Newsletter #4 - The Art of Nature Printing

Celebrating Design by Nature

Hi! You're receiving this, our 4th newsletter, because you're a friend

familiar with my art & fabrics, a customer who has purchased my work,

or you signed up for it on my website: www.heliographics.com

If you would like to unsubscribe, you can do so below.

But I hope you'll continue to enjoy receiving it when I send it out every month or so.

Warm wishes ~ Dawn Wilkins ~ HelioGraphics

"Time becomes meaningless in the face of creativity"
~ Fred Babb

The Art of Nature Printing

"What a nature printer needs most is a combination of curiosity and patience." ~ Robert Little

Every year, I teach a Nature Printing class, which throws me back to the origins of my practice. In the 80's, there were so many wanna-be artists hand-painting T-shirts in Key West, we jokingly referred to the island as the "Hand-painted T-Shirt Capital of the World."

I was one of them, and that's when my experiments with printing plants began. The leaves in the tropics are BIG! A T-shirt's limited size led me to print on larger pieces of canvas and natural fabrics, which became pillows and hammocks. My business was born.

"One can learn technique in 15 minutes, but it can take a lifetime to master."
Thus, it is with Nature Printing. There is always more to discover. My early pursuits on fabric eventually led me to paper, adding drawings and paintings to handmade art prints—a practice that matured into my distinctive style.

Thus, it is with Nature Printing. There is always more to discover and learn about the process, which keeps one hooked.

My early pursuits utilizing this art form on fabric eventually led me to experiment on paper, which took me on an entirely different path. Over time, I began adding drawings and paintings to my handmade art prints, and that practice expanded and matured into my distinctive style. Antique botanical lithographs and nature studies continue to inspire my work, and I love creating fresh, contemporary representations of these revered art forms.

I learned a big lesson, though, while in North Carolina, studying Botanical Drawing at Penland, a marvelous artist retreat in the mountains. One day, after drawing class, during free time, I collected new, unfamiliar plants to print from the surrounding forest. The next morning, after one of these printing sessions, I looked in the mirror to discover my face was red and my eyes were very puffy. Without realizing it, I had been printing a variety of poison ivy! After that, I began identifying my subjects first.

Peek into our Art Gallery

where you'll find nature prints used in my work...

Warm wishes ~ Dawn Wilkins ~ HelioGraphics

Newletter #3 Green is Good for You

Celebrating Design by Nature

Hi! You're receiving this, our 3rd newsletter, because you're a friend familiar with my art & fabrics, a customer who has purchased my work, or you signed up for it on my website: www.heliographics.com
If you would like to unsubscribe, you can do so below.
But I hope you'll continue to enjoy receiving it when I send it out every month or so.
Warm wishes ~ Dawn Wilkins ~ HelioGraphics

GREEN IS GOOD FOR YOU moray eels and iguanas, oh my!

Moray eels are not something one encounters very often. When diving in warm waters, you might come across one, head poking out from under a rock or ledge, swaying with the current. They are menacing at first glance, their mouth slightly open, revealing an intimidating set of small, sharp teeth. So, I was astonished when I glanced down into the water from our dock one morning recently and saw a 3-foot Green Moray swim by!
It wove its way through the turtle grass, tail undulating back and forth, swiftly gliding by.
I had to paint it... and I added a Sergeant Major Damselfish, hiding in the grass behind the eel, thus inspiring the name of the piece, "Damsel in Distress".
It is currently hanging in the Key West Member's Show at The Studios of Key West.

Such serendipitous sightings bring a marvelous sense of wonder to our lives when we put ourselves in that path of possibility by getting outside and paying attention to the world around us.

We’re all intrinsically aware that “Green is good for you, and being outside, or living in restorative environments, helps us re-focus and function better mentally, in addition to reducing stress and improving our health. We can fill our home with plants and nature-oriented art and textiles (hint, hint!)
to create a nurturing space. Most importantly, we gotta get out the door and take in the action that's happening behind the scenes during our busy days.

Observing our natural environment reminds us of the magical world of wonder we are so fortunate to inhabit. Simply watching the birds and squirrels outside our window can foster a sense of peace and order in the world that might otherwise be missing.
Who knows what you might see during a short walk in the woods on a snowy day?

During a chilly spell in the Keys, one might witness an Iguana falling from a tree.
This really happens! Huge Spanish lime trees with giant canopies and long limbs are a favorite hangout for these primordial critters. When cold, they lose their grip on the branch and plummet far to the ground below. The fall does not kill them, but, stunned,
they suddenly pop up onto their toes and scurry away like cartoon characters.
And we carry on with our day, enriched by such a sighting with a smile on our face.

"The world is bursting with wonder, and yet it's the rare productivity guru who seems to have considered the possibility that the ultimate point of all our frenetic doing might be to experience more of that wonder." — Oliver Burkeman

Here's a peek into our Art Gallery...

Newsletter #2 - A Note From The North Woods

Celebrating Design by Nature

Hi! A note from the northern woods...

