April is all about spring ephemerals in the Chicagoland area. I was happy to be reunited with familiar friends like Virginia spring beauty, bloodroot and Virginia bluebells this month. I also made some new friends like twin leaf, which is now rare in the area. I also met celandine poppy at a wildflower garden and decided to try making a pattern using that distinctive plant as the motif. Now I am finding celandine poppy everywhere!
During the last two months, I was in the thick of a surface design course, which heavily influenced my nature journaling/field sketching practice during that time. I use the forwardslash because sometimes it’s hard to tease the two apart, and that’s ok. So I was really focused on the physical appearance of things this month so I can use my nature journal for design reference. I’m not sure where I’ll go with surface design but I know that it will center on my love of and direct experience with the plants and animals in my environment.
