Shannon Clegg

Sculptor

 “FOR ME MAKING IS MORE THAN JUST PRODUCING; IT'S A WAY TO RE-ENGAGE WITH THE NATURAL WORLD. INNOVATING TRADITIONAL CRAFT PRACTICES, LIKE FLOWER PRESSING, GOES BEYOND METHODS; IT'S ABOUT MODERNISING OUR HERITAGE AND FOSTERING SUSTAINABILITY."    

Shannon Clegg creates botanical sculptures using a unique hand-moulding technique and fresh-cut flowers, such as Statice and Kangaroo Paw. Working from fresh rather than dried flowers, she reimagines the traditional craft process of flower pressing: her three-dimensional, sculptural interpretation preserves the dynamism of flowers growing in nature.

The technique she uses is therefore entirely innovative. To develop the process, she based her research at The Herbarium at The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, looking through archival methods for storing pressed flowers and equipment used by botanists to collect flowers from around the world. Investigating the mould-making of other crafts such as ceramic and millinery, she then created her own technique to form and press real plant material to create vase-like sculptures. The technique involves hand-making moulds that are used to shape the plant material over several weeks after which they are preserved to help retain the flower’s colour and shape. The final sculptural forms made from a delicate lattice of stems stand unfettered by a vase.