May Calendar 2016: Red Campion

May: Red Campion

Attractive Vivid Pink  

Silene dioica
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Genus: Silene

habitat: partially shady to sunny spot
distribution: throughout British Isles

May is the beginning of the summer!  As the spring atmosphere is fading, the greenness of young leaves becomes vibrant, more and more colourful flowers appear.

Here is red campion, with impressive vibrant deep pink flowers.  It can be seen often around woodlands, under hedges or in fields.  The cluster of flowers are on the top of hairy brilliant green leaves.

These pink flowers add colourfulness to the early summer green, just like a hint of delicate spice.  When you see the pink flowers, the summer is coming soon!

'Floribunda' Group Exhibition at Cardiff MADE, Art Gallery & Cafe, Cardiff

Floribunda: Botanical Abundance

Annual Spring exhibition at Cardiff M.A.D.E

from Thursday 28th April - Saturday 28th April 2016

5 pieces of my screen print artwork, including the latest 'Bluebells and Wood Mice', will take part in this exciting group exhibition of local artists for the first time.  The artwork is used of a variety of mediums, painting, photography, collage, printing etc.

Please come along to see them!

If the map below is hard to recognise, please click 'Location' underneath the icons (Face Book, Pinterest etc.) at the end of this post.

My Etsy Shop is re-OPEN NOW!

My Etsy Shop is re-OPEN NOW!

I had been working on opening the Etsy shop again, and at last, the shop is open with several recent screen prints, including the latest screen print 'Bluebells and Wood Mice' (10x10cm image on 21x21cm paper).

I am going to put more items, not only screen prints but also original paper-cut artwork etc.

Please visit my Etsy Shop:

mTreeLeaf

New! Spring Screen Print: 'Bluebells and Wood Mice'

New! Screen Print

'Bluebells and Wood Mice'

10x10cm on 21x21cm 270gsm paper

3 colours (water based acrylic ink)

The new screen print for this spring is now ready.

The new series sticks to the small 10x10 cm square size, but 3 colours are used (the previous series was used 2 colours.)  The background looks black in the picture but actually dark brown which adds softer atmosphere to the image.

After having made the latest original paper-cutting piece earlier this year,I worked on the computer to coordinate the colours.  Then I brought it to Printhaus in Cardiff.  (Although it's not hard to draw and create paper-cutting work, I cannot do screen print by myself because of my wrists' problem.)  Thanks again to the Printhaus in Cardiff for finishing the screen print work for me!

(Printhaus is an arts collective, based in Cardiff, Wales, UK, that actively supports local artists and offers small scale commissions from them like me.)

I am trying to reopen my Etsy shop soon.  This new screen prints as well as previous prints will be on sale.

'Bluebells and Wood Mice' was inspired from my favourite woodland near by our house.  It's a brief period of bluebell bloom, from late April to early May.  The native British (or Welsh) bluebells, not the cultivated Spanish one, thrives in ancient woods of mixed deciduous trees such as beech, ash etc.  We usually don't see animals that live in the woods, but can imagine their story.  Tiny wood mice and other small creatures, such as frog like in the picture, are busying themselves after waking up from hibernation, far away from a fox, roaming unknowingly elsewhere.

The first edition of 25 was put in a picture frame.  This size fits to a conventional picture frame from such as IKEA, NEXT, John Lewis, or of course a frame shop where you can order a tailor-made frame.

April Calendar 2016: Lords and Ladies

April: Lords and Ladies

Elegant Shiny Green

Arum maculatum
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Genus: Arum

habitat: shady places
distribution: throughout British Isles
except the northern Scotland

This March was chilly after the mild but wet quite stormy winter.  April has started with the cloudy chilly day, but hopefully the warm spring will catch up soon.  Buds and sprouts have been awaiting the bright warm days.  Birds are busy with making new nests, couples of butterflies are flying in the air, bumble bees have appeared from their winter shelters to collect nectar from early spring flowers.

Lords and Ladies (other names: arum maculatum, cuckoo-pint or Jack-in-the-Pulpit) appears quite early.  The glossy soft bright green young leaves come from the ground even in January in sheltered from the harsh weather, beneath bushes, at the foot of hedges, in woods etc.  The leaves look like spinach, though, the strong acidic taste causes irritating mouth and stomach upset; so, better not eaten. (Poison Garden Website, RHS: Arum Maculatum)

You can find much more delicious edible wild plants in the spring such as wild garlic, nettle, violet etc.

Like lesser celandine, lords and ladies is very sturdy, rather invasive.  Our garden in the shade is getting occupied more and more by them now among the early dog violet (which is also very sturdy).

The mature leaves are arrow-shaped. Two leaves are spread outward and the pale yellow-green spathe (the colour of the spathe in my print is green because of the printing method) comes out in between, in which a club-shaped brown purple spadix is loosely wrapped.  The shape of this plant is distinctive among the other wild plants.  The poem of the flower fairies (by Cicely Mary Barker) explains what it's like.  While many spring flowers have colourful bright colours, yellow, pink, white etc., lords and ladies isn't much more colourful, but the appearance is gorgeous.

Here is again a poem of Cicely Mary Barker's Flower Fairies of the Spring (Cicely Mary Barker, The Complete Book of the Flower-Fairies, Warne, 2002).

The Song of THE LORDS AND LADIES FAIRY

Here's the song of Lords-and-Ladies

(in the damp and shade he grows):

I have neither bells nor petals,

like the foxglove or the rose,

Through the length and breadth of England,

many flowers you may see---

Petals, bells, and cups in plenty---

but there's no one else like me.

In the hot-house dwells my kinsman,

Arum-lily, white and fine;

I am not so tall and stately,

but the quaintest hood is mine;

And my glossy leaves are handsome;

I've a spike to make you stare;

And my berries are a glory in September.

(BUT BEWARE!)