Finally, the maple leaves are mature enough for me to begin a new round of maple leaf rings. This will be my first round after the initial trials of last fall. I am excited to see how the tender young-ness of these leaves may show up differntly from the more mature leaves used last year.
On a grey afternoon, only two weeks ago, I took this photo, in anticipation (not a maple tree, agreed, but hey, I was just out with the dog, and this vision jumped at me …):
And now they are out! So there I was in my studio yesterday, after a walk to collect the leaves fresh off the trees, making the first impressions on wax sheets. Look:
When the leaves are carefully pushed through the mill, their veins and textures are gently pressed into the wax. This also releases the leaves’ juices, and the scent of fresh chlorophyl, reminiscent of childhood and lying in fields of grass, sucking on the ends of sweet grass, is amazing! Here is another sheet:
And this is what it looks like when I pull back the leaf and expose the wax with the impression below:
You can see here clearly the link to skin: especially in the pink wax, the texture is very much reminiscent of skin, don’t you think? I love this connection to the body, as it plays back when each final piece is placed on the skin of a finger.
The waxes will be cut and shaped into rings, and then cast in silver to become individual one-of-a-kind pieces, coming soon to a gallery shelf near you!
