Squidelephant Collage

🔪📚 CUTTING CLASS returns Sunday May 24! 7-9:30 at @stark_vintage_ upstairs in the loft. Limited to 15 participants. Ticket link in the usual spot. We’ll start with a 30 minute lesson, then have 2 hours for art-making. 🛍️ All partcipants take home everything needed to keep collaging: - All the art they make + any stray bits - 2 National Geographics - Zig 2-way adhesive pen - A craft knife - Extra blades - PDF with all lesson notes, examples, and super secret advanced techniques 💸 Admission is a sliding scale of $20-40. $20 covers costs, anything extra pays me for my time. Scholarship spots available if cost is an issue - just DM me. 🗣️ Testimonials from previous workshop participants: "I loved your class, Evan! Great examples of collages and really practical techniques too" "Ughhh you hooked me to this hobby. Goddamnit" "It was MAGNIFICENT" "It was a great time! Thanks for hosting and being so generous with your nat geo stash"

CUTTING CLASS last weekend was such a blast! I am so overwhelmed by the 🎉 joy ✨brilliance and 🖌️creativity that everyone brought. It's an indescribable feeling, seeing all these amazing collages that people made with my guidance and materials. I'm so proud of all my students / friends / neighbors. And I am so grateful that I can cocreate a community space for playfulness, creative experimentation and trying new things. That's what it's all about! Big thanks to @freekskill and @stark_vintage_ for making it happen with me. If you missed tickets for this one, next one is May 24th! DM me to reserve a spot.

This is the story of the collage that became the flyer for @here___nor___there Dream Loft, happening tonight at @stark_vintage_ ! A messy, meandering process that took 6 years. A lot of life—and death—got in the way, but it all turned out beautifully in the end. SLIDE 2: In 2020 I saw a collage by lucina.jpeg for the #februllage prompt “Extinction”. I loved their concept of a star-person walking up a sta(i)rcase into the sky and I wanted to do my own version. Making 3D stairs seemed like a do-able technical challenge to improve my technique. SLIDE 3: February 2020 I started cutting stairs, and I knew I wanted a portal in the sky instead of a paper tear. I liked the direction but some stuff happened in the rest of 2020 that distracted me. SLIDE 4: July of 2021 I came back to it. Coming out of the pandemic, I wanted to tell a more interesting and hopeful story than “extinction”. When I saw the image of a child walking into the sunset with a baby lamb, I knew I’d found my protagonist. Replacing the lamb with the same stars in the portal made it a story about returning a creature to it’s home, and I loved the idea of a child with the agency to walk between worlds. SLIDE 5: As summer 2021 wound down, the piece was 90% there. And I got distracted again by buying a house, moving, and spending a few years doing ceramics. December 2025 I got back into collage. To ease back in, I decided to finally finish this piece. Around the same time I got connected with @jeremydlarson via @freekskill . He said he loved my collages and wanted to collab on a flyer for an event he was doing. I said I think I have just the thing. SLIDE 6: I sent him the initial scan and he loved it SLIDE 7: A few weeks later he sends me the final info and I put together a quick mockup. The name of the event was now DREAM LOFT, which was a perfect fit for a character climbing stairs into the sky. I had *so* much fun playing with typography for this one. I wanted it to feel like a SciFi novel from another dimension; retro and futuristic, but elevated not campy. Big shoutout to @marvatype for the two fonts that REALLY tied this whole thing together, Brooch and Swarsh Daisy.

🔪 Very excited to announce CUTTING CLASS, a collage workshop. Limited to 15 participants. Upstairs in the loft at Stark Vintage. Ticket link in the usual spot. We’ll start with a 30 minute lesson distilling essential technique and wisdom I've learned over the last 20 years, then have 2 hours for art-making. 🛍️ All partcipants will get to take home - The art they make + any stray bits - 2 National Geographics - Zig 2-way adhesive pen - A craft knife - Extra blades - PDF with all lesson notes, examples, and special advanced techniques 💸 Admission is a sliding scale of $20-40. $20 covers costs, anything extra pays me for my time. 2 scholarship spots available if cost is an issue - just DM me. 🗣️Testimonials from past workshop participants: "I loved your class, Evan! Great examples of collages and really practical techniques too" "Ughhh you hooked me to this hobby. Goddamnit" "It was MAGNIFICENT" "It was a great time! Thanks for hosting and being so generous with your nat geo stash"

