Cassandra Tondro Eco-Friendly Fine Art

Valentine's Paintings

2012-01-30T14:52:00.000-08:00

My grid of paintings in recognition of Valentine's Day -- to be shown at Gloria Delson Contemporary Arts during the month of February. Each painting is 10" x 10", repurposed acrylic latex paint on canvas, and they're sold separately. Or you can buy all 28 of them, if you'd like! A most unusual Valentine's Day gift!

Join me at the Downtown Art Walk on Thursday night, February 9th. I'll be there checking out the galleries myself, and I'll spend some time at Gloria Delson.

Click on the image below to see it larger. Which one is your favorite?

Winter Newsletter

2012-01-18T09:12:00.000-08:00

I just sent out my Winter quarterly newsletter, detailing information about recent commissions, ongoing and upcoming shows, and new work. Check it out, and subscribe if you'd like to receive it in your e-mail inbox.

Natural Forces, 24 x 24 inches, repurposed acrylic latex paint on canvas

Gloria Delson Contemporary Arts

2012-01-05T18:11:00.000-08:00

Two of my paintings are included in a group show at Gloria Delson Contemporary Arts in downtown Los Angeles this month. Come on down for the Downtown Art Walk next Thursday night, January 12th. Most of the galleries are open until 9pm, but it starts getting crowded around 7:00, so you might want to consider coming early and staying for dinner. The show continues through the end of January.

Recent Commission

2011-12-17T17:00:00.000-08:00

Here's a recently completed commission that I thought turned out really nice. It will hang over the couch in the living room, and it complements the rust and teal accent colors in the room.

Click on image to see it larger.

New Triptych

2011-12-15T13:50:00.000-08:00

This is a new triptych that I recently finished. It has a very spring feel to it, so the working title is Early Spring, even though we're in the midst of winter. Each piece is 40" x 30", making the overall size 40" x 90". Repurposed acrylic latex paint on canvas.

Click on image to see it larger.

I'm doing a show at The Rose Cafe, probably at the end of February and running through March. You can see these paintings in person then. Or you can see them at my studio, now, by appointment!

Leaf Monoprints on Fabric - Tests

2011-12-01T14:14:00.001-08:00

These are my latest leaf monoprint experiments on cotton fabric. The first two were soaked in soy milk before printing. The prints are more distinct, and the colors are mostly orange and rust.

Click on the images to see them larger.

These next two were soaked in soda ash, which is very alkaline. The colors are mauve and olive green, and the prints are more blurred.

The last two were soaked in soy milk, allowed to dry, and then soaked in soda ash. It looks like the soda ash prevailed over the soy milk! Mauve and green with blurred prints.

I'm still liking that yellow one from before best, but these have potential. They might look good with a pale yellow overdye.

Malibu Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T17:48:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving in Malibu. Isn't it one of the most beautiful places in the world?

More Leaf Monoprints on Fabric

2011-11-23T16:21:00.001-08:00

I have some more leaf monoprints on fabric to show you. Click on the images to see them larger.

These first two are on wool felt. Interesting, but I don't know what to do with the felt once it's printed.

This next one is the pale yellow cotton flannel again, but this time I soaked it in diluted soy milk before printing. Protein fibers, like silk and wool, print better than the cellulose fibers like cotton and linen. Presoaking the cotton in soy milk gives it more of the properties of a protein fiber, since soy is protein. The leaves print better on soy milk-soaked cotton.

This last one is my favorite. It's the same pale yellow cotton flannel soaked in diluted soy milk, but it was the first sheet in the bundle, and it was pressed up against a piece of cardboard. What's in cardboard that makes these pieces more yellow and print better? Is it the acid in the cardboard? Could I simulate the cardboard effect with something like vinegar? And are acids harmful to fabrics over time, if the fabric is washed after printing?

Leaf Monoprints on Fabric

2011-11-21T15:03:00.001-08:00

I've been playing around with leaf monoprints on various fabrics. Each fabric gives a very different look. The prints are more crisp on some fabrics, and have more of a watercolor look on others. Hemp dyes the darkest, and silk habotai gives the brightest colors. The prints are much less distinct on fabric compared to paper. It's a very ethereal look.

What do you think they'd be good for?

Click on the images to see a larger view.

Raw silk

Hemp canvas

Pale yellow cotton flannel

Linen

Silk habotai

Cotton canvas

Pima cotton

Leaf Monoprint Process - Loquat Leaves

2011-11-18T04:00:00.000-08:00

Loquat trees have leathery dark green leaves, and produce an edible yellow-orange fruit in the spring.

Look for yellow and green fallen leaves, not the dried and dull brown ones.

Because the leaves are so thick, they tend to print as skeletal outlines on paper, which is a nice contrast to the other leaves. Here are some loquat monoprints on Fabriano and India watercolor papers.

