Nature Collages

What I call nature collages are made of arrangements I create using seeds, pods, leaves, ferns, feathers, flowers and fruits from the surrounding rainforest where I reside. I arrange my finds on grass, moss, banana leaves or lava rock. Nothing is glued down like my paper collages, I leave my art to blow away after taking a photograph. I then make a limited series of fine art prints from the original photo. This way I can share Hawaii with people who do not live here.

I am inspired by my daily hikes along a mile long loop, collecting what I find along the way from wild orchids, lichen and ice cream bean pods from a tree known as Inga edulis native to Central and South America introduced to Hawaii as it enriches soil with nitrogens and provides shade for cacao and coffee crops.

The long curved leathery green pods contain moist, cottony flesh with a hint of vanilla that can be sucked off glossy black seeds. I arrange the pods as they turn brown into concentric mandala-like circles topped with finds from cacao pods in hues from bright orange-yellow to brown, marble-shaped pale yellow strawberry guava, Suriname cherries, fragrant jasmine blooms, hibiscus flowers, plump split-open Malabar chestnuts pods and pale green pincushion-shaped pitch apples from the autograph leaf tree—scratch a smooth leaf to leave a name.

Sometimes I add a fallen bird nest or feather I find upright in the ground. These collages are transient, meaning they are left to dry, wither and disperse in the wind leaving no trace except for seeds eaten by birds that will sprout ensuring new growth.