You wouldn’t know that it has changed seasons in New England as we keep getting “snow events,” a few times a week. The last one occurred a few days before Spring leading the vast majority of my clients to cancel out on me due to the inclement weather. The weather of the past few months have been a tease as a slow melt down to grass and soil is quickly followed by a coating of snow and the cycle repeats itself. Snowdrops and hellebores have poked out but little else. The backdrop is white with little differentiation save the skeletons of trees sending their shadows across the landscape.
At this time of year I try to brighten the mood of clients and focus on living and bright things. I put together a session of pressed flower arrangement so that at least half of that desire could be met. As it was, four clients decided to make the trek as the severity of the weather abated a bit and made driving fairly safe. I had acquired quite a few different dried flowers and laid them on the table for clients to start to think about what and how they would create their designs
“Last year we were outside building sundials and walking the grounds. This year we needed to pick something a bit more indoors,” I started off the class with. “But the good news is that in a few months we can all start saving flowers and drying them for use in more inclement times.” And with that I showed everyone my flower press with samples from last summer.
“How did you do that? Are we going to build a flower press,” asked one client. “Yes, but we will wait until the summer so we can press flowers from our garden here.”
“Why did some of your flowers lose their color,” asked another. “Some flowers keep their colors better than others and there are more complex techniques than what I do that help and make a difference.”
I could see that my clients were more interested in starting to make their designs so I got into the nitty-gritty of how to proceed. I suggested that everyone lay out a design first on a separate piece of paper before gluing things together. I also gave everyone tweezers so they could more easily select a flower.
With a few more details, everyone started to make a picture of pressed flowers. While there was a bit of cross talk, all the clients seemed absorbed in the design and selection of paper, flowers and frame. Their gaze vacillated between the packets of flowers and their emerging creations. As they started to fasten their flowers to the paper and each other, the room became silent as they were concentrating as would a precision craftsman working with a delicate creation.
When the frame was placed on each picture, they all expressed amazement on how well their picture turned out as well as that of others in the class. It was a good looking and happy group. Time to take a picture.
