Awesome artwork...

[Raymond Fries]

...these are amazing.

http://www.treehugger.com/clean-tech...ed-leaves.html

[Dan Hintz]

Why do I get the feeling these were done with a laser, not by hand...

[Myk Rian]

Why do I get the feeling these were done with a laser, not by hand...

I seriously doubt that.

[Dan Hintz]

I seriously doubt that.

Why?
......

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

I seriously doubt that.

Not hard to believe at all. People have been laser engraving leaves for years. A friend of mine owns a plant nursery and she has sent me links to laser-engraved leaf photos for years.

Here's a site showing one business engraving leaves as business cards. http://blog.ponoko.com/2009/08/02/la...usiness-cards/

[Dan Hintz]

I see post after post about this art form, but they all say essentially the same thing (almost verbatim in most cases), and any link to how it is done goes to a dead site. I have seen more pictures, and the close-ups lead me to believe even more strongly these are done by laser. I'm not ruling out someone can do this by hand (I've seen someone amazing things done over the years), but doing it via laser seems more logical.

[David Weaver]

I'd have to think it's done by laser, too. Look at the lettering on the one from "amish country". Amish folks don't generally go to india or china to get leaves, but I'm sure there are kitschy shops run by non-amish who would sell any kind of junk they could get their fingers on.

[Myk Rian]

Why?
......

You don't think some people are talented enough to do that?

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I am no expert, and some folks here who have commented I know own lasers, so I would listen to what they say, but how would you laser this without damaging the veins of the leaf? It is interesting that they say they soak the leaf first before "carving" it. Perhaps to keep the laser from burning it? Hmmmm. Could be. That said, I have seen these types of artwork long before laser engravers, so at least there is a technique for doing this. I would agree, however, that the "Amish Country" lettering is suspicious.

Dan, you should try to replicate this. (If I am not mistaken you have a CNC laser.) It would be an interesting project. You could do family portraits on leaves and mount them in glass.

[David Weaver]

I would agree, however, that the "Amish Country" lettering is suspicious.

Someone with the skill to carve that type of thing by hand would have much better taste in fonts. Guaranteed if they're being sold as tourist trinkets, nobody is paying someone what it would cost to make those by hand, either.

Plus, one of the blogs that's out there would show people actually carving the letters.

When blogs like the one listed come up, or a lot of blogs in general that have lists, almost 100% of time, they are just there to drive traffic and even if the article said that someone cut them by hand, I'd not believe it because information accuracy isn't really required to drive clicks. Catchy headlines (like over on the right " 26 things we all agree on ") are more important to general ad views and clicks.

A very LARGE amount of the stuff on the internet that appears on the surface to be "sharing something interesting" is copied/stolen garbage from elsewhere just intended to drive clicks.

[Raymond Fries]

I have seen drawn art work that was amazing. I saw one for money that you could not tell the difference between it and real.

One year at a fair we stopped at a booth where a guy would write your name on a grain of rice. (He did not wear glasses or use any magnification) Then, he put it in a little liquid filled vial to make a neclace. My daughter love it. I could only read the name in the vial.

Some people have really steady hands and can do awesome work.

Dan - if giving it a try interests you, I bet people would buy them for their homes or gifts.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

When blogs like the one listed come up, or a lot of blogs in general that have lists, almost 100% of time, they are just there to drive traffic and even if the article said that someone cut them by hand, I'd not believe it because information accuracy isn't really required to drive clicks. Catchy headlines (like over on the right " 26 things we all agree on ") are more important to general ad views and clicks.

A very LARGE amount of the stuff on the internet that appears on the surface to be "sharing something interesting" is copied/stolen garbage from elsewhere just intended to drive clicks.

Very true. I failed to mention that when I clicked the link embedded in the linked site (not the OP's link, but the link that site had on it) I got a firewall from my work saying it was a suspected fishing site. So beware!

[Dan Hintz]

Dan, you should try to replicate this. (If I am not mistaken you have a CNC laser.) It would be an interesting project. You could do family portraits on leaves and mount them in glass.

My new Trotec is being delivered tomorrow, so eventually I will get around to trying it... I'll have to see if green leaves are better, and you gotta wait until Spring for that.

Dan - if giving it a try interests you, I bet people would buy them for their homes or gifts.

... but trying it only as an experiment. Just like portraits on marble, I can't see people paying me enough to make it worthwhile.

[Dan Hintz]

Plus, one of the blogs that's out there would show people actually carving the letters.

When blogs like the one listed come up, or a lot of blogs in general that have lists, almost 100% of time, they are just there to drive traffic and even if the article said that someone cut them by hand, I'd not believe it because information accuracy isn't really required to drive clicks. Catchy headlines (like over on the right " 26 things we all agree on ") are more important to general ad views and clicks.

A very LARGE amount of the stuff on the internet that appears on the surface to be "sharing something interesting" is copied/stolen garbage from elsewhere just intended to drive clicks.

This is really what made me question it... every "blog" (read, advertisement in blog form) eventually pointed back to the same empty website. Not a single pic of the carving in action... the closest they came was someone touching a leaf with a brush. It just looks like someone is pushing links. People want to buy them because they're supposedly "handmade", but those same people will say "no way" if they thought it was created by machines.