White leaf prototype

I took apart my silver prototype to test bending an extra SP 115 epoxy skeleton leaf.

Bowes, K., (2021). Redone prototype.

Chosen leaves

These are the leaves I chose to use for my final platinum piece. They are not as wide as the ones I used in my prototypes and the white leaves in the clear epoxy look really clean and detailed.

Bowes, K., (2021). Chosen leaves.

Bowes, K., (2021). Leaf comparisions.

White leaves

To prevent the colour of the leaves from bleeding into the epoxy I decided to bleach the leaves. The leaf skeletons sit in a solution of bleach and water overnight.

Bowes, K., (2021). Skeletons in bleach.

Bowes, K., (2021). Bleach gradients.

Added veins

The leaf had a tendency to sill shift on the wire so I added wires, like the side veins, to stabilize the epoxy leaf to the silver wire.

Bowes, K.,(2021). Prototype 2.

Assembling

I wasn't sure how I was going to attach the epoxy leaf to the silver wire. The flexibility of the epoxy really helped with assembling my prototype.

Bowes, K.,(2021). Silver wire and Epoxy leaf.

Bowes, K.,(2021). Attaching one side.

Bowes, K.,(2021). Forming the epoxy.

Improvements

To ensure the epoxy spreads evenly I cut a from from 1mm thick perspex., as seen in image 1 below.

I thought the snapping was caused by not waxing the perspex enough the first time and that as well as the unevenness. My second attempt I used more wax (release agent) which helped but some areas still cracked slightly.

Image 1- Bowes, K., (2021). Epoxy frame. 

Rose, N., (2021). 1mm thick epoxy. 

 

Broken edges

Due to the epoxy spreading on its own under the perspex the edges were thin. So some of the edges snapped while trying to separate the epoxy from the perspex.

 

Bowes, K., (2021). Broken edges. 

Shaping the epoxy

Dipping the epoxy in kettle water makes it go from brittle to jelly like. When it is soft it can be easily shaped and once it is quenched in cold water it keeps its shape. 

Bowes, K., (2021). Epoxy leaf. 

Epoxy and leaves

 

I took the risk of experimenting with my actual skeleton leaves for the platinum project. I tried giving the skeletons structure with epoxy. 

I knew the experiment wouldn't take long and if it didn't work out I could pay for the mesh to be anodized instead. Thus keeping to my original prototype. 

Bowes, K., (2021). Leaf skeletons in epoxy. 

Rose, N., (2021). Applying epoxy. 

Prototype

Bowes, K.,(2021). Silver and mesh 'leaf'.

My prototype was made with aluminium mesh and silver wire to replicate a leaf skeleton. I spent time meticulously folding in the mesh ends as neat as possible.

The silver work-hardens while weaving so shaping it to look more leaf-like, after fixing the edge, caused the silver veins to snap. This was concerning as platinum is a harder metal that does become very soft when anneal well but can work-harden faster than silver.

Leaf Skeleton Reflection

Last year, the outcome of my stencil enamels was more of an abstract photocopied pattern rather than a leaf. Casting the skeleton didn't work out so I gave up trying to make the leaf altogether.

My casting with the skeleton leaf pattern made me realize I can look at the skeletons as a pattern and not as the leaf all the time. I am excited to see if the finished piece I planned for the platinum project will be the replicated skeleton leaf I have had in my head since the beginning that I didn't know how to achieve. I definitely want to continue exploring different ways to incorporate the leaves in my work as either replicas or as a pattern.

Bowes, K., (2021). Macro photo of a skeleton leaf.

Leaf Skeleton Summary

I have always been interested in art and biology. I made my first skeleton leaf in high school, 2015, and have been trying to incorporate them into my work ever since. Last year I experimented with using the leaf as a stencil for enamel, I also attempted to cast a skeleton leaf. but it did not work out how I expected.   

This year, I incorporated natural skeleton leaves and my made leaves into my handmade paper. Whilst making my paper I discovered an 'eco-friendly' way to make my skeleton leaves compared to my original process that left off toxic fumes. I worked with the pattern on a wax ring that I cast and quite like the outcome. I eventually found a way to somewhat replicate the skeleton leaves by prototyping with aluminium mesh. 

Bowes, K., (2021). Natural leaf skeleton.

Patterned ring

 When I did my collaboration with Courtney I wasn't sure how to mark out her design on the wax rings so I did this ring as a test with my photocopied leaf skeleton pattern.  I forgot about this ring but I recently came across it and realised I still want to finish it for my portfolio.

Bowes, K., (2021). Marking the patter

Bowes, K., (2021). Pattern marked out on the wax

Bowes, K., (2021). The ring just cut off the wax tree

One week update

One week after being submerged in the water I like to check how far the leave has skeletonised. The ones that are almost done I place on top of the stack and the leaves that haven't started to skeletonise are at the bottom this is because the leaves tend to float so the leaves at the bottom are constantly submerged.

 

Doubling-up mesh

 The doubled-up mesh made the tiny 'veins' look more realistic and less ridged but the edges are very messy. Weaving the silver 'veins' wasn't easy and the main stem snapped so more prototyping is needed.

Bowes, K., (2021). Imitation leaf skeleton

Earring prototype

 In an attempt to create my own skeleton leaf, I made the veins out of silver and want to layer them with the mesh. I may even look at doing a double layer of mesh so the lines don't look so ridged.

Bowes, K.,(2021). Silver and mesh prototype

Metal Leaf skeletons

 After deciding to use the wire mesh I started playing with the mesh to see what interesting forms I could make. The forms reminded me of the natural skeleton leaves that I found.

Bowes, K., (2021). Aluminum mesh form.

Bowes, K., (2021). Leaf forms

New skeletonisation process

 My old process of making the skeleton leaves, by boiling them in washing powder, was quite toxic. I found a video of making the skeleton leaves by leaving them in a closed container covered in water. The process takes 2 weeks but the outcome is closer to how the leaves skeletonise naturally. 

I started this batch on the 25th of June.

Bowes, K., (2021). Skeleton leaves in water

Natural Leaf skeletons

After making my first batch of paper I wanted to collect more leaves to make leaf skeletons. When I went to collect more leaves I found that a lot of the leaves had naturally skeletonised after all the rain we had, at beginning of June. It was interesting to see how the leaves skeletonise from the centre compared to how when I boil the leaves they skeletonise from the edges.

Bowes, K., (2021). Natural leaf skeletons

Bowes, K., (2021). Natural skeletonisation process

My handmade paper

I loved how the leaf skeletons knitted into the fibres of the paper so it became part of the paper. The paper also dried really thin which is why I also want to make white paper for creative booklets, with the paper being so thin the books won't get too thick.

Bowes, K .,(2021). Dried paper

Bowes, K., (2021). Leaf detail on paper.