You're receiving this, our second newsletter, because you're a friend familiar with my art & fabrics, a customer who has purchased my work, or you signed up for it on my website: www.heliographics.com

If you would like to unsubscribe, you can do so below, but I hope you'll continue to enjoy receiving it when I send it out every month or so.

~ Happy Autumn Days wherever you are! ~ Dawn Wilkins ~ HelioGraphics

FOXGLOVE LOVE

An ode to hummingbirds, bees, bugs, flowers, and trees

“Hummingbirds are little more than bubbles fringed with iridescent feathers... They are literally made of air and a humongous heart that beats 500 times per minute.” *

For nearly 30 years, we’ve been nurturing a garden in the woods behind our cabin in the Adirondacks. It is an oasis nestled between forest and lake, and has been a busy blur of activity throughout the summer and into the fall. The abundance and variety of birds, bugs, and bees that are attracted to such a remote spot are incredible.

One must wonder how all these tiny creatures find this beautiful bounty of blossoms amidst such a vast wooded wilderness of 6 million acres.

Though we’ve grown an extensive assortment of flowers, our Foxglove appears to be the Ruby-throated hummingbird's favorite food source.

These tiny iridescent birds endlessly entertain as they hover while feeding, with wings beating 60 times per second, until they suddenly race away, disappearing like a dart. Capable of flying backwards, forward, and even upside down, these miniature

aerial acrobats are astounding.

Zooming intently between the Foxglove and the feeders filled with sugar water, they are focused on getting their fill, all while providing a fascinating live-action show.
These wee shimmering-green birds must feed on 1,500 flowers and consume over 600 insects a day to sustain themselves. As a result, they are determined to defend their food sources to get their fill. We watch, entranced, as they dive bomb each other, able to plummet over 60 mph, then pull out of the plunge to dash into the distance… only to return a moment later to protect their territory.

Occasionally, they will tolerate each other for a few moments to share a feeder.

When a male hummingbird perches in a patch of light, its scarlet neck and bright green back feathers dazzle with luminescence.

Our huge hydrangeas are also fun to watch, bustling with busy bees, bugs, and delicate butterflies fluttering and floating amidst the blossoms. These bountiful bushes remind me of large coral heads one sees when snorkeling in the ocean with colorful tropical fish flitting all around them.

At dusk, suddenly a squadron of dozens of dark-winged dragonflies descends, darting erratically like drones in an end-of-day frenzied feeding before disappearing into the night sky, and the show is over until morning.

If you'd enjoy reading more about hummingbirds, check out "The Hummingbird's Gift: Wonder, Beauty, and Renewal on Wings"

by Sy Montgomery, the source of these and other fascinating facts.

Foxglove studies in watercolor and colored pencil

Here's a peek into our Art Gallery...

Summer Garden ~ Foxglove and Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female)

$165.00

Shop now

Summer Garden ~ Foxglove and Ruby-throated Hummingbird (male)

$165.00

Shop now

Autumn in New York ~ Kingfisher

$195.00

Shop now

"If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden."

~ Frances Hodgson Burnett ~

Take a Break!

Join me on occasional mini-adventures to jump into the fascinating world we live in. You'll see what inspires my art, get a glimpse into the process, and perhaps we'll both discover a few new fun things along the way.

Earthbound Ease - images of elegant women's wearing neutral airy dresses

Our First Newsletter!

Celebrating Design by Nature

Greetings from Key West! You're receiving this, our first newsletter, because you're a friend familiar with my art & fabrics, a customer who has purchased my work,

or you signed up for it on my website: www.heliographics.com

If you would like to unsubscribe, you can do so below, but I hope you'll enjoy receiving it every month or so. Happy Summer! ~ Dawn Wilkins ~ HelioGraphics

Summer Daze

Summer is here, with cloud mountains bringing rain showers, and the orange-red crowns of Royal Poinciana tree blossoms hanging low.

After a long bike ride through the neighborhood, I went for a skinny dip off the dock, as I love to do when no one is around. Calm, clear green waters were a window into the sea, where I could gaze upon a bed of Turtle Grass waving lightly in the current below. A school of tiny silversides circled around me.

A quick movement caught my eye just as a Little Green Heron flew in with a characteristic single squawk and landed on a Buttonwood branch hanging out over the water a few feet away. I slowly swam to my right a bit, which placed a piling between our line of sight. Surprisingly, a second Little Green Heron was hopping across the rocks at the water’s edge underneath the dock.

At eye level with it, I was delighted to have a clear opportunity to observe this beautiful bird with its maroon feathers, bright orange legs, and distinctive cap.

Entirely focused on the two birds, I didn’t notice the small boat putt-putting its way up the channel toward me. The voices were what caught my attention, and turning, I realized in a flash that I had to make a quick choice. Hang there naked in the water as the boat passed closely by, or give them a glimpse of my nudeness from a distance as I scampered up the ladder and off the dock.

I went for it.

On the path, I startled a Land crab caught off guard outside its burrow.

It took one look at me and skittered sideways under the palms.

I had to laugh, amused as we were both caught off-guard so suddenly, then found ourselves scurrying off in different directions.