

 "The earthy inspired nuno felt texture of her scarf"

 

 "She made this textural effect with shells."

 "Cross over of wool and  the shells picked from the bay."

 "Inspired by Heather Woollove's  felted book covers, Mum got the ideas to make one."

 "It's done."

 

 "Just a piece slip-on."

 "Incorporated with a shell, Mum called this 'Cloud &Sea Wave'."

"Original notebook of plastic folder."

 "Only one page was used formerly our girl's but discarded".

 "A nice covered notebook to use again." 

 "Mum said 'waste not want not', nature is full of resources."

 "Found trees fell down and sawn after typhoon and trunks were going to dispose off."

 "Why not carrying it for the wool felt baby hat and booties display?

"Reborn of a tree in Mum's studio."

Thought for food.  Nature is full of resources and inspiration. Something may not be used anymore but can be recycled and treasured.  Waste not want not.
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