Leafy impressions

WORDS Debbie Loots PHOTOS Micky Hoyle

A new year means it’s time for a new leaf and Jacques Erasmus has found transformational inspiration in the most unlikeliest place – weeds. He explains how to try it yourself, or simply pop into Hemelhuijs for a delish lunch and pretty picture.

Jacques Erasmus, owner of Hemelhuijs restaurant in Cape Town, is a chef with an unusual passion. In his spare time he presses flowers onto fine linen, frames and sells them by the bucket load from his restaurant.

He blames his unusual passion on Mauritius’s magnificent 300-year-old Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden. Jacques spends his time between the Mother City and Mauritius, and often visits these ancient gardens. On one occasion, he saw bunches of cut leaves on a rubbish heap, promptly gathered them up and decided to press them.

Placed on a muslin cloth, he cuts the stem in half with a scalpel and removes the insides with tweezers. He then flattens the leaf and wipes it with surgical alcohol to prevent decay. The leaf is then stuck onto linen using glue paper. Next, Jacques presses the work in a flower press between a top and bottom layer of blotting paper and sheets of cardboard. It should be left in the press to dry for three weeks (weather dependent). The blotting paper and cardboard are removed before framing.

Now, he says, he looks at plants differently. The pretty petals of violets and nasturtiums hold no appeal for him; his favourites are the unwanted green specimens. It’s the weeds and tiny discarded leaves that inspire him and he wants them to be appreciated. Appreciated these unlikely gems are; his works aren’t displayed for long before being sold straight off the restaurant walls.

hemelhuijs.co.za