Emily Paluska’s Paper Flowers Are in Full Bloom

By
Ben
-

Paper artist Emily Paluska makes incredibly realistic flower bouquets out of paper. Describing herself as a botanical artist, she sort of stumbled upon her craft by chance. “I had seen paper flowers sporadically online and thought it might be a fun thing to try,” she writes on her website. “I had no idea what I was doing but I sat on the floor of my bedroom watching videos and looking at pictures of plants, learning as I went.”

A 100% self-taught artist, she says that making something from nothing with your hands is one of the most gratifying feelings you can have. “After being a lifetime appreciator of the arts, I never considered myself an artist,” she admits. “I used to think an artist was only someone that could paint or draw. I know now that couldn’t be farther from the truth. The creative world is vast and there is room for everyone.”

Her inspiration comes from walks around her neighborhood and garden visits. “Some of the best gardens I’ve ever seen are in Capitol Hill,” she told Ballpitmag. “I also have easy access to the National Botanic Garden, the Arboretum and I have family in Pennsylvania where I can go to Longwood Gardens a few times a year. Seeing a flower in real life is what triggers my creativity and desire to recreate it in paper.”

According to Paluska, flowers are the sort of natural glue that keeps us connected to where we came from and where we’re going. Take a look at some of her paper gardens in the gallery below.

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I just wanted to take a moment to focus solely on a workshop recap. In this last year, I taught 35 (!!!!) workshops in DC and Austin. I both can't believe and totally believe there was that many. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I had to take COMM101 five times in college because I would drop the class right before the day I had to give a speech. Public speaking made me want to cut out a hole in the earth and fall down into it so the reality that I now teach groups as large as 30 people without batting an eye, is bonkers. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I couldn't have taught this many without all of the amazing venues that have hosted me this year: @steadfastsupplydc, @thelemoncollective, @shopmadeindc, @thepapercraftpantry, @appointedco, @solidstatedc, etc… to name a few! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Most importantly, I couldn't have taught these workshops without all of you interested in learning how to make paper flowers. There are so many students that take multiple classes and who have taken what they've learned and run with it and made it their own. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I don't take it lightly that you've not only made a financial investment but even more significantly, your time. Life is busy and you setting aside a 3 hour window to take time away from your lives to just sit and create, is amazing to me. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ So, THANK YOU! I hope to add new flowers to the schedule in the new year as well as new venues. There's one in 2020 that I am literally pinching myself about. If you're not local, I hope to finally have online classes and paper flower kits available to you in the spring. I am eternally grateful and looking forward to seeing some of you in the next decade! xo⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 📷 : @laurametzlerphoto⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 💄 : @claireashleybeauty

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❄️ Holiday Sale + Market Dates ❄️⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Hi friends, just a couple updates for you now that it’s not been Thanksgiving for 3 seconds and everyone has mentally shifted into holiday mode. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 1. This year’s holiday sale in my Etsy shop is LIVE. 15% off everything from today until 12/2 11:59 PM EST.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 2. I’ll be at @uniquemarkets this Sunday, December 1 all day with mucho flowers and hope to meet some of you in person. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 3. Next weekend, I’ll be at @heurichhouse in their magical garden for THREE DAYS (December 6-8) for Christkindl Market. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It took me becoming a small business owner to truly appreciate the value in supporting them. Tomorrow I’ll be sharing some of my favorite small businesses on my stories. All businesses I’ve supported this year or plan to financially support this holiday season. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I hope y’all had a great Thanksgiving (if you celebrated it) yesterday!

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