Tree Leaf Freak: Paper Cuts: Spring Flowers 2013

Tree Leaf Freak: Paper Cuts: Spring Flowers 2013: It's getting brighter and brighter, and I'm delighted that it's not dark more when I get up in the morning.  The winter time ...

Paper Cuts: Spring Flowers 2013

It's getting brighter and brighter, and I'm delighted that it's not dark more when I get up in the morning.  The winter time will be switched to the summer time a couple of weeks!  Well, I have to get up 1 hour earlier but can feel the evening longer, which is nice.

I like flowers as well as trees.  These papar cuts are of primrose, early dog-violet and wood anemone.

Spring Flower Series 2013

<Primrose; Early Dog-Violet, Wood Anemone>

primrose 

(paper cut, black origami paper on white backed paper, 7.5x7.5cm, 2013)

Primrose has actually baby pastel yellow flower.  I didn't know that before having come to Europe from Japan.  Primroses there have mostly (or at all) vivid red, pink, violet flowers.  They are found in shady meadows, or on the ground near by woodland.

early dog-violet 

(paper cut, black origami paper on white backed paper, 7.5x7.5cm, 2013)

This tiny pastel violet plants have dwelled in our front garden for 5, 6 years.  Perhaps some small animals (like hedgehogs, cat, or even fox!) transported the seeds.  In a year the violets were scattered everywhere in the front garden.  They look very sensitive, but in fact, they have very strong roots, which are not simply got rid of.  I have tried to reduce them, but failed.  Now I gave up and enjoy the flower for tea, cake, salad.  I made even delicious jelly from the flowers.

wood anemone 

(paper cut, black origami paper on white backed paper, 7.5x7.5cm, 2013)

This wood anemone looks like fritillary, and yet I didn't doubt that it was so.  The bunch of white flowers were in a woodland near by Michealston-le-Pit (outskirts of Cardiff).  They looked like this picture when I saw.  It might be because it was in the early evening and the petals were closed for sleeping (or dreaming).  But anyway, this wood anemone is the only one of the three which has white flowers.

At last, put colour on

Having started in January, I've been still working on a print making.  My target to finish off is by the end of this month.  Otherwise the Easter rabbit won't come to me!

The painstaking work is engraving; no, parting a draft into different colour parts, for which I spend a lot of time.  Engraving needs simply patience, care, and of course, time, but straightforward.  Once everything done, I can enjoy the final colouring, or say, printing process.  It is the most rewarding time during the whole printing process.

At last, I've started putting the first colour on paper yesterday.   I bought a new hand-crafted baren (a rubbing disk to print the colour from a block) from Japan in December.

At the first try, how smooth, how light I could move on the paper!  It was well worth to spend for that baren.  I'm very happy with it.

I can put one colour on one day so that the colour on paper gets completely dry.  Today I've put the second colour.  It is always a thrilling moment if two colours can match well.

They are awaiting the next colour.  Tomorrow the third colour comes onto them.  Then the fourth colour comes the day after tomorrow, then the fifth the day after the day after tomorrow.... only if I can manage to carry on every day!

Hazel, I'm looking forward....

My little hazel trees have had catkins!  I have seen a couple of female catkins but no male catkins last year.  Mid February I found a few female catkins 'and' male catkins.

According to my tree bible (Collins' "Complete Guide to British Trees"), male catkins should have appeared in the last autumn.  They should have been short and green, which was why I didn't noticed them at all.  The both female and male catkins, now long and yellowish, have been at branches for almost a month.

I am really looking forward their fat brown nuts this autumn!  Alas, my trees have only a few pairs of male catkins, and only a handful female catkins....

Some 3 or 4 years ago I collected coupons of a cereal company, which has dedicated to British countryside for years, to get 2 baby trees for free.  In a way, I was trapped into the company's sales plot.  Anyway, it was a good cause.  The campaign was called something like 'Grow your own hedgerows'.

Recalling now, I had options of hazel, ash and something else.  Hazel was the only one, which produced 'edible' nuts.  How greedy I was!  Well, I didn't expect it took many years until they are ready to produce their fruits (nuts).

