Christina Hanson's paper botanicals at the Miller Library

Before leaving for my recent trip up to the Seattle/Bellevue area I'd heard about an exhibit of paper botanical sculptures at the Miller Library (part of the UW Center for Urban Horticulture), so I decided to check it out.

I took photos of the pieces that really appealed to me, being not so flower focused there were a few that I just walked on by. The information that accompanies each piece below is from the artist's signage.

Peacock Orchid Kusamono, Pleione sp., modeled after a plant purchased from the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden. April, 2023.

Venus flytrap, Dionaea muscipula, August 2023. ($400)

Paphiopedilum 'Maudiae', September 2023.

A Neglected Pot of Scarlet Masdevallia, Greenhouse grown Masdevallia coccinea, in need of repotting. January 2023. ($500)

Lepanthopsis acetabulum, the cup-shaped Lepanthopsis. This is the first, and only, species in a project of making miniscule orchids 10x their normal size. I collected many of these tiny pleurothallid orchids back in the day, they're neat but it can be frustratingly small to see their details. I may do more like this with just the flowers, I didn't anticipate how long the stems would end up being and therefor fairly difficult to display. June 2023.

Southeast Asian Suspended Epiphyte Branch. We used to keep tropical fish. I never was that good at or dedicated to the hobby and last year dismantled my last aquarium, which at that point was just plants. The tank sat empty in the dining room until I decided to make this. This is the second iteration of this piece as I added and replaced some plants.

Flowering plant list: Nepenthes sp., Rhododendron sp., Begonia dinhdui, Bulbophyllum contortisepalum, Bulbophyllum lasiochilum, Dendrobium cuthbertsonii, Begonia malachosticta, Agapetes 'Ludgvan Cross'. June 2023.

Decaying Log Diorama, Washington State Forest in the Autumn. Monotropa uniflora, Russula sp., Mahonia nervosa, Vaccinium parvifolium, Polypodium scouleri, Lycopodium clavatum. March 2023.

Miniature Desk Terrarium. This was my first attempt at a paper terrarium, the branch is many layers of paper over wire, which made attaching the plants very difficult, Later branches are paper over foam so the plants can be more easily pinned. April 2023.

Halloween scene in a grassy field, October 2023. 

April Wildflower Meadow, February 2023.

Rhododendron moupinense, One of our earliest rhododendrons to bloom, this one begins in our garden in late January, which is quite welcome that time of the winter. February, 2023.

Meconopsis betonicifolia, June 2023.

A Summer Chorus. Potted bog plants, July 2023.

The moths are Exyra semicrocea (pitcher plant mining moth). They live and lay their eggs in a few species of pitcher plants, managing not to get consumed. The caterpillars feed on the traps leaving windowed holes.

Forest Edge Diorama with Cypripedium montanum, April 2024.

(back to my commentary not the artists) I really enjoyed this exhibit and the workmanship was extraordinary. There were a few times I felt the man-made color of the paper used got in the way of the realism of the piece, but you're seeing them further processed by my camera and your monitor/screen so who knows what you're seeing. I cannot imagine the hours that must have gone in to this work. Some of them were offered for sale (price noted), my favorite was the Southeast Asian Suspended Epiphyte Branch which was not for sale, thus I wasn't even tempted. If you're in the area the exhibit runs thru this Saturday.

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