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| The amazing micro collages composed of botanical leaves by artist/designer Jess Rosenkranz feature plant materials from local gardens, even mine! |
I finally got to see what my good friend, artist and designer Jess Rosenkranz was doing with all of the leaves that she kept taking from my garden and greenhouse this past year. She was carefully pressing them, microwaving them in an imported drying device, mounting them to paper, and then laser cutting them into clever and ironic shapes, finally assembling the bits and tiny shapes into narrative terreriums, each one unique, each one original and each one for sale tomorrow at the RISD Alumni Art Sale, in Providence Rhode Island. If you are looking for a work of art or a hand crafted gem for a holiday gift, check out the sale, which runs from 10:00am to 4:00pm in Providence. Check out the site for details.
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| Jess organized her leaves in folders, each one with a clever title. |
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| Artist/Designer Jess Rosenkranz in her studio, Pawtucket, Rhode Island. |
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| Leaves are microwaved, pressed and then stored in folders before they are laser cut into shapes. |
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| Jess is working with foliage that has insect damage too, planning pieces where she will add additional cut outs with her laser. I can’t wait to see these. What were the insects trying to tell us? |
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| Tiny laser cut leaves, some coleus, some olive, others from camellia and agapanthus are transformed into narrative creatures, bits and characters. |
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| Ducks, Geese, Air Planes, For Sale Signs, Band Aids, cats, Rabbits – sea gulls – pigeons, the narration is endless. |
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| Jess informs me that the prices at the sale will begin at $40. for small pieces, and most will retail around $60 -$100, all framed and ready to display. |
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| Jess uses this Microfleur device, which allows one to dry leaves and flowers in the microwave. You can find them here on the Amazon site. |
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| A tiny lobster cut from a magnolia leaf. |
amazing! how lovely and ingenious. best wishes to jess!
Hello, I saw Jess's terrariums at the RISD art sale but was not able to buy one at the time. Do you know if she is still selling them?
Jessica,
Several years ago, I was given several Flat Terrariums to consign at my shop Bowerbird & Friends, Peterborough NH. For some reason they ended up in storage. I just found them!! I would like to place them back into the shop to sell (if that’s okay with you), or I can mail them back. My apologies for having them here for so long.
They are beautiful!!!!
Sincerely, Katherine Forrest