Based in the landscapes of southern Eryri, I’m an artist and grower drawn to the beauty and intricacies of the natural world around me.
It took me no short time to find this work. Previous lives have seen me design hot air balloons, run a vintage bicycle shop in London, and work as a self-employed gardener and photographer. All of them, in one way or another, have led me here, some by a more roundabout route than others.
I grow most of the flowers I work with here in the Dyfi Valley, from seed to flower, to be harvested and dried from the beams in our little farmhouse. I don’t use dyes or chemical treatments, I’d much rather let a flower be exactly what it is.
The garden is a living, changing thing, and working with the abundance of flowers it provides in their dried form feels like a beautiful co creation between the both of us.
It’s this way of being in conversation with nature around me that sits at the heart of my work.
My work exists in close relationship with the land, shaped by observing, gathering and working with seasonal plant material. I’m interested in the way flowers change as they dry- how their colour shifts, their shape alters and unexpected details emerge.
There’s a real alchemy in the drying process. Petals morph into strange and beautiful shades, stems twist and seed heads reveal endless sculptural possibilities.
A big part of the magic for me is witnessing the flower change state, sometimes noticeably (hi Dahlias!) and othertimes, like with Statice or Strawflowers, less so.
In the pieces I create, I hope to mirror the shifting, impermanent nature of the landscapes around me while also creating something beautiful and evocative.
Dried flowers give us this unique and beautiful opportunity to enjoy nature for a little longer, but also remind us gently of the need to let go. I think this is one of the big reasons why I love them so much!