Leaf Casting at Fox Brook

This week my leaf casting demonstration and class was held at a beautiful park complete with a beach in Brookfield. Usually, my class is in a windowless room, but this week there were huge windows facing out towards the water. It was one of our first truly warm days this spring. Everyone showed up anxious to make this project for their garden. We even had a "dad" come with is adult daughter, but he was just visiting since he lives in Minnesota.

Mixed Varieties Cast Leaves

Each student received a board to create the leaf casting on to make it transportable to get the project home. The students select a variety of leaves with the stipulation they must all fit on the board and the student must be able to carry it. Leaves with strong veining are best - rhubarb, burdock, cabbages, hosta, caladium, some begonias, gerbera foliage, etc. If the spring isn't too cold, rhubarb is perfect. We were watching plants closely this year and I even had one red hat group cancel their class because the rhubarb wasn't coming up quickly enough. It did come up just fine.

Caladium, Hosta and Rhubarb leaves

Sand piles to hold the leaves sprayed with oil

On the board, damp play sand is mounded to support the leaf to shape it either flat so it can be displayed on a plate rack or just set in the garden, or rounded to be used to hold water or bird seed. The sand is also pushed under the ripples of the leaf edges to accent the shapes and keep if formed after the concrete is applied. This is the time consuming part of the class.

Once the sand is formed, it is covered with plastic wrap, the leaf is laid over it and sprayed with oil to help in removal from the mold.Then on go your gloves and play in the mix.

A copper end is inserted into the mix so later
 it will fit on a pipe in the garden. 

Mixing Station!

 Portland cement is mixed equally with wash white play sand, an acrylic bonding agent is added and enough water to make it the consistency of brownie mix. Concrete colorant may also be added. The mix is applied thickly over the main center vein- up to 1"+ for a rhubarb leaf measuring 15 - 18 inches - and "massaged" out toward the edges. The mix should stop about 1/4" from the leaf edge.  Additional mix is always added in the middle and "massaged" by using the heels of the hands rather the dabbed with the fingers, toward the uncovered areas. Applying layers of mix and spreading from a central point helps with the adhesion of each layer where done in separate areas may be weak. If a giant leaf is used, hardware cloth or chicken wire can be layered in the mix for strength.

One the project is completed, it should dry for at least 24 hours before un-molding. Larger projects need 48 hours.They need to dry slowly, out of the sun. Once dry, the plant material can be pulled off the concrete. The concrete can then be completely painted, washed with paint to bring out the veining detail, or left alone. It can be sealed so it can hold water as a birdbath, or sprayed with a food safe sealant used for use as a bird feeder.