Growing
All of the flowers in my artwork are grown in my garden here in Worcestershire. My process starts with nurturing the garden and growing my flowers. I grow a range of cottage garden style perennials, and each summer I enjoy filling out the flower beds with beautiful annuals. I love full-to-bursting flower beds, popping with colour and interest, buzzing with bees. I also have a lot of wilder areas, with all sorts of wildflowers and an abundance of very important ‘weeds’ which are essential for wildlife and in my view just as beautiful as everything else in the garden!
Gardening sustainably is very important to me; everything is grown organically and with a nature-first approach. The plants are fed with my homemade compost and watered with harvested rainwater.
Pressing
I only ever take a few flowers or leaves from each plant – the vast majority are left for wildlife. Once picked, I place the flowers into a press quickly in order to maximise their form and colour.
I have designed my traditional flower presses to achieve the best possible pressings. They are crafted in small batches by a fabulous UK-based maker and built to last. If you’d like your own flower press to treasure, they are available to purchase here. I use good quality blotting paper and greyboard to create layers within the press. I very carefully prepare and place each individual flower to ensure it is preserved perfectly. I never use a microwave for drying, or any chemicals that speed up drying or preservation of the flowers. Flowers often change colour during the pressing process – it’s always a surprise to see how they turn out! The traditional, slow pressing technique does mean that sometimes flowers just aren’t quite perfect enough to use in my artwork - any that I don’t use get composted and become part of the garden once again.
After three weeks, most flowers and leaves are fully dried and ready to be removed from the press. Opening the flower press is always an exciting moment!
Creating
My artwork is ever-changing with the seasons and each piece is completely unique. I spend a lot of time selecting the best flowers and working on my compositions - I love to create pieces full of movement and flow, and that showcase the intricate details retained in the gorgeous flowers. Once I’m happy with the design, I secure each flower to the paper using tiny amounts of water-based, non-toxic white glue. It’s a very delicate, time-consuming, mindful process.