Pressed Flower Art and Artists At the Philadelphia Flower Show

The artistic class I am involved with at the Philadelphia (International) Flower Show is titled "Pressed Plants". It sounds so....blah, yet is vibrant and amazing. I am not tooting my own horn here, but that of the many entries that come from all over the world. For years the Philadelphia Flower Show ( PFS), has been the most prestigious, international pressed flower art competition. Entries are submitted from across the US, Japan, China, Russia, Korea,Taiwan and other countries. The "Pressed Plant" wall as I refer to it, often hosts some of the best pressed flower art and artists. These entries, mostly pictures, are sometimes so detailed that they look like paintings, not pressed plants. Some of the entries take months to finish. Using only pressed plant materials, where coloring/dying is not allowed, often presents many challenges when trying to create depth,shadows, lighting and the likes. I'm not just talking about a few flowers glued to paper in an arrangement . I am talking landscapes, buildings, portraits,oceans, animals and many other themes.


Take a look at some of this years pictures, fully created using only plant materials. I am sure you will agree with my "wows!"

Above: First place winner in the Pressed Plants novice class, calling for a scene that depicts a lei. This was one of my favorites this year.

Above: A wonderful beach and ocean scene using many different shades of hydrangea to create the water, wave and sky. Unfortunately it was unable to be judges as it was stamped by the artists, which is not allowed, so blind judging can occur.

Above: This picture of a volcano took First Place, "Best of Blues".

Above: Another of my favorites, Third Place winner in "Waialua" calling for the colors of the Hawaiian rain forest.

Above: First Place winner in "Wailalua" class.

Above: Honorable Mention was awarded to this rain forest scene.

Above: Second Place winner  for the "Waialua" class, done by Shelly Xie, another member of the World Wide Pressed Flower Guild.

Above: Some of the Youth Class pictures , titled " Hala-Hakiki" ( Pineapple). The Youth Class is fairly new to our competition. I think we started it three years ago, four at the most.

Above: Another rain forest entry     

If you read the title for this blog, it stated artists as well as art. So, onto the next part....

Being a Pressed Flower Artist in our country is not common , but not necessarily uncommon. It is definitely a different art form than most people choose, but none the less, it truly is an art. That being said, when you find people who really get you and what you do, you bond. You teach, share, and sometimes steal flowers together. (Yeah, I said it). Again, these people "get" me. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, I belong to a group of Pressed Flower artists."The World Wide Pressed Flower Guild" is an international, online based group from around the world. Many us rarely meet.We hold classes and forums online. However, I am centrally located near a few members, and fortunately the Philadelphia Flower Show brings a few of them to me every year. In addition a few friends and members fly in to perform judging.  This all adds to the excitement of the show for me. Being with my "petal family" is always fun.

Below are pictures from our activities during the first few days of the show.

 World Wide Pressed Flower Guild Members visit at The Philadelphia International Flower Show.

Friends, Family and Fun At The Philadelphia International Flower Show

The race to finish my pieces for the flower show has come and gone. Show prep, set-up and judging are all in the past. For me, the opening weekend of the Philadelphia International Flower Show is mixed with fun,stress, time with family and friends, excitement and very little rest. I wouldn't be honest if I said I didn't like it, despite all the work involved.

Some of the highlights for me include days with fellow pressed flower artists, lots of good meals, and the opportunity to see the show before mostly everyone.

The theme this year is Hawaii. It ranks at the top of my list of recent flower shows. I love the show every year, but this one is a winner in my eyes. There have been many changes behind the scenes and on the floor. Regular show goers will notice things aren't in their usual place. For those of us in the Pressed Plants classes, and other small artistic classes, this is great news. We have relocated from the very back of the show to just behind the main entrance. I love it. I have seen more people view our walls this weekend than ever.

Here's a few pictures, more to follow.

New Jewelry Designs

I've been working on some new jewelry designs. My latest styles are one inch round silver pendants that are covered with a clear acrylic "bubble".  I have to thank a fellow World Wide Pressed Flower Guild member, Lynn Lang, for sharing this technique of using the acrylic bubbles at our recent conference.

This is a miniature design on a light blue background ( I know it looks white.)  I used some small greens, and dyed spirea to get the finished butterfly garden.

Wedding Keepsake

When I received the request to do this wedding keepsake, along with the fresh flowers, I was excited to create a really special piece. I love the materials I had to work with. The brown ribbon, the calla lilies and the roses were rich in color and paired well with the elegant dark brown frame. I included a photo ( blocked for privacy) and the program cover to make a great gift for the wedding couple to enjoy for many happy years to come.

RED ROSE WEDDING BOUQUET

Made from a pressed red rose and evergreen wedding bouquet, the finished result is in an 11x14 inch black frame.

Art For Pakistan

By request, many members of The World Wide Pressed Flower Guild have made pieces that will be on exhibition at the Lahore Art Museum of Pakistan. Our Public Relations Director has been in contact with a small group of pressed flower artists there, helping them in many ways, to grow, learn and promote pressed flower art. This month we were asked to create art to add to their exhibition. The request came recently, so time was limited, in order for the art to travel the distance and arrive on time. The only requirement for these pictures was that the art should be 9x9 inches.

So with limited time I sat for a few hours one night to make two simple pictures. With my fresh stock of fall leaves, I created the picture on the left " The Colors Of  Fall".

Then I wanted to do something fun with flowers. While tempted to do one of my fairies, I didn't have time to search through my stock of flowers, so I grabbed the first few packets I found and composed this whimsical design that I titled "Happy Flowers Dance".

Cards For The Season

I finally got passed my addiction to those ornaments just long enough to create some Christmas cards. The designs are created with pressed flowers and leaves. The best thing about these is I did not lose too much sleep to get them done. Merry Christmas!