Frame of Reference

The hobby of flower pressing gets a modern update. This installation on a plywood-clad wall was created by pressing flowers and leaves, spray-painting them a uniform colour (in this instance, white), sticking onto fine art paper and displaying in simple, contemporary frames. These are juxtaposed with a vintage painting in an unusual mahogany frame. A real posy of white flowers in a ceramic wall-mounted vase creates a sense of layering while a vase, typically designated to a table top, is displayed playfully on the floor. A velvet-upholstered French sofa and throw pillows bring the opulence; a floral-bedecked rug, the colour. For a contemporary touch, two side tables in glossy black and natural wood are mixed in.

PRESSED FLOWERS HOW-TO

• Choose your flowers and foliage. Make sure everything is dry and blemish-free. • Place the flora between two sheets of plain parchment or wax (sandwich) paper and put these face down in the

middle of a telephone book. • Weigh the book down and leave for a week to 10 days. • Once dried, spray paint the flowers your choice of colour (in this case white) and attach to paper using artist’s

adhesive. Don’t saturate your dried flora with paint—spray lightly to allow some of the colour to still show through. • Frame for a dramatic display.