Since I was a little girl growing up in North Yorkshire I have loved wildflowers. My weekends and summers were invariably spent down by the beck in the filed at the back, or walking the monk trods connecting our village to the next. I had my notebook with me all the time and made notes and collected specimens to identify from my trusty Readers Digest guide when I got home. As I grew older this part of my life faded out, but getting out and about during lockdown reawakened this dormant interest which I have come to realise really is at the heart of who I am. I passionately care about our natural environment and believe that one of the most important ways we can conserve these beautiful plants and flowers is to learn to cherish them and teach the next generations about the riches around us. A huge part of making paper flowers, for me, is about encouraging people to open their eyes and see. Many of our native species are small and seemingly insignificant, but by enlarging them through my artworks I want to reveal what the eye can't always see, and encourage you to look closer, when you are out walking by the hedgerows, in the meadow or on the common.
This image shows you the detail inside a common bramble flower, you can find out more about this project on the Floral page.