Art from the Garden

“Kerry Michaelsshares 25 gorgeous projects with foraged or shop-bought botanicals as their base, and all with easy-to-follow instructions and inspiring photographs. There are pretty-as-a-picture tiles, a hydrangea bowl, cyanotype silk scarves and a drinks pitcher made from ice and vivid summer flowers.”

–The Simple Things Magazine
“For the reader who would rather make something than sit still, this gorgeous book is the perfect companion to usher in the warmer months…Beautifully photographed and practically organized, it is the kind of book you prop open and actually use.”–Haven Magazine
“This excellent resource combines gardening with various art forms for crafts that the average person can do easily.”–Library Journal, starred review
“Joy rings from the pages of this book! Perusing it, my mind travels to the importance of Emily Dickinson’s Herbarium to her poetry and to the collected plant samples from which Margaret Stones generated her remarkable botanical paintings. At its core, Art from the Garden is an homage to nature as a source of inspiration for creative expression. The book’s exquisite imagery and thoughtful text demonstrate ways to interpret nature’s ephemeral materials and inert objects into enduring expressive works. There’s a powerful and promising message here: nature’s medium lies latent all around us; we have access to it when we cultivate our powers of observation; what we discover releases our imagination and compels us to represent some essential quality of what we have found.”–Douglas Reed, landscape architect
“This is a beautiful book. The instructions were precise and easy to follow. I can see this being on the book shelves and craft rooms of many who want to explore ALL the possibilities of crafting from the garden. What an undertaking to engage others to challenge creating beyond the vase!” –Teri Speight, author of Black Flora
“A stellar guide to creating artworks with materials from nature… All projects include easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions and photos of the elegant finished products. Crafters will be inspired by the possibilities nature has to offer.”–Publishers Weekly
“An inspiring read full of engaging, accessible activities. A work of art in its own right!”–Dr. Daisy Fancourt, Author of Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Save Lives
“In an age when screens capture our attention, every opportunity to connect hands and earth with art and imagination can refresh the human spirit. Art from the Garden offers dozens of ephemeral art projects and heirloom keepsakes that will inspire any gardener, parent, grandparent, or child to find connection in their own backyard.”–John Forti, author of The Heirloom Gardener
“Michaels invites readers to turn the garden into a creative studio, showing how everyday natural materials can become art…. she leaves readers encouraged to explore playful new ways of making art with nature.”–Booklist

Kerry Michaels (writer and photographer) is a fine art and commercial photographer and writer living in Maine. She specializes in food, landscapes, and gardens. She has photographed five books and her work has been featured in magazines, books, and resides in private and museum collections. She was the principal photographer for the books, Growing the Northeast Garden, Proven Winners’ Garden Book, and The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables, published by Timber Press; Modern Pressure Canning, published by Quarto Press; as well as the award-winning book, A Gateless Garden: Quotes by Maine Women Writers, published by Maine Women Write. Her photographs have been seen in BH&G, Country Gardens, Downeast Magazine, Boston.com, The Portland Press Herald, Gardenista, and Remodelista.

Liz Micheels (project stylist) is a first-generation American whose parents immigrated to the US from the Netherlands. Flowers and gardens are part of her Dutch culture and have always been central to her life. After a career in social services - teaching, working with at-risk youth and refugees, as well as reproductive healthcare counseling - Liz started Artful Blooms, a floral business specializing in personalized and creative flower and plant design for inside and out. Additionally, she has worked as a stylist for photo shoots in advertising, food, and flowers.