My fascination with botanicals and creating work inspired by them continues here in Hawai’i. This lovely tropical environment feels familiar, similar to Cairns where I spent several weeks this spring as an Artist-in Residence. But a closer look shows very striking differences.
The Far North Queensland rainforest is ancient, 100s of millions of years more ancient than the Amazon Rainforest. Whereas the Hawaiian Islands themselves are very, very new. Many of the plants here were brought by man including the philodendron. It is listed as non-native, mildly invasive. It’s a bit how I feel living here. Non-native to Hawaii and considering the huge population on this little tropical island, mildly invasive. Like the epiphyte it is, grabbing at life.
Continuing my interest in botanicals means I still have some of the correct colored wires and yarns to jump right in and get some test pieces created. Most of the yarns I will be using were specially hand dyed by an artist in Australia.
First was a small leaf to test for short term (3 weeks) durability in the hot sun, pouring rain, and beaming rainbows. It held up much better than expected but my experiment was a bit flawed in that my balcony is too protected for a full on weather stress test. Unless a typhoon is expected, I’m still a go for a short term outdoor idea!
Next, based on the huge philodendron growing in a nearby park and my original sketch, I am in the process of creating one of the smaller philodendron leaves. Approx 10″ x 6.5″ (25 x 17cm). It needs a bit more symmetry but overall I’m happy with the results so far.
More day to day details in my studio can be found on Instagram: StudioDeanna
The combined textile and wire vine design I created met with her approval and we think will address concerns about damage a purely wire crocheted vine may cause. 
