I have a pink peony growing in my back garden... I love peonies so when the first bloom appeared I had to pick it and bring it inside
sitting on the kitchen table, the scent filling the air, it was a daily delight
as more of the buds bloomed I picked a small jugful and set them on a small table in the backyard whilst I finished my chores... it looked so pretty in the zinc jug against the green of the cedars that I left it thinking I would fetch it in later...
oops!
I forgot all about it and so they sat
fast forward a few days and the peony inside that had slowly been fading finally looked done for... as I pulled it from the glass vase, the petals fell on the table in a shower of pink and white
scooping them up, one that had fallen to the side caught my eye - it was shaped like a heart and looked so pretty... slightly wrinkled, softly coloured, cupping in the centre with the furled edges perfectly so
I gently carried it up to my studio and laid it on the writing table
it's been busy days around here, especially with the heat wave we've been having here in British Columbia and my time in the studio has been pretty much non-existent except for my morning writing, which begins with the daily ritual of moving papers, books and all manner of creative bits from here to there and back again
the next morning, as I cleared the writing table, I placed the petal on the stack of paper and cloth from last week's blog post, and was struck by how pretty the petal looked on it
possibilities began to flood through a whirring mind and I wished I had kept more of the petals... then, for the first time in five days I thought of the peonies I had cut
racing outside, sure they would be a droopy desiccated mess, I found instead a jug filled with the loveliest dried peonies, their colours beautifully preserved
the water had long since evaporated and in the 39 - 42 degree weather we'd been having, they had dried as they were - I couldn't have achieved such results if I'd tried!
today I began taking one apart - the petals are soft and flexible, not brittle at all, and I can gently rub and smooth them a bit, coaxing their shape, and then experiment with bases to lay them on
I like the fragments of lace one the best
next I trimmed the lower centre portion of the petal where it attaches to the stem
my plan is to try attaching them to a chosen base and then add French knots for a flower centre, experimenting with various fibres, hoping to achieve something highly textural and somewhat organic in feel
the petals also looked pretty on the paper I made but this might need a more compositional design and I'm just scratching an itch here rather than wanting a full-on piece to be working on for days
still though...
these are the things that happen when you're not just messy and forgetful...
you kind of have to be paying attention as well
7 comments:
That’s such a pretty colour. We have a peony, a deep pink one, that has been in the garden for years. Sadly this year the beautiful blooms only lasted a few days before they all fell off. I’m going to investigate further the cause of it. But for now I’m going to pop out and see if I can rescue any of the petals for a nature project I’m starting.
Have a lovely week Jillayne
Lynn x
Now that's a real delight. Sometimes forgetfulness is a good thing!
I wouldn't call it forgetfulness at all - to me it falls under the 'meant to be' category. The petals are such a soft pretty colour and blend so perfectly against the cloth and lace. I wonder...is there something you can brush onto the petals to preserve them further because I suspect they might get brittle and crumble. Glycerine comes to mind but I don't think that's it. There's a technique I vaguely remember doing with maple leaves ironed between pieces of wax paper but I don't remember the longevity of the results.
just perfect
Beautiful color - hope you can preserve some of them.
Beautiful color - hope you can preserve some of them.
I love peonies. I think they are quite a nostalgic flower and you have made them more so how you have laid them out on laces and linen.. So beautiful and delicate like a memory that has begun to fade but still lingers.
Post a Comment