October Bouquet 💐 featuring Fly Agaric Mushroom, Cabbage Butterfly, Alpine Aster, Mugwort, Clematis Seedhead, Virginia Creeper 2026 Calendars, Prints and Cards are available on Etsy! Link to the @forest_baths store in the usual spot. We are donating 50% of profits to Lenape Center. 📍 Lenapehoking This project was also heavily inspired by: @robinwallkimmerer @thenativeplantcenter @nystateparks @westchestercountyparks @natureandforesttherapy and would not be possible without the absolutely legendary institutions that are: PlantIllustrations dot org @mobotgarden @wikicommons @biodivlibrary and the many immensely talented, long-dead botanical illustrators whose work I have lovingly plundered for this project but especially Mary Emily Eaton Pierre Joseph Redouté Edith Farrington Johnston …and others! #FlyAgaric #AmanitaMuscaria #CabbageButterfly #PierisRapae #AlpineAster #AsterAlpinus #Mugwort #Artemisiavulgaris #VirginiaCreeper #ParthenocissusQuinquefolia #ClematisVirginiana #botanicalart #forestbathing #peekskillartist #artsinpeekskill #botanicalillustration #october #pollinators #botanicalcollage #digitalcollage

September Bouquet 💐 featuring Cricket, Hickory Nuts, Cosmos, Smooth Sumac, Seaside Goldenrod (front to back) 2026 Calendars, Prints and Cards are available on Etsy! Link to the @forest_baths store in the usual spot We are donating 50% of profits to Lenape Center. ⚠️Warning: THIS IS A GOLDENROD APPRECIATION POST⚠️ Goldenrod haters, pull up a chair and prepare to get your world turned upside down. Goldenrod is a legendary plant. Extremely beneficial for both the environment and humans, it has dozens of medicinal properties. So much so that it’s the origin of the genus name, Solidago! Solidago comes from the Latin words "solidus" (meaning whole, firm, or strong); it literally means "to make whole" because it was used in so many medicinal preparations. Goldenrod is also widely considered the *single most important plant* for North American pollinators. 104 species of lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) use it as a host plant for larvae, and 42 species of bees are goldenrod specialists, visiting only goldenrod for food. These insects are food for birds, reptiles and small mammals, which in turn are food for larger predators. That’s why plants that host a lot of pollinators are considered a “keystone” species; literally the entire food web is built on them. So you might say it makes the ecosystem solid too. Despite this (‼️) it is often confused with ragweed and unfairly eradicated. Goldenrod allergy is extremely rare. The easiest way to tell the difference is that ragweed flowers are green, while goldenrod flowers are yellow. The leaves are also quite distinct: goldenrod’s are very simple, ragweed’s are complex. This is why we must defend goldenrod at all costs. Also, it’s gorgeous. 📍 Lenapehoking #cricket #gryllinae #cosmos #Cosmosbipinnatus #smoothsumac #rhusglabra #seasidegoldenrod #solidagosempervirens #hickorynuts #carya #squidelephant #botanicalart #collagebouquet #forestbathing #peekskillartist #artsinpeekskill #lenapehoking #botanicalillustration #august #forestbathsbouquets #pollinators #botanicalcollage #digitalcollage

August Bouquet 💐 featuring Monarch Butterfly, Bechtel’s Crabapple, Mophead Hydrangea, Highbush Blueberry, Common Yarrow, Echinacea (front to back) Had to take 3 years off Instagram but I’m back to finish this project. 2026 Calendars, Prints and Cards are available on Etsy! Link to the etsy store is in bio Etsy.com/shop/forestbaths 📍 Lenapehoking We are donating 50% of profits to LenapeCenter. This project was also heavily inspired by: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer @thenativeplantcenter @nystateparks @westchestercountyparks @natureandforesttherapy and would not be possible without the absolutely legendary institutions that are: PlantIllustrations.org The @mobotgarden Library / Botanicus @wikicommons @biodivlibrary and the many immensely talented, long-dead botanical illustrators whose work I have lovingly plundered for this project but especially Mary Emily Eaton Pierre Joseph Redouté …and others! #squidelephant #botanicalart #collagebouquet #forestbathing #peekskillartist #artsinpeekskill #lenapehoking #botanicalillustration #august #forestbathsbouquets #pollinators #botanicalcollage #digitalcollage #Achillea #hydrangea #monarch #butterfly #Echinaceapurpurea #Vacciniumcorymbosum #malusioensisplena