Leaf Monoprint Process - Liquidamber Leaves

2011-11-15T04:00:00.000-08:00

Liquidamber leaves are one of my favorites for my leaf monoprints. The trees are deciduous, and the leaves turn various shades of yellow and red before they fall.

Look for deep red leaves that are fresh, and not brown or dried out. The deep red leaves work the best for leaf monoprints.

The liquidamber leaves have several different looks, depending on which side of the leaf is pressed against the paper. Here are some liquidamber monoprints on India and Fabriano watercolor papers.

Natural Dyeing

2011-11-13T15:10:00.001-08:00

I've felt inspired to do some natural dyeing and weaving lately. It's good to mix things up. It keeps me interested and excited about my work.

I have a pot of eucalyptus bark simmering in the studio. It gives a beautiful reddish-brown color, and smells great.

Last week I wove this scarf from soft cotton yarns that I dyed with plants.

Here's a close-up of the yarns and the weave. I like that it's not perfect. It has a wabi sabi handmade look about it that appeals to me.

Some of the plants used to dye these colors were pomegranate rind, madder, red hibiscus flowers, brown onion skins and calendula flowers.

Leaf Monoprint Process 8 - Open Bundle

2011-11-09T04:00:00.000-08:00

Remove the bundle from the roasting pan. This is what it looks like after steaming.

Cut the strings, open the bundle, and gently remove the leaves. Some of the leaves might stick, and you have to be careful not to tear the paper. Remember that the paper tears more easily when it's wet.

It's OK if some pieces of leaves remain stuck to the paper. They'll flake off easily when the paper and leaves are dry.

The steamed leaves can be added to a compost pile, for decomposition.

Lay the printed paper out flat to dry.

Once the sheets are dry, remove any remaining pieces of leaves. You can press the printed sheets under heavy books to flatten them.

Leaf Monoprint Process 7 - Steam

2011-11-07T04:00:00.000-08:00

Put one inch or more of water in the roasting pan, and bring the water to a boil. Place the bundle of paper and leaves on top of the rack in the pan, over the boiling water. Weight the top of the stack with bricks. I use an additional rack on top of the bundle to distribute the weight more evenly.

Place the cover on the roasting pan, and steam the bundle for two hours.

After one hour, I like to flip the stack of paper upside down, to distribute moisture throughout the stack. This is when you will need heavy gloves. The steam is extremely hot, as are the bricks and the stack of paper. Use caution when handling.

After two hours, turn off the heat, and let the pan, water, and bundle of paper and leaves cool overnight before opening.

Leaf Monoprint Process 6 - Stack Paper and Leaves

2011-11-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

You're ready to stack the soaked paper and the flattened leaves! I like to group my leaves by type.

Lay a sheet of soaked paper on a piece of cardboard that is slightly larger than the paper. Lay the leaves on top of the paper. Experiment with overlapping the leaves, the density of leaves on a sheet, and the types of leaves.

Lay two more sheets of paper on top of the leaves, then a layer of leaves, two more sheets of paper, leaves . . . ending with a single sheet of paper. You only need to print one side of the paper. That's why there are two sheets of paper between each layer of leaves.

When you have finished stacking the paper and leaves, put another piece of cardboard on the top, and tie the bundle securely with string.

Leaf Monoprint Process 5 - Soak Paper

2011-11-03T14:34:00.000-07:00

When the leaves are flat and you're ready to print, soak the paper in water for about an hour. The top of the roasting pan is handy for this!

Put the sheets into the water one at a time, and make sure that each sheet gets wet. If you put them in as a stack, they tend to stick together, and the sheets in the middle might stay dry.

Leaf Monoprint Process 4 - Prepare Paper

2011-10-31T04:00:00.000-07:00

Prepare your paper for printing by tearing it to size. Tearing gives a nice soft edge, similar to a deckle-edge, if you're using deckle-edge paper.

To tear the paper, fold it along the tear line, and dampen the edge with a wet sponge. Then fold it the opposite direction, and dampen that side of the fold. Wet paper tears more easily than dry paper.

Tear enough paper to make a decent stack. It's easier to steam a stack of paper than just a few pieces.

Leaf Monoprint Process 3 - Gather Leaves

2011-10-29T11:52:00.000-07:00

Gather leaves for your monoprints. The leaves that work best are leaves that have freshly fallen from the trees, not dried up and brown leaves. I only use fallen leaves, and not leaves that are still on the tree. Leaves that are still on the tree don't work as well, anyway.

Look for clues about which leaves will print well, such as leaves that stain the pavement. You may need to do some experimentation to find out which leaves will print well.

