I like to photograph leaves for my carving templates when exploring. I take the siloets of the leaves and play with them by arranging them in different ways to create a visually appealing feeling or a sense of a story. This one became two birds flying together over a hillside. I put the words forested hillside because of the deep green and the fact that the leaves were discovered on a forested hillside at a very high elevation in the big hole of Montana during a backpacking trip. The framing is screwed into the back of the Scagliola piece into a board cemented into the art. My frames are always unique to each piece because I use salvaged material to leave less waste in the world. The hanging hardware is made to support 100 pounds. The piece weighs 15 lbs. I learned this 16th-century plaster technique during my years of building restoration in my role as a decorative artist. Now, because of arthritis, I use the techniques I learned as an architectural painter in smaller, more manageable forms to satisfy my passion for creating and healing and bringing a piece of art to your home or business.