Wildflower!

I found the wildflower I was searching for: the purple prairie clover, Dalea purpurea! For more about where I found it, and the other flowers that were flowering on the prairie today, see my other blog, NE Digital Daybook.

I will be using this flower as a theme in my artwork, since I now live in a prairie state. I chose a clover as a connection to my Irish ancestors, who were also once strangers far from home. And I chose this specific clover because the color is so beautiful. Local guidebooks also mention the strength of its stems. So how could I not love beauty, strength, and symbolism all in one flower? But wait, there's more! It was collected by Meriwether Lewis, too!

I set out today with a sketchbook and camera, but when I broke out the sketchbook, I was swarmed by black flies. I remember reading somewhere that Lewis and Clark complained about them. Anyhow, it became a photography-only trip. I will have to work from my photos, and the mental notes I took about the plants to paint them. So much for plein air sketching!

Have a beautiful evening. The fireflies are everywhere here!

Lewis and Clark inspired journals

I still find myself saying that I am new to Nebraska, even though I have been here for a year. This landscape is so different that I still feel as though I am seeing it all for the first time. This will be my second summer here, but the first one was lost to unpacking boxes. I know now where I want to go, what flowers and plants to look for, and some of the wild places that I want to explore before the cold comes again.

Thanks to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Nebraska City, I have also rediscovered my interest in Lewis and Clark. I have my own journey of discovery now. There are new vistas to explore, new plants to catalog and paint, new scenes to admire.

These are views of the Missouri River from the National Headquarters of the Lewis and Clark trail.

To commemorate my personal journeys of discovery, I made my own versions of an explorer's journal.

Clark's journals were bound in elk hide, with a very specific paper. The top journal, which does not yet have the pages inserted, is made from leather remnants. The bottom journal is made from imitation leather. (I found one that did not have a strong plastic odor). I like both of these journals very much, though I think the imitation leather may actually be a bit sturdier and more water repellent. They are constructed by sewing the signatures on bookbinding tapes, with a wraparound cover. This is probably the sturdiest construction for this type of journal, which I hope will be used heavily. I've dropped journals in the dirt so often that I know they need to be sturdy!

Inside, I have bound in Thai Uruyu and German Ingres papers. These are meant to be used. Once you get past the intimidating feeling of a handmade journal, and start to actually write in it, they become like old friends. Next week, I hope to show how to break in a new journal. Stay tuned!