July Bouquet 💐 featuring (front to back): Dragonfly, Azealia, Raspberry, Bee Balm, Swamp Milkweed 2023 Calendars, Prints and Cards are available on Etsy! Link in bio for the @forest_baths etsy store Etsy.com/shop/forestbaths This bouquet holds a special place in my heart because it was both the first and the last one I made. Let me explain; July 2021 was when this project started, and if you swipe to the 4th slide you’ll see the ORIGINAL @forest_baths bouquet (which still adorns the header of the website!). In the year that followed I made 11 more, and learned SO MUCH about the newly made-up art of of digital flower arrangement. When all 12 were done, I felt like the first one just didn’t have the same punch as the others. For one, the raspberry had dead flowers but no fruit! Eating wild raspberries was a life changing experience for me in the summer of 2020 (incidentally, it turned out they were wineberries, which are an invasive, so eating them was both delicious and ecologically responsible) . Depicting them without fruit was not very seasonally accurate, and borderline disrespectful! So I added some raspberries, as well as native superstars like Swamp Milkweed and Bee Balm. I also swapped out the random black and white moth (we already had several native Lepidopterans in other months) for a dragonfly. Dragonflies are not only beautiful, but they eat mosquitos and other garden pests! So the more dragonflies in my yard, the better. 📍 Lenapehoking We are donating 50% of profits to @LenapeCenter . Land acknowledgements are a good start, but since we are directly inspired by (and profiting from) the natural beauty of this area, the right thing to do is make sure that some of that power and money flows back to the land (and it’s stewards, the Munsee-Lenape people). This project was also heavily inspired by: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer @thenativeplantcenter at WCC @nystateparks @westchestercountyparks @natureandforesttherapy

June Bouquet 💐 featuring (front to back): Hummingbird, Beach Rose, Peony, Daylily, Sunflower, Cardinal Flower 2023 Calendars, Prints and Cards are available on Etsy! Link to the @forest_baths etsy store is in bio Etsy.com/shop/forestbaths 📍 Lenapehoking We are donating 50% of profits to @LenapeCenter . Land acknowledgements are a good start, but since we are directly inspired by (and profiting from) the natural beauty of this area, the right thing to do is make sure that some of that power and money flows back to the land (and it’s stewards, the Munsee-Lenape people). This project was also heavily inspired by: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer @thenativeplantcenter at WCC @nystateparks @westchestercountyparks @natureandforesttherapy and would not be possible without the absolutely legendary institutions that are: PlantIllustrations.org The @mobotgarden Library / Botanicus @wikicommons @biodivlibrary and the many immensely talented, long-dead botanical illustrators whose work I have lovingly plundered for this project but especially Mary Emily Eaton Pierre Joseph Redouté …and others! . #peony #Paeonialactiflora #cardinalflower #lobeliacardinalis #beachrose #rosarugosa #daylily #Hemerocallis #hummingbird #Trochilidae #squidelephant #botanicalart #collagebouquet #forestbathing #peekskillartist #artsinpeekskill #lenapehoking #botanicalillustration #scientificillustration #april #forestbathsbouquets #pollinators #plantcollage #floralcollage #digitalcollage

