Saturday, March 20, 2010

Carolyn Mohler Kraft's gorgeous plants

My good buddy, Kristy Taylor of Mini Menagerie, maker of the cutest damned critters you've ever seen: http://www.minimenagerie.com/, introduced me to her good friend, Carolyn Mohler Kraft, maker of some mighty fine plants: http://www.carolynmohlerkraft.com/!

Carolyn has been making and selling her plants to discerning collectors since the early 1980s, and was first published in Nutshell News in 1987!! VERY cool!! She does NOT use paper punches- each leaf is made painstakingly by hand (something I don't see much of nowadays). Instead, she uses an "old-school" method, one that she prefers, because it makes for a much longer lasting and sturdier piece of art. Her late mother was also a miniaturists, and clearly, the apple has not fallen far from the very fruitful tree ;-). She would be very proud!

These are a few examples of her outstanding work:










22 comments:

  1. Thank you Kiva. They are truly gorgeous Rosanna

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  2. Thanks for the link, Kiva, love the cacti!

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  3. Thank you for sharing this beauty! Fantastic work!

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  4. I'm just wondering, has anyone yet told you that "kiva" means "nice" in Finnish ^^?

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  5. WOW, NICE! lol. I bet if you knew your name means "nice" you would have asked your mum to change it :).Although you are seriously one of the nicest artist I have ever "met".

    Those plants are outstanding! I really love them. See you lates while I go check out Carolyn.

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  6. Love the cacti! I really am not a purist when it comes to those who use punches in the creation of their plants and flowers. I have seen beautifully done, well made examples of each and that is my only personal criteria.

    IGMA does not require handcut petals/leaves for artisan/fellow status...why should I?

    Tabitha

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  7. Those plants have a definite WOW factor! I can't even accomplish anything close using punches, never mind to do it by HAND!

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  8. Johanna, no I did not know that! So far, it is Hopi Indian (some kind of underground sweat box), and Hebrew for God providing. My parents had the Hebrew version in mind when they named me, because they were friends with a Jewish couple who named their daughter Kiva. Interesting! I did not know it was also Finnish!! At least it doesn't translate to dog sh*t or something, haha!! That is really nice (literally)!!

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  9. OH SUSAN!!!!! You guys are killing me!! But the fact of the matter is, I love supporting other artists, so it really isn't something I even think twice about. I see, I like, I do a post ;-)
    Posting all my own shit would bore me to tears, seriously.

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  10. Tabitha, I LOVE some of the plants I've seen that are made with paper punches, I could not agree more! Years ago, I went to a miniatures show in San Jose and met Era Pearce, who makes absolutely stunning plants and flowers. The thing is, she is an elderly woman with crippling, disfiguring arthritis. I was floored by her work!! And she is a Fellow, MUCH deserved.

    The thing that struck me about Carolyn is her use of material other than paper punches. Honestly, I wasn't aware that artists still did them that way. Here in Hawaii, people use paper clay to form each petal and leaf. Mind you, I usually see pieces larger than 1:12 scale, but it still impresses me when it's done really well.

    My good friend Martha Puff is going to commission Carolyn to make a Jade plant for a roombox, which is so cool!!

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  11. I like the Finnish translation best, though "nice" seems like an understatement.
    Kiva, you're one in a million!
    Ok, this is my first comment on any blog - let's see if it works.

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  12. Thank you for the wonderful introduction, Kiva! I tried to post twice yesterday, but they never made it here, and Kristy just said what I tried to say yesterday. So, ditto!

    And thank you everyone for the much apprciated compliments! It's great to get a pat on the back, but I haven't had so many at one time since I graduated from High School! Thanks for making my day!

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  13. Well, apparently I can now post, but I can't spell! Make that 'appreciated'.

    I think I'm going to enjoy this!

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  14. WOOHOO!!! Kristy and Carolyn are in the house!! Ok, Carolyn, I know you are starting a blog, but we have to lean on Kristy to do the same ;-)!!

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  15. Magnificent work!!! Tank you for sharing Kiva:)
    Synnøve x

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  16. I agree Carolyn's work if fantastic! I'm so pleased she has a blog, thank you for sharing the link to her blog.

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  17. Kristy Taylor is amazing too, what fantastic tiny creatures. I missed your first sentence first time around, lol.

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  18. Thank you Synnovex and Jean!

    I am embarrassed to admit that setting up my blog was an accident. I was trying to post here and I ended up with a blog! But I am excited about it now. Hopefully there will be something on it in the near future.

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  19. Thank you from me too Jean!!! :)
    Kristy

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  20. Hey Jean!!! Wow, gobs of talent abounds!!

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  21. I WOULD INVITE YOU TO MY BLOG CALLED "LOS CUENTOS DE NATI" HUGS FROM SPAIN
    NATI.

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