Artwork for Jacky Mills
Raised beds made from hazel
Rose dome
Botanical life drawing
Creating floral designs from garden materials
Details
I create plant supports and eco-hedges from sustainable materials..
I also encourage people to draw plants from life via workshops and garden visits.
I love to create my own artwork in pencil, charcoal and watercolour.
I love being creative, making things that are functional and beautiful from natural, sustainable materials that sit well in the landscape and which may otherwise end up in landfill or burnt, I want to share my passion for nature and the natural world through my gardening work, encouraging biodiversity whilst providing habitats for wildlife and creating useful structures for plant support and protection.
I want to develop my own style of artistic expression and inspire others with a passion for plants and art to do the same. There is a world of botanical specimens waiting to be explored through drawing, slowing down and looking closer.
I am a professional gardener, writer and art facilitator. I make garden structures from natural materials and run workshops to show people how to do this as well as botanically themed art workshops, drawing plants from life.
I run a variety of workshops to show people how to make plant supports and use natural materials such as willow and hazel in a garden setting as well as drawing and painting botanical subjects in a variety of media.
I am a self taught artist with a degree in Zoology. I spent my twenties working in field conservation in the tropics, before retraining in horticulture and garden design. I set up the Botanical Sketch Club 5 years ago to encourage people to draw plants from life in a more personal expressive way, but started weaving and making baskets nearly 20 years ago whilst running a farm and conference centre in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire with my partner, Ian. In 2017 I co-wrote a series of articles about creating garden structures for Gardens Illustrated magazine and am currently writing a book on the subject.
My work up until now has been for private clients and I have written and styled several articles on container planting and floral design for Gardens Illustrated magazine as well.
I advertise my workshops through my website the Botanical Sketch Club ~ www.thebotanicalsketchclub.co.uk
