A Year in the Wild

Description

An intricately crafted journey through four seasons of flora and fauna.Using nothing but pressed plants, A Year in the Wild captures the wonder and magic of the natural world between the pages of a book.Helen Ahpornsiri's intricate artwork transforms leaves, petals and seeds into bounding hares, swooping swallows and blossoming trees. And with a beautiful non-fiction text, this stand-out title is sure to delight and charm.

Helen Ahpornsiri creates intricate collages using real flora and foliage. Each illustration is made up of hundreds of leaves and flowers which are foraged or grown, then preserved with traditional flower pressing methods. The plants are organised by species or colour before being cut and delicately arranged to form birds, insects and other creatures; all filled with tiny patterns and tangles of plant life. Helen lives in Eastbourne, Sussex, in the UK.

Intricate illustrations made from petals, leaves, seeds and grasses accompany the journey through the seasons in this beautiful book. The reader can only marvel at the skill and dedication of the artist, Helen Aphornsiri, as she magically transforms flowers into the insects that feed on them, ferns into feather and autumn leaves into foxes and a hibernating hedgehog. Nature's colours glow from the pages and there is something new to discover at every opening. All the ingredients of each collage have been responsibly grown or foraged in the wild and preserved using traditional flower-pressing methods. the seasons' changes are described in a lyrical, gently informative text, with additional notes accompanying some pictures. This is a book to invoke awe and awaken an interest in the natural world, encouraging adults and children to go out and explore the changing seasons, and maybe even be inspired to try similar artwork themselves. From the endpapers through to the artist's note and glossary, this book is a visual feast and one not to miss. * Carousel * A meditative wander through the season, with text that feels as if it should be voiced by David Attenborough, and quietly spectacular artwork - every animal, bird and flower is made entirely of hand-pressed plants. -- Imogen Russell Williams * The Guardian *