who and why

Florist – Creator or Artist?

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More and more these days you guys are booking me in before you have selected a florist. I am not good enough with words to express how much this means to me so I hope you all trust me when I say it makes my heart leap and get all warm to see this. It is because of this increase that I wanted to have a chat with you guys about florists and in particular let you know what I have come to see when comes to finding the right florist for you.

Choosing the right florist can be the difference between an epic day and epic forever art and well, an experience that feels a little hollow. When your flowers finally arrive in my studio your choice of florist has and the flowers they have given you can have a huge impact on the work I create.

A florist (according to the dictionary) is a person who sells and arranges cut flowers. But just like the title of artist, the title of florist is a very lose one. Before starting my business, I had only dealt with florists on very special occasions such as weddings, birthdays, anniversaries etc and my understanding of what to look for in a florist was limited, any purchases I made were only based on location, price and ease of ordering. Over the last four years though I have come to have great respect and admiration for what the role of florist can mean and in fact can see that a good florist is actually not just a florist at all. They are an artist who works with flowers.

Just like an artist a florist creates conceptual work that evokes an emotion and, challenges the way you look at the world. Just like artwork, there are many different styles and once established a florists style is so clearly theirs that it can’t be reproduced. You are literally getting that persons unique reaction to the palate they have before them which is always changing. Some florists will do this by rote, literally following a script and buying the same flowers year in. Yes certain flowers are available at certain parts of the year but they are never the same year to year nor are they available at the times each year which is where choosing the right florist makes a difference.

Historically roses have always been the flower of choice for wedding but more and more these days anything goes, which is so much better not only for the environment but also for your eye balls. Honestly roses are a little boring, especially when it comes to my work. They aren’t see-through in resin, they can change colour dramatically and once I pull them apart because often they are to big for me to use anyway, the petals are just not that special. Give me peonies, hellebore, andromeda, paper flowers, flannel flowers, tulips, poppies, Scabiosa…. I could go on but you get the picture right? There is a whole world out there outside of roses. Queen anne’s lace, stock, hyacinth….woops sorry I got excited.

Anyone can be an artist …florist, but without the years of training, an understanding of different flower types, how they behave, when they are available and most importantly, a sense for which flowers would go together to get the effect you’re after, they can only arrange flowers(which yes is what the dictionary says they do….keep reading). A good florist doesn’t just arrange flowers they create experiences.

A good florist can single-handedly change the feel of a room or event. They take pride in making jaw dropping displays which have an uncanny tendency just appear in a space like a magic beanstalk would overnight.They work long hours, late into the night and are at the flower markets before most of us are even awake in the morning to make this all happen….Florist = magic elf.

I have gained so much respect for the work they do despite the unpredictability of flowers. Did you know that regardless of how far in advance you order, at the last-minute the colour could be different this year then it was the last and maybe now it is all wrong. Or maybe it didn’t make it through transit, it’s not available, etc. These ‘products’ are grown and tended to by hand, all over the world and have to somehow be transported in the right conditions, before going through some of the toughest quarantine processing in the world to get over the border and into our very special state. If they are still ok they go to market which is where your florist collects them and finally starts work on them for you. Redesigning an entire event worth of flowers in only a few days because your flowers didn’t make it is not unheard of but the majority would never dream of showing you this. Even cooler is that some of our Perth florists grow their own flowers because it is the only way they can control the quality of stock. None of this discussed enough because it not the glamour that florists are known for but its a huge factor in choosing the right florist for you.

So Dictionary, saying a florist is someone who sells and arranges cut flowers is like saying an artist is someone who arranges paint on a page. It fails to explain that a good florist will design a concept with you, will not only know what flowers are called but when they are in season, how the market is looking, how to care for each type of flower AND have the ability to set the mood of an entire venue.
A good florist values what they do beyond making something pretty. They put some of themselves into their work, making it more than floristry and into art. They need to be paid for the many hours and the years of experience they put into creating the amazing things we see online.

Instagram is a great place to look for your special person/team and I have been collecting my own list of favourites. I have not been paid by them they are just amazing and I know that when I get flowers from them I create my best work.

Check out the following
@MatthewLanders
@Naturalartflowers
@floralstate
@alittlebohemia
@katiecooper
@Signaturefloraldesign
@scentimentflowers

Updates

Why transparent?

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I have never been great with being anything other then genuine and intuitive. I used to get in trouble constantly for telling the truth about how I felt or thought. I had to learn to hide my true self as it has always been too much for others. ‘Just smile and nod’ was what my friends would say to each

other when I said too much. It didn’t hurt, but it did feel lonely.
I studied photography quite intensely for over 5 years obsessed with trying to capture what i saw in the world. I never quite felt that what I photographed could really portray what I saw as to everyone else it is what it is. They didn’t see the magic I saw. What I create now asks the viewer to look through a lense, into another space which is what I did as a photographer. The difference though is that I am creating my own reality, like little worlds made from parts of this world, and this is the closest I’ve ever been to sharing what I actually see.
I never thought too much about the consequences of making clear artwork. It just felt right to make work that is dynamic, honest and alive not because I like the way it looks or think it’s cool but because ultimately it is a true representation of me right to the core.
So take away all of my reasoning behind the transparency and I imagine that it could be seen as an inconvenience, an indulgence, a step too far outside of the unchanging opaque art we are used too. Or we could see how many colours we can paint our walls as with each colour we get a new piece of art.

who and why

Artist Statement – Painting with plants

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As an artist my long term goal has been to create work that follows my journey of discovering the complexity of nature and the unobserved world that is all around us. My artwork is a way of highlighting and sharing the world that I see in the hopes of others seeing it also.

I use primarily clear mediums as a way to capture and distort light, which not only creates visually dynamic artwork but also allows me to explore and use natural elements that create it. As a result of my research I am yet to find another artist that uses plants as medium in the way I do and to this scale.

My aim is to highlight the delicate structures, unique colours, shapes and textures of the plants I use as well as the longevity and strength of something that is generally perceived as weak and ephemeral.

My current focus is on investigating how our culture tends to miss the basic visual joy givers within nature, instead dedicating themselves to the pursuit of a monotal freedom, instant gratification and ever changing and unnamed happiness. We trick ourselves into believing that we are the guardians and manipulators of the earth. The biggest, strongest and most important part of it. But between us and nature, I am asking who is the more ephemeral element in the relationship. If our civilisation fell, nature would thrive, but, we all know that it would not be the same in reverse.