Lili-Clémence Bethemont

Botanical sculptor

Natural beauty at each stage of life

Lili-Clémence sculpts flowers into art structures
Her pieces are inspired by fleeting moments in nature
She uses old techniques in fresh, new ways

Lili-Clémence Bethemont trained as a landscape architect, including at France’s prestigious national school for landscape design in Versailles (École Nationale Supérieure de Paysage). Having worked first as a professional florist and later as a landscape designer, Lili-Clémence observed that her raw materials were frequently imported from afar, treated with pesticides and too often went to waste. She pined for ways to apply her skills and talent to create works of art that could showcase local plants in as natural a state as possible. That is why she launched her own workshop in 2020, where she unites her passion for collecting intriguing vegetation with age-old preservation techniques and a decidedly contemporary vision for botanical sculpture. She reuses many parts of her plants, either as fibres or as creative elements in her designs.

Interview

What inspires your work as sculptor?: I am moved by observing nature. Small things that are simple and fleeting—like a bird in flight, a branch moving in the wind, a tree standing on a riverside, the colours of a landscape, or the intense colour of a flower—can evoke powerful emotions.
How do you translate those images into sculpture?: I enjoy walking in nature, collecting natural materials and watching for moments of beauty. Then, I try to keep those images in my mind as I create. The repetitive movements involved in preparing my materials enable me to sculpt a form in response.
How do you create durable art from such fragile materials?: I use ancient techniques to preserve flowers and fibres. I replace each natural stem with ribbon-wrapped wire, a tedious process that is still used today for making corsages and boutonnieres. I use the natural stems and leftover fibres to make paper for use in my sculptures.
Do all your pieces share a common theme?: My sculptures evolve as they age. For me, the gradual changes in texture and colour are part of their beauty. The flowers’ transformation reflects the cycle of life. At each stage, we see another facet, a new life, a different beauty.

Lili-Clémence Bethemont is a rising star: she began her career in 2020 and she started teaching in 2023