Flowers Served Dead, Two Ways

I consider myself fortunate to have created an Atmospheric Workshop where I surround myself with the beauty and scent of drying and dry flowers. When you come and visit Warmhouse Story, you will experience the scent and comment on its fascinating floral notes.

I try to dry most of my flowers on my own or source dried flowers locally (chemical free). Sometimes there are certain flowers that I need that cannot be found locally and, in those cases, I will get them from a wholesaler.  For “Bewitched, Bubbles and Bewildered”, I had all the beauty that I needed on hand. I just needed them dead and then even more dead- as in scorched dead. Enter from stage left some unusual species and a little blackening to make the most goth collection of blooms in my Warmhouse Story Inspirational Parlor.

For this installation, I was inspired to use millet, roses, nine bark and sumac. As I arranged the florals in a large, brass trumpet vase, I noticed that they felt a little bit too refined and pretty for this table. My imagination took me to a place where this bouquet might have been found in the corner of a greenhouse after a sweeping fire.

I decided to emulate a torched and scorched look with the help of some low fume, water-based spray paint in a charcoal color. I wrapped the flowers as they are arranged in the vase and then took them outside to let the wind dust the spray onto the flowers in the same direction. I had to be patient and spray in small bits to make sure that the effect looked realistic. I’m quite happy with the effect.

As I try to re-use as many of my drieds as possible, I’m holding on to these dark beauties for some other day. I have no idea now, but it will be fun for me to share them again with you someday. Until then, we shall all wait with anticipation for my deadest dead flowers to return from the dead. Happy Halloween!

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