Botanical Art Cards Archives - Page 2 of 2

The Wabi Sabi Suite of New Botanical Cards and Upcoming Shows

February 8, 2023 by Iskra Leave a Comment

Summerlight Botanical Card

Everything is in flux in late February, not quite winter, not yet spring. The juncos still sit on top of the echinacea forgetting December’s snows and pecking vainly for seeds. The willows hang above the water’s edge remembering autumn, and the wild plum cannot wait for the warm winds that bring spring’s color and perfumes. A new set of cards from the Gardener’s Almanac of Irreproducible Phenomena is out today and available in my shop. I am calling this set of images The Wabi Sabi Suite, in recognition of the sense of impermanence that colors February’s mood.

The images were originally made as transfer prints using my original paintings or photographs printed onto rag paper with a solvent. The process is unpredictable and brings a granular texture and soft irregular edges to the images. “Wild Plum” is particularly soft and dreamy, as its original source was a 40 yearold film photograph with the distinctive soft focus only film can create. If you are interested in the large size of Summerlight, it is framed in maple and available from my studio. A very limited edition of 3, of which one is left, the image is 16 x 21 on a sheet of 30 x 22 Arches 88.

Summerlight in Frame Summerlight, available from my studio

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Elusionary Landscapes: New Drawings and Collages from the Rural Heartlands

September 29, 2022 by Iskra Leave a Comment

Symmetries Interrupted a barn collage landscape — Symmetries Interrupted, limited edition archival print from original photography and painting ©Iskra Johnson Available here

An entire season has passed since I last posted here. It has been a long sun-filled summer filled with concentrated studio time and a pivotal week spent in Eastern Washington in the long awaited Tieton Residency. A dear friend moved to Tieton in Eastern Washington two years ago, with the intention of creating a residency in her farmhouse for visiting artists and writers. The pandemic intervened and the residency did not happen for two years – until this August! I had the farmhouse, the upstairs studio, and the landscape to myself during the day, with hours to wander, photograph and draw. It was an unforgettable time of slow communion with my pencil and camera, with evenings spent in good company getting to know the Yakima Valley in new ways with my hosts.

Drawing in situ, a skill I had forgotten, and a way of being that feels like home.

Yakima Valley Cuisine Scene, local, fresh, innovative. Top row, two very different approaches to the idea of soup; below, the wildly wonderful counter at Crafted, with chef-owner Dan Kokomo keeping his charm and his cool on a busy Saturday night.

The farmhouse is situated on a road with a front row seat to sunrises and sunsets over the orchard valley. The muse of the property is The White Barn, which I have taken roughly a hundred photographs of (and which is available as part of an ongoing portfolio of Western Photography.) The architecture on the immediate property was my primary focus during the residency, with road trips to document alternate forms of my favorite structure, The Shed, in its native habitat. During this time I used drawing to sharpen my concentration, and apps like SnapSeed to experiment with new ways of combining digital and drawn imagery, which became final works in the studio once I got home.

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The Hellebore Suite: New Botanical Prints and Cards from Iskra

March 20, 2022 by Iskra Leave a Comment

New, from the Gardener’s Almanac of Irreproducible Phenomena, The Hellebore Suite, available as prints and blank greeting cards.

The hellebore is a complicated flower. Appearing in late winter, it rises up from drifts of snow and bracken, with leaves that unfold like carved marble. The blossoms hang from delicate arched stems, often hidden in shadow. When the hellebore looks up at you, you see a face both innocent and knowing, and you understand why this flower has been a key player in the world of potion and myth. This is a flower you should admire — but never eat. I have many varieties of these in my garden scattered among the ferns and hostas. They also grow wild in the woods nearby, where I captured the pale lavender specimen above, in a print called The Meadow.

I did the first portrait of a hellebore as part of a series called “Sweet Old World” that came about as I sorted family papers and photos going back to the 1800’s. The style of this work is inspired by vintage tintype. I love the ragged borders and soft organic focus of photography in the early days of its invention. These pieces are a modern interpretation of tintype’s vintage haze and inexactitude, using watercolor, photography and digital printmaking. Click on any image to be taken to my shop.

Hellebore in Victorian Style botanical greeting card — *Hellebore in Victorian Style ©Iskra Fine Art 2022*

Spring Hellebore cards by Iskra 1200 — Spring Hellebore Cards

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Botanical Stationary and Prints from The Gardener’s Almanac of Irreproducible Phenomena

March 1, 2022 by Iskra Leave a Comment

Wheelbarrow in garden photo by Iskra — Winter Muse

Since the last entry from my garden The Gardener’s Almanac of Irreproducible Phenomena has published a series of botanical stationary and prints. The response has been wonderful, and I am grateful for the support of friends and new patrons from around the country. I am beginning to hear from people who share how they have used the cards, sending them as thank-you’s, condolence, letters and in sets as gifts. There are now ten in the series, with more to come each month. Here are a few glimpses of what’s in the shop.

Anemone in the Field Botanical Card by Iskra — Anemone in the Field

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