I wanted to send this card to some friends, who occasionally visit a barn owl near their house … north of London, which reminded me of when I visited with them …
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| Wild Press - Owl |
What an amazing artist to come across, when I'd read the notation on the back of the card … I thought I must let you know about her.
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| Her website ... |
Helen Ahpornsiri's based down here in East Sussex … and uses traditional flower-pressing methods to create her cards from dried leaves, flowers or seaweed.
Her website shows you more … so talented and creative … her sites lets us know about her moral compass as far as working with nature is concerned: she states 'A guiding principle I follow in working natural materials is always to contribute more than I take'.
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| One of her banners |
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| Some of her creations |
She also has some step-by-step instructions on 'How to Press Flowers' …
To up the ante a bit two baby owlets were found hiding under the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury this year, when Guns N'Roses were playing …
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| Photos courtesy Euronews.culture Photos here |
… the 'babies' are safely rescued and being cared for by a wildlife charity … but have been named:
as 'Axl' (after the band's vocalist Axl Rose) and 'Slash' (as Slash – surprisingly! - lead guitarist) …
Life's been interesting … with things that weren't meant to be happening - happening … but so be it – I guess 'happening' is the good bit … no electricity, which turned out to be a sick boiler – anyway all fixed now – I can bath!! These interruptions upset the applecart …
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| Glastonbury 2016 |
Take care all of you … and I'll be back and around again …
Helen Ahphornisiri - her Wild Press site
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
35 comments:
I looked up Helen's wild press site and was very impressed with shapes and colours not seen very often eg the octopus, peacock and sea horse. Do the images on the front of the cards last for a decent length of time?
Hi Hels - they're printed, so not originals ... I'm sure those are available and would only be safe when in a frame. So the owl was only a printed card; more than that I do not know - except I see she's got quite a following now. Great to have the interest - thank you ... cheers Hilary
Thank you for the link, Hilary. I like her work very much,
Thanks for the link. The story about the owlets is cute. Glad to hear they're being raised safely (and I assume will be released into the wild at the appropriate time).
Slash and Axl - great names. Hopefully Axl isn't a little jerk like his namesake.
@ Janice - thanks ... I'm glad you had a look ... stunning and meticulously placed aren't they ...
@ Kathy - pleasure ... poor little owlets - "A pair of traumatised (and presumably tinnitus-suffering) owls, that’s hoo". Yes they will be released safely and appropriately in situ (near Glastonbury) ...
@ Alex - great ... I knew you'd relate - I've no idea!! Well I hope the owlets have a more positive attitude to life than apparently the vocalist had - I pass ... I've no idea!! As you say fun names ...
Cheers to the three of you ... thanks for coming by - cheers Hilary
I am so glad that the owlets were rescued. And huge thanks for the link to that ethical and talented artist. I can see hours of exploration ahead. Look after you please - and I am glad you have electricity again.
An extremely creative lady; so clever! I like owls so I was surprised to hear David Attenborough say that, far from being 'wise', they are in fact one of the least intelligent of birds!
CLICK HERE for Bazza’s bashfully blatant Blog ‘To Discover Ice’
I’m not surprised the baby owls look so alarmed! I would be too if I’d been forced to listen to Guns N’ Roses.
That card is gorgeous.
@ EC - yes ... it was great the owlets were rescued, and will be safely released. I'm delighted you'll be exploring Helen's site - it looks quite delightful.
Thanks I'm coping ... and will be ok - got electricity, repaired boiler - so life getting back to normal.
@ Bazza - yes ... Helen looks to be so creative and talented ... she's been recognised by many artists and wildlife sites ... I'm pleased she'll be educating those interested in preserving and having concern for the environment.
Interesting about David Attenborough's comments on owls - I'd never heard that ... wise or not they're delightful. Well perhaps he's right as far as the owlets are concerned - they should have known how much noise Guns N' Roses make - shouldn't they???!!! - silly place to hide during Glastonbury!
@ Anabel - I too have never listened to them ... poor owlets ...
@ Liz - the card was amazing to find - but I'm delighted to read about Helen and her artworks.
Cheers to the four of you - thanks for being here - Hilary
I'm just off to check that website, her work looks amazing. Barn owls are not the most musical of birds, but then......
Her images are quite exceptional, Hilary. It takes me back to the days when I routinely pressed flowers, placing them very carefully in the pages of a heavy book, and loading more weights on top. I suspect some of the pages might have got stained but I don’t remember. They would have been honourable stains anyway. I learned a lot of my early botany this way since I mounted the pressed flowers on “special” sheets of paper and made notes. Just thinking about it makes me want to do it again! Hugs from Ontario - David
Hari OM
I had a flower press and used to make cards for all my friends and relos... but nothing as advanced or intricate as these of Helen's! YAM xx
@ John - delighted you'll be looking at Helen's site ... it's a delight to see and also to know about. Barn owls aren't musical (particularly in the Guns N' Roses' style of hard rock) ... but they're delightful to look at.
@ David - I agree once I found her site ... I thought many readers would like to know about her and her skills, then see her talent.
How interesting to know you used to press flowers, weighted down, so learning your early botany ... you're just plain talented too, as well as showing us your research interest. Perhaps you will give it another try ... those honourable stains will be fine ...
I wanted to find out a bit more about the History of collections - and I see Hans Sloane was one of the major collectors, who willed his manuscripts and specimens be kept together.
