Artist’s Dark Floral Art Confessions
Do you have a question about my dark floral art ? Why I photograph flowers? Did you know it is all my floral design?
Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor, 2022
Confession 1 Dark Floral Art awakening
I began to photograph flowers - seriously - during the year 2016. My mom died suddenly in the beginning of the year 2016 and that gave me a reason to make a few big decisions in my life. She was a huge flower and plant lover. I literally spent my childhood surrounded by plants and flowers. But because I was a rebel (who isn’t in early twenties) I never wanted to have that amount of work with garden and plants, no way!
But look what happened?
Since 2014 when I began my freelance career I had been thinking my artistic approach as a photographer and artist. I already had had a very strong feeling about flowers but it just felt a bit ridiculous. Too narrow niche. Who could work as professional flower photographer? But after my mom died it was obvious choice for me. I am going to be that photographer and artist. Well, that is my confession number one. I was scared to make a big decision and personal crises made me do it. Sounds familiar? Most beautiful things might have unpleasant experience behind.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor, 2022 in Flora Favola exhibition, Poikilo museum in Kouvola, Finland. Collage of 9 japanese papers. Nailed on the wall.
Confession 2 Not earning money from floral design
I arranged flower workshops at our workspace where I had floral designers teaching, I attended in different kind of flower workshops abroad. I watched videos, talked to florists, googled, trained. I spent my money to flowers. I learnt to make beautiful floral designs for my camera and yes here comes the second confession. After working in big publishing house for 8 years I was so tired that I needed a break and yes I became an entrepreneur. Have you heard that having a company - alone - is vacation? No. But my husband was super kind and he gave me a permission to take it easy. So my salary wasn't much I have to say. My salary was building skills with flowers. But I saw it as an investment. Gerbera daisies, Carnations, Roses - would you buy the photo of these three? Could I develop my skills with flowers I don’t like so much? Answer to both those question is - no.
I love to work with clay and I made this flower frog few years ago. Now I have designed two flower frogs with Swedish MOKK design. Those flower frogs are raku ceramic.
Confession 3 Healing floral art
I love to work slowly with flowers. So here comes the third confession, we don’t have children. Yes, we tried for so many years with no luck. From all losses and haunting experience I needed to heal myself and I noticed that painting and especially flowers helped me staying sane. When I was building our current exhibition Flora Favola in Poikilo museum in September I found words that describe my feelings well about the exhibition. It feels like I put my soul on the walls when I have an exhibition and I just hope it is treated gently. You don’t have to like the art but you can still respect it.
I have said that I love to combine fresh and wilting flowers. Even dried ones. I make my best work with this kind of combination. Because it really resonates with my soul.
For me it is important to create different kind of worlds with flowers. I go with the flow and follow my own feeling and of course the chosen flowers direct the way. I want to step in this fantasy world and I have a feeling that I am not the only one. I think working with flowers is meditative act and I hope artworks I’ ve created will work as meditative tool to you too.
I will bring one of the artworks from Flora Favola exhibition to my online shop www.kreettakreetta.com soon! It is my very favorite and it is in this post. There will be also few other new artworks too.
I will also share my X-mas gift code 25% discount from all my fine art prints for newsletter subscribers from 19.11.23. You can subscribe to newsletter in my shop.
xoxo
Kreetta
