Lichens as Inspiration
for Art
for Art
This morning another big wind passed over our island, blowing more branches to the ground, including one from a Madrona tree that had six or more different varieties of lichen growing on it. I picked it up, thinking to throw it off the trail. But on closer inspection realized it was a treasure - inspiration for beading or painting - with supurb colors and form!
Although the weather was drizzling, cold and dismal, I did my best with my camera to record these beauties.
The final image, below, shows that all the different types of lichen can mingle together on the same small twig.
I encourage you to go to this website to see more pictures of lichen and learn a little about it. I had no idea it was such a fascinating organism.
Posts
Those are very inspiring, Robin! I especially love the second photo. Thank you for sharing=;)
ReplyDeleteAwesome pictures!! Amazing world, isn't it? Wind and all!!! (We have 65mph tonight!) No big trees near us, though.
ReplyDeleteVicki Schroeder
Colorado
There is a lot of beauty in apparent
ReplyDeletechaos. You could even say that chaos is just unappreciated beauty.
Great inspiration! I think moss and lichens are beautiful. I'll look forward to what you create from this idea.
ReplyDeleteDo you have any trees left??! Your area has certainly taken a beating this winter. Stay safe, warm and dry.
Hi Robin,
ReplyDeleteIf it weren't for bad weather, you guys wouldn't have any weather at all. Well, a lot of people are saying the same thing here. It will pass, but we are having some amazing winds here and I hear they are supposed to get worse.
Lichens are used in dying and pigments also. In fact natural dyers love lichens. I thought the six word stories were great, but I think I like the lichens better!
Love the pics I can almost feel the cold and dampness. The Lichen is really beautiful too. CJ
ReplyDeleteThanks for the lichen pictures, Robin. We don't have as many tree lichens in Kauai and I've always loved them.
ReplyDeleteI liked the 6 word pictures, too, particularly the one with the deer near the kitty memorial.
I will never just call it moss again! I love this post! I collect
ReplyDeletelichen when I see it on broken branches, I often thing of it as the mountains seaweed!
It is beautiful isn't it!
To All ~ Thanks for visiting and commenting. I don't have any plans for this inspiration, but for sure they're tucked away in the back of my head ready to show up somewhere sometime in my work. I loved reading about them, and have since noticed more and more of them on our trees. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteAlways a treat to stop by here and see what's going on in the ever creative world of beads!
ReplyDeleteI finally got all of my beads out of old medicine bottles & into ziplock bags thanks to your suggestion! So much easier to see the colors now.
such beautiful photos of lichen...thanks for posting they are amazing.
ReplyDelete