Taking some time just to be
…or, giving ourselves some time
Hello! Thanks for stopping by. In the spirit of trying new things, studio news now comes first, for all my local subscribers who are eager to know about classes, courses and kits! For my regular nature letter please scroll down.
I’m excited to share that I have been invited to join a group of artists who will be spending the summer months visiting and working on Hilbre Island. The project “Drawing out Hilbre Archipelago” has been organised by BADA in partnership with the Independents Biennial Liverpool and you can also follow the project on Instagram here. Read more about Hilbre Island in my letter below.
THE ART OF PAPER FLOWER MAKING : upcoming classes
3rd May, 4th May 2025 : join me at Ruthin Craft Centre for a weekend of wildflowers! Using nothing but paper, wire and glue, you will learn how to make a series of iconic British wildflowers, exploring a variety of shapes from a range of plant families, and creating a collection of wildflowers for you to take away. Book the whole weekend or come for one day! On Saturday 3rd May we will be looking at poppies and cornflowers and on Sunday 4th May the focus flower will be foxgloves. Book tickets here!
Evening classes just one space remaining in the summer 2025 evening class starting Thursday 8th May, 7-9pm at Studio 3, Wood Street, Hoylake. Eight sessions over nine weeks, covering a wide range selection of flowers including anemones, gladioli and clematis. All you need is a desire to make flowers, I will provide the rest! £195 for the series of eight classes, full T&Cs online
Are looking for something deeper? Come and join me in Norfolk this September for the Flourishing Retreat, a wonderful opportunity to get away from it all and enjoy a weekend of luxury at Little Massingham Manor. Three days and three nights in the heart of the countryside, surrounded by beautiful woodlands and meadows, enjoying in depth teaching from not one but two experienced paper artists - Ling from @paperbydragonfly (that’s me) and Meg Lowder of @floragami.paperflower - and wonderful food from our private chef Katie from Little Pie Patisserie, serving a delicious menu with thoughtful botanical touches. (Psst, just three weeks left to take advantage of the early bird price!)
Ah, dear reader, so how have you been? After a couple of very busy months of delivering many, many classes, I decided that April should be a time for rest and review. I delivered twenty one classes over two months, many of them new flowers (including forsythia and freesia, both of which have been on my “never” list for a long time!) so a little r&r, whatever the letters may stand for, is well deserved. I have some big projects coming up over the summer, including my stand at RHS Wentworth Woodhouse in July - which I have such big plans for it could easily turn into a full time job on its own - as well as private classes and evening classes, and all of this makes me think - when will I find time for the wildflowers?
With all of this going on (and the twins only weeks away from their GCSEs) the opportunity to be part of Drawing Out Hilbre could not have come at a better time. Yesterday afternoon was spent crossing the sands, crunching a path over the seashells and listening to the barking of the seals, in the company of a group of artists from a wide range of disciplines. I spoke to Felicity who draws the movement and currents of wind and air; Adam who dreams of soundscapes interweaving ancient recordings with the natural ambience of the island: sonic contrasts and echoes from the past; Ashley whose creative practice, rooted in architecture, involves the study of ruins, of nature and disintegration, of the process of time.
I’m still mulling over my project. Of course flowers will be involved - I’ve already staked my claim on a random collection of poles and rusted rods discovered in a dusty store room, envisaging stems, perhaps a collection of supersized thrift and rock sea lavender. But I’m also thinking of different perspectives I want to explore through time on the island, and I keep coming back to the phrase “a sense of place” - is a sense of place the same as belonging? What does it mean to belong? I’ve written to you before about the sense of belonging that regular walking gives me, the belonging that comes from knowing what grows where and when and who (in a botanical sense) I can expect to see. This belonging anchors me in time and connects me to the place and the seasons. When I don’t get to walk, this sense of belonging starts to erode. It’s fragile and delicate and I have to work on it. I don’t belong on Hilbre Island - none of us do - the island is tiny, cut off by the tides, and wearing away daily from exposure to the tides and the elements. Visiting Hilbre, we all have to tread lightly. And yet, when most of the days visitors are gone, when the light changes and you are alone, on the outer edge of the island looking out to sea, there is an incredible sense of place. I know that creativity will follow, but I could quite happily spend my time sitting on the Western side of the island, drinking in the colours and the sounds and the wind on my face, just giving myself the time to be.
End notes and recommendations
Creative indulgence of the week: Studying Iris, specifically Iris Germanica, and specifically the shape of the petals. Attempting to recreate the amazing flounce and ruffle. I’ve experimented with several different types of paper and finally I’ve landed on a pattern and combination I am happy with. The next step in this process is to figure out how best to colour my paper, paint, maybe, or dye? Ink or watercolour? Perhaps something looser, a less controlled approach is required in order to achieve the right impression of those natural, muted gradations of colour.
Reads I can easily find myself overwhelmed with the sheer volume of content all around me and everywhere online. I’m a creature of habit and try to limit my mindless scrolling but here on Substack I find content of genuine worth and I’d like to share two articles I read this week. Don’t Break the Spell from Josie George’s excellent Bimblings moved me close to tears, reminding me of the enchantment and how magic can - and does - happen, For the past three weeks I’ve been challenging myself to go live on Facebook daily (spoiler alert: I literally can’t do it everyday! See comments above re. content overwhelm). My aim is to reach four weeks - I’ve already failed in the consistency stakes but I will keep going until 24th April, you can follow along here if you wish. I am so lucky to have found this enchanted path and I have to keep following it. I know magic is just around the corner.
I also wanted to share Jeanette Winterson’s excellent Time after Time which - again, see content overwhelm - just tells it like it is.
Here’s a splash of colour to end on. And there I will leave it. Until next time, and with love, Ling
All images (unless otherwise stated) by Ling Warlow 2005
Good to catch up with you Ling. I am aware of Hilbre Island from our mutual friend. It sounds a fascinating project and a great group of artists. I wonder what you will all come up with.