Education Can Be Beautiful

One of the most exciting part of my passion for flowers is the idea of sharing it with others. Last summer I taught teenagers, how to create colorful boutonnieres. As about thirty young men and women awkwardly stood around a few wooden picnic tables, I told them that designing flowers, like other art forms, is an incredible way to express ones self. I explained that growing up on a farm allowed me to explore communicating through different mediums. As well as feel comfortable dreaming of a future where I did what I loved. Then, I sent them all off on their own to collect flowers that reflected their personality and that they could use in practicing a new set of skills.

Through the camps that I work for during the summer, I get to contribute to others learning. I stand witness to people realizing more about themselves through what they create. I get to guide them in their own self-discovery, and witness incredible products of labor and love unfold. 
The unbelievably unique and intricate boutonnieres that both the girls and guys created were breathtaking!
It was a reminder of the fact that the outcome of education, teaching and learning can be beautiful, as well as rewarding. Each time I look at this picture, I don't just see the end product. I see the individuals effort, determination, beauty, and the students willingness to try something new.

WildFlower

Two summers ago, my two dear friends and I adventured into the wild for about twenty days. While this sounds incredibly romantic, it took months of preparation and even then, we weren't equipped for the physical, and mental difficulties that we found ourselves facing in the time we spent exploring the mountains of Washington. 
Yet, even as we faced snow, glaciers, and bears, we were determined not to give up. So, taking one day at a time, one foot in front of the other, we hiked 120 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail in the Northern Cascade mountain range. 

It was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. Not only could I feel the difference in my physical body, but the calm that my mind found in the wild flowers, and deep-wooded forests was, and is unparalleled. It was on these mountains and valleys that we traversed that I discovered my love for wild flowers. Each bloom a reminder of the simple beauty of the world that surrounded us. As we rounded hillsides, or entered meadows our heavy breathing would stop and we would still for a moment to take in the intricate life that each of these unique places provided. Hummingbirds swooped over our heads as we sat eating our lunch, and bees weren't ever something we were fearful of, because it was clear that they much preferred pollen to stinging. 

Even now, I enjoy picturing my future with flowers as something like this. A sustainable intermingling of human and petals. I want to see flowers as something that offers more than just beauty in a vase. I want to remind others of the life that survives in co-existence with what we want to enjoy, and how we would be nothing without the wildness of nature.

Flower Crowns.

I have always enjoyed a good flower crown. For me, the beautiful ring of flowers softly placed on a head symbolizes more than just a hippie-era phenomenon. In fact, flower crowns have weaved themselves into our hair for centuries!
 Recently becoming popular again, crowns demonstrate a wildness and one-ness with nature that is often enjoyed in weddings, and music festivals. It is exciting and also funny for me to see flower crowns come back "in" as I was never really aware they had ever left.

 I grew up making flower crowns in our garden, picking buds and blooms and whispy greens to find their way into my hair, with or without a wire frame. They were part of the costume couture of fairies, and so I, whisperer of all things magical embraced these crowns fully and tried, to the best of my abilities to become a master. 
Over the years, I have found myself wearing, or making them in various places around the world. In Wales, I taught giggling girls how to weave magic into their flowers so that they too could see the fairies in the forest. In Seattle, I made a crown for a beautiful friend as we stood witness in a wedding. And for fun, just today, I made my roommate a crown with left over berries and mums I had from another arrangement 
because as much as I believe that flower crowns are a cause for celebration, I don't believe there needs to BE a celebration to wear one. 
Everyone, man and women deserves to wear a crown of flowers at least once, twice, three times. 

We all knew we may never be rich.

But we felt wealthy off the soil

so we made ourselves some flower crowns

and called each other royals.  

Orange You Glad...

I walked into the closest Goodwill on Friday after turning in my application at a local floral shop. Giddy from adrenaline and hopped up on the scent of flowers, I found myself searching once again, for the perfect vase to purchase to display my next arrangement... when I noticed these incredibly obnoxious orange and white vases. 
While I am generally a fan of bigger displays, for some reason, these little guys caught my heart and I was hooked. They reminded me of a sweet mixture of 70's bathroom wallpaper and my grandmothers china. 
I am still learning the tricks and trades of arranging in small vases, because generally you get space for about two or three stems. But, sometimes, the vases are enough to tie the entire display together. I had a fun time with these little guys. 

Building A Portfolio

Each weekend I have been exploring the budding possibility of a future with flowers. It is a scary thing, chasing my dream. Yet, each time I walk into a floral shop, or explore the neighborhood for greenery I can tell I am getting closer. To what? I'm not sure. All I know is that each vase I purchase from a thrift store feels like an investment, and each flower that I end up purchasing more enticing than spending my money on booze or food. 

And so since I got back up to Eugene after Christmas, I dream each week of the perfect composition, the lighting, and the mood. And then spend either Saturday, or Sunday enraptured in trying to build on my possessed skills, and learn from the surrounding spaces. 
The other weekend, I turned on music and began the journey into creating a wild masterpiece... halfway through, I decided that I wanted more time with each sprig, and so, I took the entire thing out and began again. I could continue doing this forever.
The amount that I have to learn, and the endless possibilities of where this fascination for flowers could take me is daunting. Yet, each second I spend creating something beautiful, I feel a little bit more alive.