I have a thriving African ficus with really meaty thick leaves, with large visible epidermal cells. In a previous project, I wanted to model leaf vein patterns, and with these leaves, it’s very easy to see the structure. I love skeletal leaves, and so it was natural for me to cut into the leaves along the major veins.

After the leaves dried, the tissue shrunk in interesting ways, leaving irregular gaps along the veins.

While this wasn’t used in my final pieces, I could see this used as a mask for charcoal dust, or, I don’t know! Will stick it in my back pocket for now.