Recently I was invited to do a hands-on pressed flower workshop for a group of 10 women from NY who were spending a week at a Vermont ski area. These women, friends for many years, have been coming together in Vermont for a week each year to ski and to learn a new art or craft. This was their 27th year meeting in Vermont and in honor of 2020, they chose to learn about pressing and creating with pressed flowers.
We met at a condo that belongs to one of the women. The directions I was given said to keep driving straight up the mountain until I couldn't go any further. Boy was that accurate! When I go to the top this is what I saw...the most incredibly magnificent view!
I knew this was going to be a good day.
After introductions, I presented a 45-minute overview of flower pressing techniques, tips for successful flower pressing and ideas for creating with pressed flowers. A demonstration of pressing with a Microfleur (a microwaveable flower press) was given to show how flowers can be pressed, dried, and ready to use in just a minute or two. Examples of framed pressed flower art, cards and bookmarks were shared as well as other objects decorated with pressed flowers including keepsake boxes, candles, and trivets.
Then it was time for the women to begin making their own creations.
All necessary materials were provided: lots of pressed flowers, glue, brushes, tweezers, clippers, and paper of all sizes for large (wall art) pieces, cards, and bookmarks. I brought my laminating machine as well, to laminate bookmarks for durability.
The first step was to select flowers and arrange them on the paper. Then came the tricky part - gluing the flowers to the paper with a soft brush and acid-free glue. Most of the women got the knack after just a few tries.
Playing with flowers on a mountaintop! What better way to spend a winter's day?
For the next several hours, with only a lunch break in between, this very enthusiastic group got right to work and were so productive and prolific! Many beautiful works of art were created with the provided pressed flowers, including wall art, several cards, and bookmarks. Their creations were impressive!
I suspect (and hope) that this was only a beginning for these women. Many of them have extensive flower gardens back in New York and I am hoping they will press their own flowers this coming spring and summer and will create many more works of pressed flower art.
Here are some of the many finished pieces!
Interested in your own flower workshop?
If you or a group of friends would like to learn about flower pressing and create your very own pressed flower art, contact me to arrange a workshop. It can become an addiction but oh, so rewarding!
Comments