With my pressed floral work of art "Effervesce"
It's been quite some time since I've posted on my design blog to share what I've been working on creatively, so here I am with a 2023 update!
I'll try my best to keep this brief since most of us now prefer short and sweet social media style captions over long form blog content. I get it, believe me, and I'm already impressed that you've even taken the time to visit me here, so thank you for that!
The photo of me above was taken in the fall of 2021, when I won an award for my pressed flower art titled "Effervesce" that I entered in the Lynnfield Art Guild fall art show. Receiving recognition was pretty exciting since this was my first real attempt at creating a mixed media piece using pressed flowers! The work features pressed hydrangeas, Queen Anne's Lace, and other blooms picked from my New England farmhouse style garden that I then applied to my original acrylic painting of a minimalist-style champagne coupe. A touch of gold glitter added just the right amount of sparkle and joy!
Currently, this pressed flower piece is on display at the Reading, MA Draw01867 Art Walk through October 1, 2023.
My first flower press!
"Three Sisters" pressed cornflowers by Yvonne Blacker
"Beauty within" pressed rose by Yvonne Blacker
and Japanese painted fern on tiny art canvas
Where did I learn to press flowers?
I have studied online via several Zoom classes with Modern Pressed Flower artist Tricia Paoluccio whose botanical artistry inspired several pieces in the fall 2021 Oscar de la Renta ready-to-wear collection. One of those gowns was worn by fashion powerhouse Anna Wintour at the MET gala in 2021 and a long-sleeved mini dress was worn by Taylor Swift at the 63rd Annual Grammy's. Pretty cool, huh?!
I was able to purchase one of Tricia's hand-crafted flower presses and I still use it today to preserve my own backyard blooms.
And since I work with fresh florals quite often as a virtual lifestyle host with Alice's Table via the 1-800-flowers brand (I have been an Alice's Table online educator since the summer of 2020), I have spent a lot of time saving the beautiful blooms that I often have on hand, using a number of different preservation methods.
Dried roses in honeycomb shaped glass jars.
Preserved favorite flowers from a bride's bouquet.
Arrangement composed by Yvonne Blacker
Learn how to create forever flowers with me!
I will be sharing some of my floral preserving techniques in my upcoming virtual "get creative" course that I am offering via my New England farmhouse inspired e-commerce shop Duck Petals. The class is called "Playing with Flowers" and you are invited to join me!
Topics will include how to preserve special occasion blooms, how to work with dried flowers to create permanent botanical art, and tips on creating pressed flower compositions with confidence.
I've made quite a few pressed wedding flower bouquet pieces over the past few years, so I will also be sharing my personal experience with that special memory preserving process.
Want to play with flowers following my lead? Enroll here! Course begins on November 11, 2023.
Blogger discount code to shop DuckPetals.com!
And for reading this far, I'm sharing a special discount code if you'd like to shop DuckPetals.com. Just type DESIGNBLOG2023 in the promo box at checkout and you will save 15% off your online purchase! Code is valid on any DuckPetals.com purchase – including enrollment in my new course – now through September 30, 2023 at 11:59pm EST only, so go ahead and fill your cart with New England farmhouse inspired goodies for less while you can!
And if you like to play with fresh flowers, please sign up for my FREE newsletter "Backyard Blooms" where I send out DIY floral recipes seasonally and share exclusive shop discounts.
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