Amazingly there are 19 volumes of his specimens ... which are contained in the National History Museum - on Botany, Entomology, Mineralogy, Palaeontology, and Zoology departments - visit the Sloane Herbarium:
Found here:https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/hans-sloane-physician-collector-botanist.html
@ Yam - I was never that talented ... but what a lovely hobby to have - and we all love home-made gifts ... yes I agree her achievements are very advanced and intricate.
Thanks to you three for making salient comments re Wild Press - cheers Hilary
beautiful pressed flowers and darling baby owls. How did they get there! WP again refused to send me an alert on your post. But, I found it on the Reader!
What a sweet story about the little owls.
Beautiful cards! And I love that the owls are Axl and Slash!
Wow amazing work and it was worth taking a look at here website, I love the seahorse.
My Mum used to press a lot of wildflowers but she never got quite as artistic as this,
Delighted the owls are safe, well done to the wildlife charity.
Take care, cheers Diane
I am smiling about the owls - now I have these lyrics spinning in my head.
Need a little patience, yeah
Just a little patience, yeah
That owl is pretty impressive work!
@ Jacqui - yes the artworks Helen creates with her natural plant pressings are amazing aren't they; I expect the owlets environs got disturbed as Glastonbury was set up - they found their hiding place under the Pyramid stage - fortunately rescued and taken away to a more peaceful place.
Re notification of my posts - I still have to sort that out - and my first thoughts now have taken another approach - I will try and let you know when my next post goes live.
@ Diane - glad you like the little owls ... fun story to find out about.
@ Elizabeth - Helen's art works are just beautiful aren't they. It was fun to find out the naming of the little owlets ...
@ Diane - so pleased you had a look at the Wild Press site - brilliant you were able to log on and have a look. Yes - I saw the seahorse and thought it was delightful ... I don't think one was available at the card shop I went to. I'm so glad this took your thought process back to your childhood days with your mother pressing flowers.
I remember your owl in France - so these little ones will easily have endeared themselves to you.
@ Truedessa - I didn't know the song 'Patience' - but I'm hopeless as far as music is concerned. So on a quick look I see that one line in the lyrics makes sense as far as the owlets are concerned:
'You know I don't like being stuck in the crowd (Could use some patience, yeah)'
@ Ian - I agree on looking more closely at Helen's work and her site - she's recognised by many for her work and approach to the natural environment ...
Thanks so much for visiting and enjoying the post - cheers Hilary
Glad you can bathe-a contribution to the environment …smelling good. The artist’s work and philosophy is lovely. I am currently in NC so sorry for late response. We are seeing lots of birds in the pines. You would enjoy our location. Cheers
Thanks Joanne - I'm glad you're having some time with your father in NC - an essential in life. Yes I'm certain I'd love NC ... I went to a wedding in the late 1970s - in the Cathedral of the Pines up in Vermont I think ... I wonder if it survived the floods. Take care - and thanks for coming by - cheers Hilary
Whew. So glad that boiler is fixed. That had to have been beyond frustrating.
Love the owlets story:)
Cheers,
Thanks for the link...it's been a long time since I've pressed flowers...I then put them between glass and used them as a window picture.
It looked very nice.
Greetings to you. I wish you a nice day.
The artwork is very pretty, and I appreciate her motto to give more than you take. That's funny they named the owls after band members. Glad they are okay. Sorry about the upset apple cart!! I've had a few spilled apples lately too, but still moving along okay! :)
@ Sandra - yes I was glad the boiler was fixed at the start of the weekend and not after, when I had appointments ... I was relieved. Isn't the owlets scenario sweet ... introduced me to Axl and Slash!
@ Viola - oh how lovely ... it might inspire you to perhaps give it another try. Wonderful idea to use them as a window picture ... I bet they looked fun and interesting. Great to see you ...
@ Rosey - yes I liked the descriptions Helen used in her website ... as you say - that motto: "Give more than you take" ... is one we all need to remember ...
I loved the owlet story - and I'm glad they've been rescued. Life goes on doesn't it ... but thankfully we keep going - glad all well your end of the world!
Thanks so much for your visits and comments - cheers Hilary
So talented, Hilary - and I love the principle of contributing more than one takes - just not sure I could live up to it.
Wonderful tale of the owlets under Guns 'n' Roses, as it were. I confess that, apart from the memorable riff at the start of 'Sweet Child of Mine', they don't do much for me. Glastonbury is an experience though - but the loos are truly disgusting!
Hi Mike - great to see you here ... like you - I do what I can to help. I'm not a music fan - just because I don't understand ... but as I get older I'm learning to appreciate musicians and I love listening to it. I've been past Glastonbury when I was travelling west and saw fans in a local service station covered in mud - muddy very wet year ... not my idea of fun! But I needed petrol - so had to stop. The thought of those loos appals me!
Thanks for this comment - I'm off to a wedding ... wet here - St Swithun's Day ... so if according to tradition it's going to rain for forty days! Cheers Hilary
"...always to contribute more than I take." I like that idea.
Helen is certainly very talented, and those owlets are gorgeous!
Glad your boiler's been fixed - yay for hot baths!
@ Dan - yes ... it's a very good quote to remember - I'm sure most of us bloggers within our largish group fit into this category ...
@ Annalisa - Helen is extremely talented isn't she ... while the owlet story 'is sweet'. Oh boy am I glad my boiler's been fixed - helps with the washing up too!
Cheers to you both - thanks for your visits ... Hilary
These are so beautiful! Helen is extremely talented. Thank you for sharing -- I'll definitely be checking out more of her work!
Thanks Damyanti - I was so pleased to find her cards ... and one day I hope to get across to her gallery/workshop ... I'll remember her, that's for sure.
Great to see you - cheers Hilary
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