Before and After the sun's work and the drying process. Everything changes under the sun, the shapes, the colour, the tones, the size, the feeling. There's shrinkage and distortion, things are out of my control, things have a life of their own. Only time will tell. And so I make these experimental sculptures and materials and they change over time into beautiful objects I could have never predicted. Some of the work is "successful" and others are a total failure and valuable learning experiences. This is a very slow process and it takes so much time for the work to change and develop into an unknown final product. The work continues daily, in the studio and in my head always.

This is where I work in the mornings from May to September. This is where I find myself sourcing a lot of the materials I process and work with in the afternoons in my studio. We just processed Daikon radishes and the greens were so fibrous that I took a tub home and cast with it in old Gelatin metal moulds.

My world is so green right now, it's so hard to imagine otherwise. chlorophyll, "any member of the most important class of pigments involved in photosynthesis, the process by which light energy is converted to chemical energy through the synthesis of organic compounds. Chlorophyll is found in virtually all photosynthetic organisms, including green plants, cyanobacteria, and algae. It absorbs energy from light; this energy is then used to convert carbon dioxide to carbohydrates." www.britannica.com/science/chlorophyll

Photo on left is casting with mashed and drained Daikon radish greens - photo on right is of hand moulding small sculptures with the same material.

Observations: Mark making by others, worms, fleas, wind, birds, out of necessity, chance or wonder. Wonder why I have to do it? 
"Creative material engagement, or creative thinging designates the peculiar disposi-
tion of the human body to create, to explore and to discover affordances (in the
Gibsonian ecological sense of interactive possibilities) through the attentive engage-
ment with things, form-generating materials, or selected aspects of the relevant material
environment. Mark making is the skill that allow these
two processes (material enactive signification and creative thinging) to mingle together."            https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348898660_Mark_Making_and_Human_Becoming 

The field, my field is everywhere. Kumquat research and exploration, drying in sunny spot on my deck, to be used as a canvass when dry. Looking for an all ready made surface that does not need processing to be used as a mark making surface.

Peanut shells as canvasses, "allready" made paper, The peanut is unusual because it flowers above the ground, but fruits below the ground. Typical misconceptions of how peanuts grow place them on trees (like walnuts or pecans) or growing as a part of a root, like potatoes.
Peanut seeds (kernels) grow into a green oval-leafed plant about 18 inches tall which develop delicate flowers around the lower portion of the plant. The flowers pollinate themselves and then lose their petals as the fertilized ovary begins to enlarge. The budding ovary or “peg” grows down away from the plant, forming a small stem, which extends to the soil. The Peanut embryo is in the tip of the peg, which penetrates the soil. The embryo turns horizontal to the soil surface and begins to mature taking the form of peanut. The plant continues to grow and flower, eventually producing some 40 or more mature pods. From planting to harvesting, the growing cycle takes about four to five months, depending on the type or variety. The peanut is a nitrogen-fixing plant; its roots form modules which absorb nitrogen from the air and provides enrichment and nutrition to the plant and soils. aboutpeanuts.com/peanut-anatomy/

Researching paper making and charcoaling some peanut shells for pigment egg tempera. A big shout out to the incredibly super good Jean Kindratsky, for the peanuts, the book, the writing, the ideas and all your support.