Now, look.  How tiny and beautiful the catkins are, especially female one!

female catkins (0.5cm or less)

male catkins (around 4cm)

Still Chilly Week, Daffodil Shivering

I thought, it would get warmer this week after the last week's crisp sunny days.  But it hasn't.  The dark gloomy grey clouds has brought the cold air, even snow flakes!  Though, it stayed dry at least.  And yet plants need the warm weather and the moisture to boost their sprouting.

Daffodils, crocuses and hyacinth in our front garden have had some flower buds, but they hold their buds still tight.  Once the temperature rises, I'm sure they will all bloom at once.

Oh, I will have to tidy up our garden before the plants start to activate.

Daffodil (paper cutting, used origami paper, 10 x 10 cm)

A sunny day in February at the Cosmeston Lake

It's been sunny for a couple of days here.  Our garden is in a mess, needed to tidy up of the old dead plants and stuff.  Looking close to the ground, new green leaves of the wild strawberry, mint and so many weeds are coming through the dead leaves, already!  Anyway, I have started gardening on the sunny Sunday, but it was far more to be done...  It didn't look that I had spent a whole afternoon for the gardening.

It was still sunny today, so I went out to the Cosmeston Lake near by my house for sketching.

The Lakeside looked still winterly.  The thermometer showed 7 ℃, but quite a lot of people were walking in pairs, with small children, with dogs.  An elderly pair were sitting on a bank facing the lake.  You could hear the children laughing, crying, near by the playing area next to a small woodland.  It was sunny anyway; people were enjoying the beginning of the spring.

The entrance of the woodland next to the playing area.  The ground was muddy, which was stamped with dog pows and Wellies; obviously here is a dog-walkers' favourite spot.

Inside the wood land of deciduous trees, consisted mostly of beech and ash, which was airy and bright.  The fallen leaves have almost gone back to the soil.  On the upper side, slightly left, in the middle, slightly left, you can see a dot, which is a bird nest.  I'm not sure whether it's from the last year or a bird pair recently made it.  But I've seen birds like pigeons holding a branch in its beak.  They are preparing for their new family, which means the spring is coming very soon!

Having come out of the woodland, the sun was brighter.  I saw a cherry blossom tree, standing freely in front of the woodland.  Look!  The red buds are awaiting the warm days.

Turkey Oak (1st of 3: Tree&Leaves series, A5)

February is short, but the winter and the spring are squeezed in this month.  I feel the sunlight is becoming brighter and longer, with which I am delighted.  Although the air is still cold, the spring is stretching its arms and legs, and its new feather (my image of the spring has feathery) are growing in the damp air.  Here is Wales, which is why it rains a lot in the winter and the spring comes early!

I've been working on the new print, but it's still on the way.  (I aimed at finishing it by the end of this month!)

These are a set of prints of a tree, Turkey Oak.

Turkey Oak Tree 2012

(Japanese vinyl relief, 1 round with 1 colours, A5)

I found it at the small lake near by my house the last winter.  The print itself is small, but in fact, the tree is quite large, perhaps 10 metre high or taller.  I liked the shape of the naked tree, of which branches were slender, rather like birch.  It was hard to recognise what kind of tree was, and didn't imagine it was a family of oak.

Then, I went to see this tree in the last early summer.  I was quite surprised when having seen its leaves.  They look definitely a family of oak tree, besides the leaves were unusually long.  Having taken some leaves home, I discovered soon in a book the tree was called "Turkey Oak".

Turkey Oak Leaves 2012

(Japanese vinyl relief, 1 rounds with 2 colours, A5)

Turkey Oak is non native tree, which was introduced in the 18 century (from my guide book) and naturalised.  I don't know if it is originated in Turkey, but it doesn't matter.  I like this tree, looking forward to seeing it with long distinctive leaves at the lake in the early summer again.

Turkey Oak 2012

(Japanese vinyl relief , 2 rounds with 2 colours, A5)