 |
Text by Cathy Gordon •
Longstreet Collection Photography Courtesy of Jalan Jalan Miami, inc.
Clippers in tow, Madeline Longstreet is always on the prowl for unusual plant
life. One day, she spotted some enormous, elegant elephant ears in a neighbor’s
front yard.“After eyeing them, I decided I had to have them,” recalls the
artist. Longstreet Collection, her collaborative venture with her son, Robert,
is known for its dramatic, oversized botanical prints in monochromatic tones.
The elephant ears with their showy, heart-shaped leaves fit the bill for a new,
large-scale series she and Robert were planning. She made a mental note to ask
the neighbor for cuttings at the end of the growing season. “But next time I
passed, they were gone!” She slammed on the brakes and made a mad dash for the
neighbor’s door. After a little polite chitchat, she was foraging for foliage in
the garbage. It hasn’t been a short road to success for the Longstreets, but
it certainly has been a scenic one. “Most of my material comes from my shade
garden, but I’m always looking wherever I go,” says the St. Louis, Missouri,
resident. “I try never to stop along the highway, but I’ll whip onto a service
road to snag whatever plant catches my eye. I found my first prairie grass along
some railroad tracks. It was lovely!”
(a) The Longstreet’s antique photo process lends a
surreal quality to this three-panel fan palm, appearing white against a deep
brown background. (b) A perennially happy mother-son team. (c) The Square Palm series in
Miami’s Jalan Jalan home furnishings and accessories showroom.
(d) The neighbor’s elephant ears, transformed and framed. (e) Images of prairie grass, dogwoods, sunflowers, lilies, and other plants in the
Longstreet studio. (f) Madeline and Robert discuss a botanical print.
For years, Madeline, who majored in fine arts, happily captured the nuances of
the human face as a portrait painter. But she was also drawn to the intricate
details found in nature, fondly recalling her grandparents’ gardens in the
South. Leaves, whether needlelike, fan-shaped, round, or scalloped, were a
source of intrigue. “My fascination with nature’s forms eventually swung me
around, and I switched from doing portraits to painting gardens.”One thing
led to another and soon she was drying ferns. Pressed and displayed in a wood
frame with their botanical names hand-drawn at the bottom, the pieces were a hit
at local art shows. “I realized that the public liked monochromatic, simple
presentations,” she says. “But I wanted to carry it forward into a fine art
design.” Robert helped with photo processes he learned at the School of Art
Institute of Chicago and Washington University, Madeline’s alma mater. Soon,
they were producing images on pillows and floor cloths that caught the eye of
national magazine editors. A 10-page spread in 1994 led to trade shows and
eventually their first major client, Ethan Allen. “That was a huge boost,”
Robert recalls. “We could see a future market for us.” The Longstreet
Collection, rooted in a blend of alternative photography and contemporary
printmaking, had arrived. “Our spirit is experimental—we make our own pinhole
camera, mix our own emulsion, and sensitize our own watercolor paper,” Madeline
explains. “It’s very much a handcrafted product.”
Earthy Delights page
1 |
2
 Stumble It!
|
