KC & Mary had brought me two coolers full of flowers from their wedding.
I pressed just about everything they’d given me and when the flowers came out of the presses, I’d joked that I might need a bigger table. Then, of course, I was quick to point out that if bigger tables were required to hold more flowers and more love then (metaphorically speaking) we should ALL have BIGGER tables!
I stood back to take in the scope of the botanicals I’d taken from the presses. There had to have been a thousand petals in front of me. I bit my lip, intimidated by the sheer volume of the possibilities.
I took a deep breath. Just as every journey begins with a single step. Every botanical collage begins with one petal.
Shhh, here’s a secret…when I get a bouquet, I pick apart all of the flowers and press the individual petals. Weeks later, when they come out of the presses, I re-build the flowers petal by petal.
Watch the process here…
I had reconstructed about 20 flowers when it became clear that the 11″x14″ collage KC & Mary had ordered wasn’t going to be big enough to hold this botanical abundance. I sent them an email to explain. I asked them to consider a bigger piece. “Think about where you’re going to hang this in your home. Do you want one large piece, or maybe a series of smaller ones?” They said they’d talk about it and get back to me.
I expected KC & Mary to deliberate awhile to consider the possibilities. I was surprised when I heard back from them the very next day. They wanted a 20″x20″.
As much as it thrilled me to hear how excited KC & Mary were about their collage, I was a little bit terrified. No lie. 20” x 20” is a large piece of artwork when your medium is pressed flower petals.
I needed to get busy building more flowers.
After I’ve reconstructed the flowers, it’s time to design the collage.
But, before I begin to the design process, I set an intention.
I take a few moments and sit with the flowers. I think about the people I am creating for and what they want.
I think about love; deep love that makes one person say to another, you’re the one for me.
I listen to the flowers. They witnessed the moment. They soaked up the joy. The flowers were there and now they’re with me, imbued with the emotions of the day.
As I was designing KC & Mary’s collage, I started to giggle. There ARE joy in the flowers and it’s CONTAGIOUS!
I’m following the lead of the flowers and we’re having a grand ol’ time here at Flora-Ly Studios.
Here’s a little glimpse of the piece in process…
Stay tuned to see the final collage. Gah! I’m so excited to share it with KC & Mary!
And with YOU!
P.S. Follow the whole process from fresh wedding flowers to finished botantical collage. Did you see Part 1? Are you ready to head straight to Part 3?
