Pressed flower craft

Pressed flower art consists of drying flower petals and leaves in a flower press to flatten and exclude light and moisture. It has long been practised as an art form in China and in Japan, where it is known as oshibana (押し花).[1] Outside of Asia, the art gained popularity in Britain during the Victorian era and experienced a revival from the 1970s to the early 2000s. Some artists outside of Asia have continued to use it.[2]

Wikipedia logo made with the pressed strobili of Equisetum arvense

Pressed flower decoupage on a miniature chair.

Pressing flowers makes them appear flat, and there is often a change in color, ranging from faded colors to a greater intensity of vibrant colors. The pressed flowers and leaves can be used in a variety of craft projects. They are often mounted on special paper, such as handmade paper, Ingres paper, Japanese paper, or paper decorated by marbling. Each leaf and flower is glued onto a precise location. With a creative approach to the use of materials, a leaf becomes a tree and petals form mountains.

Washes of watercolor painting are sometimes applied to the backing paper before the pressed material is attached. Pressed material may also be mounted on fabrics, such as velvet, silk, linen or cotton.[3]

Petals and leaves can be applied to wood furnishings using the technique of Decoupage.[4]

International organizations

International Pressed Flower Art Society

The IPFAS in an international pressed flower organization that promotes pressed flower art and offers education and holds competitions. It has members from over 20 nations (as of 2010) including Japan, the United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany, Mexico, and Australia. It was founded in 1999 by Nobuo Sugino, a Japanese pressed flower artist and President of Japan Wonderful Oshibana Club.[2]

Pressed Flower Craft Guild

In the UK, the Pressed Flower Craft Guild was established in 1983 by Joyce Fenton (a pressed flower artist) and Bill Edwardes (who devised the method of framing pressed flower pictures adopted by the guild). It claims to have an international membership.[5]

Worldwide Pressed Flower Guild (WWPFG)

The WWPFG was established in July 2001. In November 2008, the guild was incorporated in North Carolina as a public educational non-profit organisation.[6]

See also

• Illustration
• Graphic design
• Gold dipped roses
• Herbarium, a scientific plant collection, usually of pressed plants

References

1. Townsend, S. P. (1987). "Oshibana". Bulletin - Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden. 17 (1): 12–13. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
2. "Home: Pressing On". Philadelphia. Metrocorp. 22 June 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
3. Black, Penny (1988). The book of pressed flowers. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0671660713. OCLC 16712180.
4. Plaid Enterprises (2001). Découpage the easy way. New York: Sterling Pub. ISBN 0806936371. OCLC 44763945.
5. "The Pressed Flower Guild - Home". www.pressedflowerguild.org.uk.
6. "World Wide Pressed Flower Guild". www.wwpfg.com.

Further reading

• Burkhart, W. Eugene, Jr. Pressed Flower Art: Tips, Tools, and Techniques for Learning the Craft. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2008.
• Oshibana, by Natalia Kishigami. 2013.