May Bouquet 💐 featuring (front to back): Day lily, White Trillium, Bumblebee, Dogwood, Cherry, Lilacs 2023 Calendars, Prints and Cards are available on Etsy! Link to the @forest_baths etsy store is in bio Etsy.com/shop/forestbaths 📍 Lenapehoking We are donating 50% of profits to @LenapeCenter . Land acknowledgements are a good start, but since we are directly inspired by (and profiting from) the natural beauty of this area, the right thing to do is make sure that some of that power and money flows back to the land (and it’s stewards, the Munsee-Lenape people). This project was also heavily inspired by: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer @thenativeplantcenter at WCC @nystateparks @westchestercountyparks @natureandforesttherapy and would not be possible without the absolutely legendary institutions that are: PlantIllustrations.org The @mobotgarden Library / Botanicus @wikicommons @biodivlibrary and the many immensely talented, long-dead botanical illustrators whose work I have lovingly plundered for this project but especially Mary Emily Eaton Pierre Joseph Redouté …and others! #squidelephant #botanicalart #collagebouquet #forestbathing #peekskillartist #artsinpeekskill #lenapehoking #botanicalillustration #scientificillustration #april #forestbathsbouquets #pollinators #plantcollage #floralcollage #digitalcollage #Hemerocallisfulva #daylily #lilac #syringavulgaris #whitetrillium #trilliumgrandiflorum #cornusflorida #floweringdogwood #cherrytree #prunusvirginiana #bumblebee #bombus

April Bouquet 💐 (front to back): Bluejay, Turkeytail Mushroom, Creeping Phlox, Forsythia, Dock 2023 Wall Calendars are now available! Link to the @forest_baths etsy store is in bio Etsy.com/shop/forestbaths 📍 Lenapehoking We are donating 50% of profits to @LenapeCenter . Land acknowledgements are a good start, but since we are directly inspired by (and profiting from) the natural beauty of this area, the right thing to do is make sure that some of that power and money flows back to the land (and it’s stewards, the Munsee-Lenape people). This project was also heavily inspired by: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer @thenativeplantcenter at WCC @nystateparks @westchestercountyparks @natureandforesttherapy and would not be possible without the absolutely legendary institutions that are: PlantIllustrations.org The @mobotgarden Library / Botanicus @wikicommons @biodivlibrary and the many immensely talented, long-dead botanical illustrators whose work I have lovingly plundered for this project but especially Mary Emily Eaton Pierre Joseph Redouté …and others! #squidelephant #botanicalart #collagebouquet #forestbathing #peekskillartist #artsinpeekskill #lenapehoking #botanicalillustration #scientificillustration #april #forestbathsbouquets #foraging #medicinalplants #nativeplants #edibleplants #Cyanocittacristata #bluejay #turkeytail #trametesversicolor #creepingphlox #phlox #phloxsubulata #Forsythia #patiencedock #rumex #rumexpatientia #bloodwort #bloodydock #redveinedsorrel #Rumexsanguineus

March Bouquet 💐 featuring (front to back): Bracket Fungus, Bullfrog, Crocus, Daffodil, Bluebell, Skunk Cabbage, Pussywillow Skunk Cabbage has a truly badass superpower (besides smelling bad and looking like alien genitalia). It is thermogenic, meaning it generates it’s own heat! This allows it to melt through snow and become one of the first plants to flower and produce pollen in the spring. The hooded shape of the plant helps trap the warm air, which in turn helps bees survive the journey to collect their pollen when it’s still freezing out. A sauna for the bees! How cool is that? Swipe to see thermal imaging showing the skunk cabbage blossom at 72° while the outside is 33°!! 4th image via @natureserve on Flickr 5th image by Dean Campbell and Kristi McQuade from Bradley university Prints and cards are for sale! 2023 Calendars coming soon. Etsy.com/shop/forestbaths #linkinbio 📍 Lenapehoking We are donating 50% of profits to @LenapeCenter . Land acknowledgements are a good start, but since we are directly inspired by (and profiting from) the natural beauty of this area, the right thing to do is make sure that some of that power and money flows back to the land (and it’s stewards, the Munsee-Lenape people). This project was also heavily inspired by: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer @thenativeplantcenter at WCC @nystateparks @westchestercountyparks @natureandforesttherapy and would not be possible without the absolutely legendary institutions that are: PlantIllustrations.org The @mobotgarden Library / Botanicus @wikicommons @biodivlibrary and the many immensely talented, long-dead botanical illustrators whose work I have lovingly plundered for this project but especially Mary Emily Eaton Pierre Joseph Redouté …and others!