Richard Irvine creates 'Gypsy Flowers' in a woodland glade.
"As the name suggests, gypsy flowers were traditionally made and sold door to door by gypsies and travellers. They would have used young elder branches and inserted the stem into the elder pith.
Elder is not my first choice of wood for this project as it can get quite brittle and harder to work with when it has dried out a bit. I enjoy demonstrating this craft at shows and have met many older people who remember their parents buying coloured elder flowers from gypsies in the past.
Through a good deal of experimentation, I have settled on either hazel or willow for this project. Freshly cut, wet wood won’t curl and will be more difficult to work with so I like to let it dry out for a few weeks before use. If I can get hold of overgrown willow, particularly the variety Salix viminalis, which is used in living willow structures, then I will often peel it and speed dry it in the car for a couple of days until it becomes ready to use.”
About the process: I like making things out of wood. The simpler the better. Sometimes I am motivated by perfecting the final product but usually process is everything. I make a very small percentage of my income from craft so it is never affected by the stress of production, marketing or selling. It is all about chasing that elusive state of flow; the total, relaxed absorption in the task which takes over and excludes all conscious rumination. In 20 years of regular making, Gypsy flowers are the one thing that I never tire of making. The process is relaxing, meditative and not physically demanding apart from on the forearms and hands after a full day of making 100 flowers. Sitting out in the woods on a cold, sunny, February morning tops it all off nicely.
richardirvine.co.uk
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