I promised in my last blog to turn up by the light of Chinese lanterns. Well, here they are – some eco collographs using these spectacular flowers. And if you’re anywhere north, don’t miss out on the weekend’s Draconid Meteor Shower. I can’t wait to see if having transitioned to a dark skies zone, I will be as blessed with a shower of meteors above, as I am with a shower of Chinese lanterns below.
The botanical name for Chinese Lantern is Physalis alkegengi. And guess what? It has healing properties. The dried fruit, in the Yunani system of medicine is used as a diuretic, antiseptic, liver corrective and sedative. It is known as the golden flower.
I’d not heard of Yunani and its origins, which are Greco-Arabic, are fascinating. The Medical Dictionary: An Islamic healing philosophy that incorporates major elements of ancient Greek medicine. (Unani means Greek in Arabic).
But I haven’t time to write about Yunani at this time so you’ll have to look it up yourself. Please don’t start eating Chinese lanterns in the hope of a cure for something, as, like all medicines, correct dosage is everything. They may or probably will be, poisonous plucked from the plant.
Got to go. Lots of stuff to do before dark and those meteors.
My Chinese lantern prints remind me of parachutes; and molluscs, falling to earth, like meteors.
If you’re wondering where the Chinese lantern is in the last image, there is one; it’s at the top left corner. It’s like archaeological remains or fossil remains – you have to know what you’re looking at. The other leaves are Sumac, from the Sumac trees in the garden here. The leaves are richly coloured and I’ve frozen some already for dyeing silk, along with some of the big heads of berry clusters. I’ll be doing some dyeing early next week.
Gorgeous colours. 🙂
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Thanks, Suzanne. This process always produces surprises.
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It is intriguing. A student of India Flint is holding a workshop over a summer weekend in the next town from mine. It’s very expensive so I’m not sure if I’ll make. Apparently she has a shop. I’ll get out there sometime soon and see what she’s selling. There are also India Flint workshops coming up in the summer but they cost thousands of dollars so I won’t be attending them!
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I read that India was stopped from entry to the US not so long ago (a teaching tour) – and interrogated because of a tattoo of a maple leaf (copy of a drawing by her child) that US Customs decided was a cannabis leaf! They refused her entry as they didn’t want any ‘undesirables’ entering the US! She is not going back to the US again for a while. Considering how many US artists are earning a living using her methods … It is a sign of the times. My new home has a eucalyptus tree!!! Yay! Try and get hold of her book Eco Color; it is very in-depth.
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P S I hope all is going well in your far away neck of the woods.
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Oh yes – all is ok. My health is down a bit at present but I’m in recovery mood. How about you?
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Glad to hear your health is improving. I’m rollercoastering. Going through all sorts of psycho/phys stuff due to the house move. Some good, some ‘uncomfortable’.
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