Dutch artist Anne Ten Donkelaar has taken the art of flower arrangement
and made it over in a way that no one could ever have imagined. The artist has
created a series of what she calls flowerscapes which are rather elaborate collages
made using floral elements fashioned from paper as well as a whole bunch of
real pressed flowers.
The 3D collages are meant to present an image of vibrant
flowering shrubs and bushes though the way in which the designer has used real
flowers into the delicate arrangements is truly remarkable.
Using tiny yellow
roses, blue cacti and pink peonies among other flowers, the three-dimensional
collages were supported with the use of tiny pins that keep the delicate
flowers and support structures looking rather sturdier than they actually are. Each flowerscape is designed to look like a 3D picture
though the use of real flowers is what gives the images such depth and detail.
When
this element of reality if contrasted with the fact that the flowers used in the
arrangement are actually flat pressed, the whole interpretations of the flowerscapes
become rather interesting especially when you account for the fact that the
real flowers are made to look like paper flowers to create a 3D imitation of
living plants as they thrive in nature!
And since the flowerscapes are open to
a number of interpretations, they surpass their origins as humble collages and transcend
into the realm of living art.
