This seems like a bit of a strange question to ask but it was precisely what someone asked at my last Open Studio.

To be honest, I am naturally drawn to them and take a lot of inspiration from them as do a lot of other artists and designers

Purely from a scientific view the bright colours and sweet fragrance of flowers also serve an essential purpose. They can feed insects, birds, animals and humans: provide natural medicines for humans and some animals. They help in a plant’s reproduction by enticing outside pollinators such as bees.

In fact, without flowers, plants would merely be green and the world would be a much duller place! They also play a significant role in our lives. Romantically they have been a symbol of love for centuries. We give them to those important to us, on birthdays, weddings and in celebrating births. Even at funerals they give us solace at a time of grief.

Throughout our lives flowers have a continual presence. Flowers are of course the subject matter for a lot of my textile designs as they are a dominant feature in much of surface patterns for women’s attire.

As students we were told that we might as well learn to love and design with flowers especially if we are going to specialise in designing for women’s clothing.

For budding textile designers there seemed no escape from the dreaded floral!

No such revulsion for me!

Very much a natural attraction, flowers really do draw me in at a very deep level and the more I focus on them the calmer I begin to feel. Whilst creating a beautiful floral design the stillness and silence required is almost a form of meditation at times connecting me to my heart, soul, ultimately nature and to the universe.

Nature teaches us lessons about the continuous circle of life and I feel that with my design work maybe I am trying to hold onto this tenuous existence of a ‘flower in bloom’. I am trying to capture an ephemeral moment with my photography, drawing and paintings; therefore, my design perhaps in a way, constraining it in a ‘stilled’, specific point in time. I am aware, however, as I’m sure you are too the actual blossoming flowers will soon fade and decay, due to the inevitable passage of time and no matter how much we may try, there is no fighting the advancement of the proverbial ticking clock!

The design allows the plants and flowers to reside and continue to an eternal life force that persists for whoever will wear the scarf!

I am in a sense, trying to attract and hold this sensitivity, sensibility and to transcend the emotions of love and joy from me to the wearer who will, I wish, retain it as a keepsake. This is my inspiration in making these scarves; a hope that resonates with the energy that is inherently present within these flowers will transition to and adorn its wearer.

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