From Russia, A Wonderful Pressed Flower Jewelry Artist

Hi, today I'd like to introduce Mary Bu, a botanist/landscape architect/pressed flower jewelry artist from the Urals region of Russia; she has a shop on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/UralNature


How did you get started in working with pressed flowers and with resin:
Since childhood I attracted to nature, plants, and liked to look at their tiny flowers, so I was educated landscape architect. But in our area is long and very cold winter, and I may work on specialty only 4-5 months a year. And the long winter evenings I can spend on art and search for new hobbies. When I heard about the resin, I thought of those tiny bouquet, which I loved to collect when I was a child and I wanted to try preserve it beauty in a clear resin.
So I tried and very inspired by this and now I have this "strange hobby" where I can use my biological knowledge and skills of collecting herbarium.

What are some of your major challenges in this work:
For me the major challenges is the short summer, for which are not able to gather enough herbarium, and also the problem of storage and the fragility of plants during the work.
Pressing flowers is very fickle, you can't say exactly how long it will remain it colors and also you can't replicate to a tee what is already done. Although the last is probably not a problem, but rather a virtue - the uniqueness of each work.

What advice do you have for newcomers to this art form:
Experiment and look for new material looking the world around you.
Nature's microworld actually very beautiful and enigmatic, but usually, people don't notice it. Just try to show them how it is wonderful!

What are your plans for the future:
I really want this summer to go round our Perm region, to visit again Visherskii and Basegi reserves, which I visited during my studies at the university and collect herbarium of the endemics of the Urals, and sure save them in resin. And in my dreams of course to go round the whole of Russia and then the whole world and explore all the plants, but I think it's only dreams :)

Thank you, Mary. I love your jewelry, and the identifications of all the plants. I am often unsuccessful in tagging the flowers in my jewelry thoroughly.
Mary's shop on Etsy: Ural Nature: http://www.etsy.com/shop/UralNature

Resin hint of the day:
Allow at least 48 hours after your resin piece is hardened before you allow it to touch another resin piece; It takes 4 to 5 days for most resins to thoroughly cure, before which time they are easily scratched, indented, and bonded to other resin pieces (and shavings--I've learned the hard way, don't sand/shave resin pieces around newly hardened
resin jewelry.)


Thank you for visiting this erstwhile blog!  Chris

Pressed flowers under Lucite: Beautiful Jewelry

I would like to introduce you to a pressed flower artist who does things differently!  Her jewelry is really lovely!
http://www.etsy.com/people/enchantedplanet

1. How did you get started working with pressed flowers and your jewelry
I‘ve always Loved “making things”…even as a child.  For as long as I can remember I’ve enjoyed giving one or two of my ‘handmades’ as gifts for family and friends. So every year it’s an enjoyable challenge to come up with something new and different to give. There’s something very special about working on an item and presenting it to a relative or friend as a birthday or holiday gift.
I love Nature, being outdoors, and gardening. I’ve enjoyed pressing flowers for many years so it was a natural progression for me to utilize pressed flowers and greenery from my gardens to create one-of-a-kind Garden Jewelry as well as my Earth Lights and Luminaries (candle holders), Bookmarks, Hang Tags and Note Cards that I sell in my other Etsy shop ’paperplanet’.

2. What are some of the challenges you have encountered with your art
Even flowers have their own  personality and getting to know each flower better has taught me a lot about pressing and using flowers in my work. Some flowers press and dry much better than others. I’m always experimenting…trying different methods and products to press flowers as flat as possible, retain their natural colors and beautiful shapes. I like the pressed flowers I use in my work to look as fresh and graceful as they are in my gardens and containers.

. What advice do you have for beginners working with pressed flower jewelry
Experiment, experiment, experiment!
Press and dry all kinds of flowers, leaves, and greens. When a particular flower doesn’t press as well as you’d like or doesn’t retain its beautiful natural color, keep trying. Try different pressing methods, cut and press flowers at different times of the day, take flowers apart and press the individual pieces then rebuild them once everything is dry and flat. And above all enjoy what you do.

4. What are some of your plans for the future
I love what I’m doing right now so in the future I’m sure I’ll still be working with flowers and handmade papers, discovering new ways to make use of my materials, continuing to experiment, and always learning more. You can’t go wrong when you work with Nature and the possibilities seem endless. I have several notebooks full of ideas and thumbnail sketches of new projects I want to try. I just need many more hours in each day!
http://www.etsy.com/people/enchantedplanet

 Thank you so much:
http://www.etsy.com/people/enchantedplanet


Hint of the day: This hint is from karamae, on Etsy:
http://www.etsy.com/people/karamae(To protect photos from looking blotched from resin:)
I paint them on both sides with a paintbrush (holding with a popsicle stick), then put them down and put the topcoat of resin on.

I tried this with printed images for a custom order, instead of using mod podge. It worked wonderfully!

Thank you for visiting my blog. I welcome comments. 
Chris