Yesterday our neighbor had someone in to clean up the agave. The fellow used a chain saw to remove the bottom leaves.
I snagged some of the fruit. I plan to let it dry and see what happens to the seeds.
This is how the agave looks today.
After the agave is removed, we will need to clean and paint our wall.
I removed the plant parts from the water and glycerin solution after 4 hours.
The next morning after they dried, I noticed they were definitely more pliable.
Not easy taking a photo with an iPad of your own hand while holding something.
I removed a test from the denatured alcohol and glycerin solution after 16 hours. It was inflexible and snapped.
I suspect the alcohol solution would be better for preserving the plant parts, rather than for my purposes. The jar does not take up much space so I will check them daily for improvement.
Yesterday I hung Sticks and Stones, but immediately realized two things: the piece is far too small for the space, and the lower right corner tends to bow out a bit.
It is nice having something in that space. Need to start planning a larger piece.
How to fix the bow?
The piece is constructed of two pieces of hardware cloth bound together.
Bending should be an easy fix for the bowed out corner, but when I gave it a go, it did not change how it hung.
It really should be bent a bit toward the center, but I do not want to risk breaking the sticks that make up the code.
The plan is to let it hang until I figure out the bow problem.
I have been planning to make a slat book using the middle bit (ovary) from Pandorea jasminoides seed pods. I planned the code, “accustomed to being invisible” that will be stitched onto the plant bits.
I used a needle tool to make holes in one piece. The piece fractured in half.
I then used a Dremel to drill holes. When I started stitching, with nettle, part of the edge broke away.
This is what the nettle twine looks like with the Pandorea jasminoides bits.
I decided to give glycerin a go to soften the pieces and to make them able to take the stitching. I am trying to solutions–one with hot water and one with denatured alcohol.
The jar on the left is a solution of 1 part gylcerin and 2 parts hot water.
The jar on the right is a solution of 2 parts glycerin and 1 part denatured alcohol.
It is interesting that many processes do require waiting. Sometimes a process can be sped up, most of the time patience is required.
Current State of Many Agave Leaves
Top of the Agave Has a Tilt
Inside of an Agave Seed Pod
There are loads of critters living on and around the agave. The spider in the following photo has a huge web between sections of the agave. When the spider saw me, it tucked in its legs. When I moved in for a closer look, it skittered to its hiding space among some seed pods.
Spider Living in Agave