Laura ’s artistic practice is centred primarily on architecture, her background in landscape design and working with the seasons meant that the campaign resonated. She was especially taken by the idea that she felt the campaign wasn’t trying to call people out. We think she has perfectly encapsulated this sentiment in her print. The concept was to showcase the beautiful and delicate flowers that are in season in February in the UK, narcissi, cyclamen, snowdrops and hellebore. To offer them as quietly beautiful alternatives to the loud shouting roses. These are the kinds of flowers that you might not necessarily notice but really do cut above the noise if you take the time to search them out. Aesthetically, Laura’s WBY23 print was inspired by the Art Nouveau period and especially influenced by Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s watercolour flower illustrations. We have her to thank for introducing us to the beautiful Boddington’s Seeds adverts from the early 1900s and now we are obsessed, do go check them out! And Laura’s hand drawn planting plans they are works of art in themselves.
Photo credits: Joya Berrow
A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ABOUT YOUR PRACTICE. HOW AND WHEN DID YOU START AND WHY?
I started my practice in January 2020. I left London late 2018 after working at a landscape design practice and I spent much of the next year working and living in Tuscany, part of that time in Florence. I studied architecture at university and while in Florence I started drawing the architectural wonders of the city and writing about them which led me to wanting to use illustration as a way of enthusing other about buildings and their histories.
WHY WERE YOU INTERESTED IN BEING INVOLVED IN THE CAMPAIGN? HOW DOES THIS FIT INTO YOUR EXISTING PRACTICE?
I remember seeing the campaign last year having followed SSAW’s progress for some time and was drawn to the idea that it was a campaign that wasn’t trying to call people out, it was just gently nudging you to think about your habits and the quick purchasing decisions and what the implications of that consumption is. Although my artistic practice is centred primarily on architecture, my background in landscape design and working with the seasons meant that the campaign resonated and felt extremely timely.
AT SSAW, WE REALLY FEEL ART CAN MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON OUR UNDERSTANDING AND CONNECTION TO SEASONALITY. HAS ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR DRAWN YOU TO CREATING WITH/BEING INSPIRED BY THE NATURAL WORLD AS A PRIMARY SUBJECT?
I completely agree. My upbringing has inspired my love of the natural world. I spent my childhood on the expansive marshlands of the Norfolk coast that teem with life. I think I have always wanted to grow my understanding of the natural world. Spending a few hours drawing, sitting quietly, observing its rhythms and changes always shows you something new and unexpected .
WHAT IS YOUR OWN HISTORY WITH/RELATIONSHIP TO FLOWERS/FLORISTRY/FLOWER FARMING?
My mother is a garden designer and practically a botanist so all of my life has been spent discussing plants, coming up with new ideas in the garden and watching the floral dance of colour that she has creates, kaleidoscopically glide through the year. Through my mum and my time in landscape design I have been very lucky to work with amazing growers and nurseries who toil throughout the year to bring up beautifully grown plants for projects. They also often rightly remind you that you can’t have every plant whenever you want.
WHO OR WHAT DO YOU TAKE INSPIRATION FROM, DID YOU LEARN FROM ANYBODY AT ALL?
Collectives. Groups of enthusiastic individuals be they creatives or educators who want to bring their talents, knowledge and ideas together to make something that is stronger united than on their own. And Jinny Blom. I worked for Jinny in her design studio for three years and learnt what it is to work hard and keep going. Try not to limit your creative output to one thing or other; do it all, with boundless enthusiasm.
HOW DO THE SEASONS AFFECT YOU IN YOUR PRACTICE, AND DAY TO DAY, NOT JUST IN YOUR WORK, BUT IN YOUR OWN ROUTINES AND PHYSICALLY TOO? HAS IT IMPACTED THE WAY YOU RELATE TO OTHER ASPECTS OF YOUR LIFE?
Autumn feels like a time to make resolutions. It’s the season that reinvigorates me and focuses my mind on to future projects. Spring and early summer your eyes certainly feel at their widest. It’s a time of year when I want to see the first and last light and to never be inside. Living in the south west I am very fortunate to be by the sea and surrounded by miles of rolling hills. I walk religiously every day and try and swim as often as possible so you are always at the mercy of the seasons and their constant changes.
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT WHAT YOU’RE DOING?
I am trying to illustrate and learn about buildings to better understand our relationship to them. I hope that by increasing our understanding of the built environment, often by drawing on the past, we can find design solutions for the future. Solutions that can hopefully make less demands on the resources of the natural world.
DO YOU HAVE ANY STRONG PASSIONS / VIEWPOINTS WITH REGARDS TO FLOWERS/FLORISTRY/FLOWER FARMING AND NATURE/SEASONALITY/SUSTAINABILITY THAT YOU WISH TO AMPLIFY?
There is a growing network of farmers in the UK who are working regeneratively to try and ensure that alongside producing food, they can foster havens for nature on their farms. I think that supporting them could really start to change the face of the countryside and bring back many species that have suffered at the hands of more industrialised farming methods.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT FEBRUARY?
The fact that most people would say it’s their least favourite month but it comes back uninvited, every year, all the same.
AND FINALLY, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR PERFECT VALENTINE?
Brad Pitt in Thelma & Louise.