Arts Design

FINE ART PAPER FLOWERS

Beautiful bouquet of paper roses by Kate Alarcón.

Courtesy of Kate Alarcón. Paper Roses. Artwork by Kate Alarcón.

KATE ALARCÓN -- PAPER FLOWERS

A seed grows a seedling, then a sapling, then a tree… The tree becomes paper… which then gets transformed into magnificent flowers in artist Kate Alarcón’s circle of life. It is a wondrous process, full of miracles. And the results are nothing short of breathtaking.

Close-up of a beautiful purple peony by Kate Alarcón.

Ironically, paper helps to showcase the fragility of life and death at the same time as they become everlasting flowers.

Beautiful assortment of paper roses by Kate Alarcón.

Alarcón works with a variety of fine European crepe papers to create lifelike blossoms, leaves and stems. layers and colors, rippled textures

Gigantic periwinkle Allium by Kate Alarcón.

Alarcón was first moved to create flowers when she was decorating her unborn daughter’s nursery. She brightened the room and added magic with paper flower garlands.

An array of paper petals for a Japanese Anemone by Kate Alarcón.

Using real fresh flowers and plants as reference, Alarcón imagines them as paper. She deconstructs the live specimens, separating their petals, leaves, stems, stamens, and pistils. She then traces them to get a better understanding of their structures and their relationships with each other.

Beautiful spray of paper petals extending from a pair of scissors by Kate Alarcón.

For each creation, she works out a flower ‘sketch’ with her scissors. She finds this process to be easier than pencil drawing. She gets the shapes and sizes right, then she bends the edges of petals and leaves to create a sense of thickness. She adds color with paints and dyes, and takes color away with bleach.

A collection of paper flowers and leaves by Kate Alarcón.

Alarcón uses a variety of paper weights, to better match the texture of each floral element. She also uses cardstock and tissue paper to reproduce some species.

A collection of pale yellow paper flowers and plants, by Kate Alarcón.

Each type of flower presents a completely different paper crafting experience. She is partial to the color and crinkly texture of Icelandic poppy petals.

Assortment of paper flower including an Allium by Kate Alarcón.

Bellevue Botanical Garden, the Volunteer Park Conservatory, and the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden, all in Seattle, are Alarcón’s go to places for inspiration. She also frequents local nurseries, florists, and flower markets.

Gorgeous paper giant Protea bloom by Kate Alarcón.

In addition to her flower artistry, Alarcón is also passionate about her knitting, embroidery, and sculpture art works. Her connection to each of them informs her approach to all of them.

Beautiful paper flowers, by Kate Alarcón, including paper roses, poppies, thistle, tiger lilies, freesia, and a succulent.

Check out Alarcón’s paper flower making workshops in Seattle if she’s inspired you to try your hand at paper flower making.

Beautiful array of paper flowers, by Kate Alarcón, including roses, foxgloves, allium, tiger lily, freesia and a succulent.

If you’re not up to the task but want Alarcón’s gorgeous paper flowers to grace your space, check out her offerings -- everything from roses to lichen to cacti -- on her website, The Cobra Lily. The site is named for “Darlingtonia californica,” a beautiful carnivorous plant that is native to northern California and the Pacific Northwest.

To see even more paper flower beauty, follow her on Instagram.

Peach, pink and white paper Foxgloves by Kate Alarcón.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Mind/Body, Soul/Impact, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Arts/Design, and Place/Time, Daily Fix posts.

Paper succulent by Kate Alarcón.

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Close-up of peach, pink and white paper Foxgloves by Kate Alarcón.

IMAGE CREDITS:

Image: Courtesy of Kate Alarcón. Paper Roses. Artwork by Kate Alarcón.
Image: Courtesy of Kate Alarcón. Paper Peony. Artwork by Kate Alarcón.
Image: Courtesy of Kate Alarcón. Paper roses. Artwork by Kate Alarcón.
Image: by Desiree Swanson. “Paper Allium.” Artwork by Kate Alarcón.
Image: Courtesy of Kate Alarcón. Paper Japanese anemone flower and petals. Artwork by Kate Alarcón.
Image: Courtesy of Kate Alarcón. Paper Petals. Artwork by Kate Alarcón.
Image: Courtesy of Kate Alarcón. A collection of paper flowers and leaves. Artwork by Kate Alarcón.
Image: Courtesy of Kate Alarcón. A collection of pale yellow paper flowers and plants Artwork by Kate Alarcón.
Image: Courtesy of Kate Alarcón. Paper allium and delphinium flowers. Artwork by Kate Alarcón.
Image: Courtesy of Kate Alarcón. Paper protea flower. Artwork by Kate Alarcón.
Image: Courtesy of Kate Alarcón. Paper flower arrangement. Artwork by Kate Alarcón.
Image: Courtesy of Kate Alarcón. Array of paper flowers and plants. Artwork by Kate Alarcón.
Image: Courtesy of Kate Alarcón. Paper Foxgloves. Artwork by Kate Alarcón.
Image: Courtesy of Kate Alarcón. Paper succulent. Artwork by Kate Alarcón.
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Image: Courtesy of Kate Alarcón. Paper Foxgloves. Artwork by Kate Alarcón.