Heart of the Frond

The chance discovery of Fern Tree pavers on a neighbouring property was the inspiration behind  this work.  One of the photos I took   is the  central motif in Heart of the Frond.

For several months before starting the work,  I simply observed  the fern trees  in my own garden and allowed   the  discoveries I made to work subconsciously in my imagination.  By October I had started to develop ideas for the design  and this  coincided with a  trip into the heart of the Tarkine where I could  see the fern trees  in their natural habitat.   The experience was a revelation for me,   not just because I was able to find  answers to  some of the remaining questions I had about the ferns,  but  it gave me the impetus to commence work. 

Because my work tends to be abstract my  choice of subject  proved a challenge.    My approach was to design an abstract composition which would be  rendered with fragments of photographs.  I hoped to evoke the feeling  of  fern trees rather than replicate them.
The computer was my choice of medium for this work because the  irregular shapes I was designing would  ultimately be printed  to a self supporting material such as  metal  or glass. The work has been  designed and rendered using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.   The photos I amassed over several months were used for reference as well as a source for the montage of photographic fragments.
The final artwork is printed to glass to give the feeling of  encapsulating  the fern tree,  like a specimen under the microscope.