Pulling out all of my pressed leaves and flowers from August for some new art projects. So satisfying!
A few weeks later, the tomato leaves outside are already withering and turning brown, but these here are like a last little time capsule of summer
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Eivor’s herbarium P2: white clover (completed)
'Forage for cattle & beloved by bees - do only they & I notice it’s fragrance? For so humble a plant it’s potent perfume is a marvel. I took some to Randvi & we shared its sweet scent...’
Finally completed the next page in Eivor’s Herbarium - white clover. (Cover page is here, P1 on on the Ravensthorpe marker oak is here)
I wanted the text to reference Randvi and kinda trail off without saying too much... This is one of the first plants Eivor might encounter on arrival in Ravensthorpe, after all. It’s pretty much everywhere in and around the longhouse, settlement, riverbanks, etc.
I was extremely slow to draw the writing on this. After a long gap without working on this, and current chronic pain problems affecting my hands... I was kiiinda irrationally terrified about fucking it up. The writing isn’t even twiddly or exciting - Eivor is a busy vikingr & a botanical hobby is one thing, calligraphy is another. Anyway it’s done. Whew!
Now... Which plant do I do for the next page - the journey to Grantebridge? I have Silver Birch ready to go, maybe that?
Recap: White clover (Trifolium repens)
This small plant is easy to overlook. It has a really amazing scent, but not many ppl notice it, since it’s very close to the ground. There’s a species of moth - the marbled clover - that feeds on it, which I’ve drawn for something else I’m making. A zine about moths of Ravensthorpe - species that Randvi might see drawn to the light while she’s up late working at the alliance table.
This clover is grown as a forage crop for grazing animals, with a long history of agricultural cultivation. It’s super common in pretty much any grassy area here in the UK…
…including in my back yard like this plant.
The individual flowers within each flower head look similar to pea flowers - because it’s a legume (same family as beans and peas.) Probably the only thing I remember about them from biology class is that legumes fix nitrogen via nodules on their roots that contain symbiotic bacteria. Because they add nitrogen to the soil, they reduce the need for fertiliser and improve grazing pastures. So that’s why they’ve historically been an essential crop.
As well as around the settlement of Ravensthorpe, clover is also seen in-game in grassy areas too. It seems to have a fairly realistic distribution! Below it’s mixed in with other wildflowers in meadows…
…and here it’s scattered around this weird deer-skeleton-bees-nest-honeycomb… thing? (I am as confused as the person in the pic tbh.)
You can also see some white clover on the cover page for Eivor’s herbarium below.
The easiest place to find it in game is right outside the Ravensthorpe longhouse.
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Added a real piece of birch tree bark, along with this beautiful leaf that I found the other day to my journal. Just some autumn longing thoughts.
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This is a more recent page with some pressed orchid flowers, the Dendrobium one I’ve posted in flower :•)
There’s also the pleione which didn’t retain any of its purple colour unfortunately but it still looks interesting
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In My Dreams Pt. III (on Instagram)
from Secrets I Tell the Trees by Marisa Renee
📷: Mamiya RB67
🎞: Kodak Ektar 100 120
Each letter of this phrase was hand-cut from pressed lilac leaves and hung on hemp twine to create a conceptual art installation. This image was shot in May 2021 in Broomfield, Colorado. My literal dreams are filled with lilacs in full bloom so here's a little throwback to this shoot from late spring in early fall 🌿💜
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Pressed Leaves
Once red faded to a purplish
Seemingly forgotten, yet still remembered
Tucked away
Pressed flat
In the back of a notebook
They were there for a purpose
And they’d be used for said purpose
But, until then,
They were tucked away
Once red faded to a purplish
Mundane beauty
To be preserved
—Amoridere, 1/11/2024
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I GATHERED SOME LEAVES IN FALL, PRESSED THEM, PAINTED THEM WITH CLEAR NAIL POLISH AND PUT THEM IN THESE COOL FRAMES.
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