Day 1/100: Oleander

100-Day Project
Written By Sarah K Patro
A hand-carved block of an oleander flower with leaves and two blooms

Today’s the day I begin my 100-day project!

For the next 20 weeks, I’ll be hand-carving 100 blocks from my illustrations of the flora and fauna of Arizona, Maine, New Jersey, and Virginia - four places I’ve called “home!”

I guess it would've been logical to start my 100-day project with a symbol of my hometown, but we'll get to that! Instead, I'm sharing the Oleander - because to me, this resilient flower with its delicate, toxic petals is a symbol of resilience, strength, and transformation. And transformation is what I'm here to do during this project! 🌸

A hand-carved block of an oleander flower with leaves and two blooms
Hand-Carved and Printed block of an oleander flower and leaves by Make For Good

Fun facts about Oleander:
• Though I loved admiring these blooms where I lived in Phoenix, it's not native to Arizona (or anywhere in the US)
• Its poison is a weapon my favorite book, White Oleander by Janet Fitch (😲 #IYKYK)
• Though it's toxic if ingested by humans, oleander nectar is a favorite for many types of butterflies 🦋

Photo of a bright pink cluster of flowers, Oleander blossoms

Photo by rminedaisy on Unsplash

Sarah K from Make For Good sitting at a desk carving into a linoleum block with a Pfeil Swiss-Made Linocut Tool
Flexcut lino carving tool, 3 Pfeil lino carving tools, and a Flexcut blade sharpener sitting on top of a cutting board on a desk, sharpened and ready for my 100-day project

So yay! Here we go. I'll be sharing my daily progress on my Instagram page, so follow me [@makeforgood] to stay connected.

Yours in creative community,
Sarah K

Sarah K Patro https://www.modernmakerstamps.com
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Week 1: A Fresh Start