Some of the leaves that work well for me are Liquidamber, Mulberry, London Plane, Loquat, Evergreen Pear, Birch, Flowering Plum, Ironwood, Sycamore, Gingko, Eucalyptus, Maple, Elm, and Acacia seed pods.

The leaves need to be pressed flat for printing. I flatten them under heavy books for a day or two.

Coming up next: preparing your paper for printing.

Commission

2011-10-26T09:42:00.000-07:00

I'm shipping a commission off today. It's always a little sad to see them go after working on them and living with them for many weeks. But then it's exciting to hear the client's response when they receive the painting.

This one is 36 x 48 inches, repurposed acrylic latex paint on canvas. It's intended as the focal point for an open-floor-plan dining room. Click on the image to see it larger.

The boxed-up painting won't fit in my car, so I had to call on my brother. He's the only person I know who still has a big car! Let's hope he keeps it.

Leaf Monoprint Process 2 - Materials

2011-10-24T15:28:00.000-07:00

These are the materials you will need for making leaf monoprints.

1. Paper. Different papers yield different colors and patterns. Experiment with watercolor papers, handmade papers, and Japanese papers.

Here are some of the papers I have used. Note that the same leaves were used on all five papers, with very different results.

India watercolor paper

Handmade paper

Japanese rice paper

Arches watercolor paper

Fabriano watercolor paper

2. String. A strong string for holding the bundle of paper and leaves together.

3. Cardboard. Two pieces slightly larger than the size of your paper.

4. Leaves. You will need lots of leaves! I'll go into this in more detail with the next post.

Leaf Monoprint Process 1 - Equipment

2011-10-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

Here it is, as promised! The first of my posts explaining the leaf monoprint process in detail. Leaf monoprints are the ultimate in eco-friendly art. No dyes, inks or paints are used -- just fallen leaves and watercolor paper. The colors of the leaves are transferred to the paper through steaming, and afterwards the leaves can be put into a compost pile.

Let's start with the equipment you will need.

1. Something to steam in. It's like steaming vegetables. The stack of paper and leaves needs to be suspended over boiling water, and not touching the water. The first steamer I used was a graniteware turkey roaster with a vegetable steamer on the bottom. With this set-up, I could steam a stack of paper that was 10" x 13". Don't use the same utensils for cooking and artwork. You need to keep them separate.

Now I use a commercial aluminum roasting pan, with a rack fitted inside that is just a piece of scrap something-or-other. Actually I have two pieces of this rack material -- one that goes beneath the stack of paper, and one on top. With this pan, I can steam a stack of paper that is 14" x 18". It works great, but the pan is very heavy, especially when filled with water.

2. Hot plate(s). It's best not to do this in your kitchen. Like with any art, you should keep it separate from your food preparation area. For the turkey roaster, you only need one hot plate. For the large commercial roasting pan, you need two.

This is the roasting pan on the two hot plate burners, in my studio.

3. Something to weight the stack of paper while it's steaming. I use bricks. You need good contact between the leaves and the paper, and the bricks keep everything pressed together.

4. Heavy gloves, to protect your hands from being scalded.

In the next lesson, I'll talk about the materials you will need.

Fall Newsletter

2011-10-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

I just sent out my Fall newsletter, where you can read about my new leaf monoprints and paintings.

The leaf monoprints are turning out great this year, and I have them available in a larger size -- 11" x 14" and 14" x 18". It takes a very large covered roasting pan to be able to make the 14" x 18" prints!

I'm going to explain the leaf monoprint process in detail here, as soon as I get some time to create the posts. Keep an eye out for it!

Leaf Print 5, 14 x 11 inches, monoprint on paper

The Interior Revolution

2011-09-29T11:39:00.000-07:00

My leaf prints are featured on The Interior Revolution today, a blog created by interior designer Rachel Hulan. She describes them so well -- better than I describe them myself!

Eco Leaf Print Time

2011-08-11T08:26:00.000-07:00

It's getting to be leaf print time again, and I've been doing some test strips in preparation. This paper was especially surprising. I've never seen bright greens before, and it was quite exciting! Click on the image to see it larger.

I create these leaf prints by pressing fallen leaves against paper under pressure and heat. The colors of the leaves transfer to the paper. No dyes, inks or paints are used. All of the color comes from the leaves themselves.

Update 8/12/11: From my experience using natural dyes, it occurs to me that there must be some form of copper in this paper to produce these bright green colors. I don't know of anything other than copper that would gives greens like this. All of the other papers produce yellows, rusts, sage greens and browns.

Keeper?

2011-08-09T11:40:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure about this new triptych. It's a bit more intense than I had expected! What do you think -- is it a keeper, or should I paint over it? Click on the image to see it larger.

Sunburst, triptych, 24 x 72 inches, repurposed acrylic latex paint on canvas