Monday Featured Artisan

Today's Featured Artisan is Anne of Ever Lasting Leaves
She is one of my teammates from the etsywmi team. Her shop can be found at http://www.EverLastingLeaves.etsy.com

My name is Anne and I make concrete leaves ;)

It all started with a leftover bag of mortar and a boring afternoon, then visiting a friends garden I heard 'do you believe the size of those rhubarb?'.
I had always wanted to try making concrete leaves and having just recently lost my job all of a sudden it hit me. . .
‘Hey, I’ve got cement . . . . I’ve got time. . . .I should try this!!!’


Actually the story is just a bit different, I bought the bag of mortar to fix the chimney and before I even got up on the roof I had made several leaves and had to go buy more mortar to do the chimney before I made more leaves. . . . . lots more leaves.
My buddies said they were all gorgeous and suggested I sell them, so I did.....but I really make concrete leaves more for the love of nature and preserving Mother Natures creations via my creations. I love the rustic, rough and hairy leaves with deep veins rather than the smoother leaves.

Each leaf is cast in cement and sand with feet leveled, wire loops imbedded for hanging and cured for 14 days to strengthen the concrete. A mix of acrylic hues are applied in layered washes to highlight the patterns of veining. A hot application of pure beeswax saturates into the surface of the leaf front and back to give the hues depth and tonality as well as protecting the colors and concrete. I was so glad to discover this sealant as I endeavor to avoid using chemical products.

The learning, development and improving of the process is what most intrigued me, being an engineer by nature. Finding that I had created beautiful works of art just floored me having wanted to be an artist as a kid. The creativity of melding artistry and engineering has been extremely satisfying to me in my 50th year of life, an affirmation of my accumulated skills and the satiation of desires long hidden coming to fruition.

When I am not making leaves I love to read and research, both online and in the library, as I am insatiably curious. I am an avid water gardener playing with both miniature lillys and filtration systems. I have 2 rescued dogs, 14yo Libby the Aussie and 3yo Rascal the Std. Poodle, and we love to run, walk and ski the trails I cut on my 15 acres of land. I love to try and fix almost anything mechanical having rebuilt my 30yo John Deere Lawn & Garden tractor and fixing just about everything that needs it around the house. I also love to sew, knit and make chocolate candy.....I am a renaissance woman and a tomboygirlforeever :)

This is just a small sample of the designs you can find at Ever Lasting Leaves, please visit Anne's shop to see more of her work!

Pieces in this post:
1. Green Rhubarb Leaf Bird Bath
2. Umber Catalpa Leaf
3. Bright Red Maple Leaf