But those were yesterday, and today is something new. Maybe something old. Maybe a healthy dose of each.
I first started collecting seaweeds two years ago, when I took a field class in algae. It was a small group - there were only three of us - and it was lead by a professor who was a year away from retiring, and crazy about seaweed. He'd traveled around the world, helping to calibrate the mixes in salt factory ponds, and get rid of harmful algae. He always had a story about one thing or another, and it ended up being one of my favorite classes, despite being miles away from having any relevance to my major.
Throughout the semester, we would take field trips to different areas on the many coasts of Florida, and collect seaweeds and algae. Sometimes it was easy, and we just walked along the beach. Sometimes it involved snorkeling in a bitter cold November sea.
At the end of the semester, there was a trip to the keys, where we spent Thanksgiving break driving around, collecting tons of seaweed, and drinking secret boxed wine on an old pier under a waxing moon. On the last day we each had scores of ziploc baggies, full of old saltwater, seaweed, and various marine critters who had been nabbed in the fray.
We spent hours just arranging these seaweeds on cardstock and setting them to press. It was my favorite part, and anyone who lives within driving distance of the ocean can do it.
(Disclaimer: I actually pressed these seaweeds awhile back, but I pulled them out today to clean them up and frame them. It counts!)
Make 365: Day 11 - Seaweed Pressings
Everyone's probably pressed a flower between the pages of a gentle book, but I love the ocean, and there's something exciting about seaweed (is it just me?). It's not all green and slimy (although some of it is), and pressed carefully, a nice Heterosyphonia can even rival resemble flowers, or the delicate branching of a nervous system.
NEED
Seaweeds (any kind will do, keep them moist until it's time to press)
Watercolor paper (acid free heavy paper)
Shallow pan with water (a cookie sheet would work)
Cardboard
Tweezers
Glue
Wax paper
Some books are also handy, when it comes time to press them out!
First, dump all your seaweed in a bucket, or the sink. Somewhere they can float around in until its time to pick them out. When you find one you like, you can bring it into the pan and submerge a piece of paper beneath it.
(This is dry, but the idea is the same.)
Arrange the seaweed on the paper (if you're not picky about mixing specimins, you can go all out and layer them into a collage) and gently lift the paper out of the water. Your beautifully arranged seaweed will probably go all wonky, and slide around, but that's what the tweezers are for. Just nudge it back into place.
Once you have paper and seaweed laying all around, you can start the press.
Layer a couple of pieces of cardboard on the bottom (to absorb the excess water) and then layer paper+seaweed, wax paper, & cardboard until you run out of seaweed. Throw a couple of hefty books on top, and leave it be for about a week, or until all the moisture is out, and it is super dry.
Once all the seawater is out, you can open the press and (v. carefully) peel off the wax paper. The paper beneath the seaweed will look a mess, but you can gently lift it off, and onto a new, shiny clean piece of paper. Tack it into place with a drop or two of glue, and it's suitable for framing!
The year I learned to do this, my entire extended family got seaweed in the mail. I'm not sure if they appreciated it, but I loved making the pressings. I love being able to take a piece of the ocean inside, even if it's far away, and the day is rainy and gray.
(This Etsy seller has some nifty seaweed pressings for sale, if you can't make it to the beach)
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