How to make crop art or seed art–a mosaic of seeds.
Steps
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Using a pencil and eraser, draw a picture of what you want on a piece of Masonite or wood.
- Make your drawing a line drawing, like a picture in a coloring book.
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Attach picture hanging hardware to the back of the wood.
- You must do this before you begin gluing seeds on - if you do it afterwards, you will knock seeds off when you hammer.
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Begin applying seeds.
- Apply glue to small areas of your picture, and apply seeds by dumping them on and pouring them off (works best for small seeds, like millet or poppy seeds).
- Or, place them one by one, using a toothpick to move them into place.
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- Generally, you want to cover everything so that there are no spots of bare wood.
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Let glue dry.
- When completely dry, you may add a coat of spray acrylic or shellac to add a shiny finish to it.
Tips
- Rice works well if you want to make bold outlines.
- Pay attention to the seeds' texture, as well as their color.
- All seeds will eventually fade in color, and no spray-on coating will completely protect your work from insects.
- In mosaics, the eye reads a multicolored seed as one color, the dominant color. So a mostly pink with brown spotted seed will seem pink, when you step back and look at your work from a distance.
- Eventually all green seeds turn brown.
- You can also apply seeds, and then paint on top of the seeds with acrylic paint.
- Big heavy seeds may need stronger types of glue.
- If you want a frame, attach wood inside the frame, and then glue in seeds to make your picture. If you try to attach the frame afterwards, you need to leave a margin of wood free of seeds in order to fit inside the frame.
Warnings
- Make sure you use picture hanging hardware that will hold the weight of your work.
- Seeds are best stored in glass jars (plastic containers sometimes retain moisture leading to mold).
- Seeds attract rodents and insects, so keep your seeds contained.
Things You'll Need
- You will need: hammer, picture hanging hardware, pencil and eraser, toothpicks, seeds, white craft glue, 1/4" Masonite or plywood, spray shellac or acrylic finish (optional).