Nature as Art

Every now and then, you come across something that just amazes you. Like spanish artist Lorenzo Duran's artwork. Duran uses a traditional paper cutting technique to carve delicate designs into leaves he hand-picks. This is how he describe his work on his website:

Naturayarte is an art project that allows my small family and I to live by doing what we love. I use components from nature that help me complete my ideas surrounding what I consider to be art. I believe that each object in nature and living being has, imprinted in its self, art in its purest form.

The work process, as described by the Lorenzo Duran is:

picking the leaves,
washing,
drying,
pressing, and
cutting.

I have cut many leaves and the vast majority of them have ended up in the trash, but I am slowly perfecting a method that will not break the leaves.
While they are in the press, I sketch out the drawing, which I attach to the leaf before starting to cut it. At the end, I peel it off, and this last step is the most delicate of all because the leaf is fragile and days of work can be ruined in just moments. This process always results in a leaf and a drawing that are unique, and give the work its own unique character.