The everlasting enchantment of flowers
- Layla creates floral sculptures with dried flowers
- She offers online workshops to share her passion for floral art
- Contrasts are key to her creative style
Layla Robinson has had a passion for flowers since early childhood. After studying horticulture and garden design, she went on to grow her own flowers and became a florist. Out of this she discovered her love for everlasting flowers and their sculptural, artistic, and sustainable benefits. After several years with this in mind, Layla made the decisive move to focus on dried flowers entirely, specialising in what to grow and dry, developing her style. She re-invented the dried flower world with its wild, vibrant, contemporary, eye-catching style. "My favourite thing is to come up with an idea that has not been seen before. I love finding materials and inspiration from the landscape to decorate with the flowers from my garden. The mechanics and structure behind this artistic work interest me as much as the colourful elements of the designs," explains Layla. "Although the materials are all dried, my aim is to weave a sense of life into my floral art, so that it evokes the feel-good emotion that nature and flowers can bring with movement, texture, and colour," she adds.
Interview
- How would define what you do?
- I see my work as art and sculpture with flowers and natural materials, rather than floristry. What is so wonderful is the flowers of my sculptures can be enjoyed for years. Even if they slowly fade to a muted palette of subtle shades, the structure remains unchanged and you still get the sense of life, movement and colour.
- Does the place where you live influence your style?
- Definitely. I live on the border between the lush green rolling hills of Herefordshire and the wild mountains of Wales. This contrast of wildflower-filled meadows and the harsher uplands is what inspires me to combine the playful colours of flowers with a stronger architectural structure.
- What are the most important elements in your work: shape, texture, colour?
- A combination of all. It is the drama of shape, along with strong texture, contrasting with unique colour bursts and softer flowers that brings a design together as a whole. All these elements give it life, character, movement and energy. It is what creates the emotion in whoever looks at it.
- How do you combine tradition and innovation in your work?
- My work is rooted in tradition. People have always used natural and dried flora to decorate themselves and their homes. In contrast, to take a bit of this magic and combine it with an edge of modernity, with clean lines and simple minimalism, gives it a new edge.
Layla Robinson is a master artisan: she began her career in 2010 and she started teaching in 2015
Works
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Layla Robinson
