The Process
FROM FLEETING TO FOREVER
All of Katy’s botanical casts begin with the same gentle, deliberate process that allows her to capture the fleeting beauty of fresh botanicals and preserve their form long after their moment has passed. She starts by curating a selection of stems - freshly gathered from the garden or sent by clients wishing to honour a meaningful arrangement, such as a wedding bouquet or memorial wreath. She works only with fresh flowers, drawn to their sculptural qualities at every stage of growth, from tightly formed seed heads to full, open blooms.
Once the right stems have been chosen for their freshness, structure, texture and the composition she has in mind, Katy rolls out a perfectly smooth slab of clay to the required size. Achieving this flawless surface can take hours, especially for larger pieces. She then presses each stem into the clay with slow, even pressure, guiding every leaf and petal into place to ensure the most faithful impression.
After all the botanicals have been rolled in, the delicate work begins: removing each stem - petal by petal, seed by seed - until only their impression remains. Katy then positions a bespoke casting frame around the composition and hand-mixes a specialist blend of plasters, pouring the liquid mixture carefully over the clay. Once set, the clay is peeled away to reveal the botanical “fossil” preserved within the plaster.
Each cast is then meticulously cleaned to remove any clay residue, uncovering the fine detail of every vein and contour. The pieces are left to dry for several months until fully cured before Katy decides on their final presentation. Some are set into coloured box frames, often embellished with her hand-painted stripes; others are finished with subtly painted backgrounds in a soft, neoclassical palette chosen either by the client or to complement a particular theme. Every cast, framed or unframed, is supplied with a hanging device on the reverse, ready to be placed with ease in any interior.
