Busy year on many fronts. So busy that my resolution to post my creations on this website fell by the wayside before the daffodils bloom. But I’ve made up for lost time over the holidays and have uploaded most of the works I’ve been posting faithfully on Instagram in a resolution that does them justice.
Here I’ll post a few of my favorites (and some fan favorites).
Dahlia petals
(October 2024)
Two discoveries this year: Plant parts are fun to work with. So are freehand 4-squares compared to the more intricate mandalas.
Fall reds
(November 2024)
Another lesson: Even when you think there’s not much around to work with, you can always find something to scan.
Wreath season
(November 2024)
I’m also blessed with access to some indoor tropicals when it’s slim pickings outside.
Passiflora
(August 2024)
I had a very brief but very fruitful passiflora bloom. Took advantage of it.
Old school daffs
(April 2024)
This bouquet (in memory of my mother-in-law who passed this year) is actually arranged on my scanner platen. My original scanner photography hero, the late Ellen Hovercamp did it that way. So do most of my Instagram buddies who are into floral scanography. I say I don’t do it this way because I have a small scanner. But truth be told, I just don’t have the patience.
Iris-tradescantia doodle
(May 2024)
Another lesson this year and resolution for 2025: Simpler is often better. Just because you scanned something today, Craig, doesn’t mean you have to incorporate it in your work tonight.
‘It’s Decorative Gourd Season, MFers’ #2
(September 2024)
Inspired by a McSweeney’s classic.
Gingko leaf drop
(November 3, 2024)
Always love how gingkoes shed all their leaves with the first hard frost. Our neighbors tree never disappoints.
Canna/dahlia dance
(July 2024)
I realize now that this is the only mandala that made it to the favorites list this year. But you can find a whole bunch more here.
Amarylis and papyrus
(November 2024)
Has a nice Art Nouveau feel to it. Wish I knew how to harness it.
Cinco de Mayo fireworks
(May 2024)
Ditto Amarylis and papyrus above.
More fall fruit
(November 2024)
Loved this one because it’s made from a pocket full of rotten berries, crabapples and rosehips.
Seasonal excessive disorder
(December 2024)
I don’t usually keep track. But this might be a record for me: There are 15 different scans in this 4-square. A little over the top. But I think it hangs together OK. (The composite at the top features a variation using some of the same scans in a simpler way.)
Bouquet for Jimmy
(December 2024)
This felt like a good way to wrap up the year…
While I was walking the dogs around a nearby field, stuffing weeds, invasives and the like into an old ornamental gourd I found along the way, Jimmy Carter died. First president I voted for. Still my favorite.
(Foxtail, milkweed, multiflora rose, bittersweet, nightshade and more. Photoshopped in the foxtail and milkweed, but the rest is an actual bouquet.)
