Welcome back! Today’s post is the second in a series of five focused on creative new ways locally-grown flowers can be incorporated into floral designs. If you missed the first installment, be sure to read and bookmark my previous interview with designer Holly Chapple.
Any discussion about creativity and seasonal flowers wouldn’t be complete without including Susan McLeary. If you are not already familiar with her work, Sue is the incredibly talented designer behind Passionflower, the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based floral art studio and the insanely beautiful Instagram account, @Passionflowersue.
Sue’s portfolio is like walking into a gallery of gorgeous, boundary-pushing floral art. From her signature succulent jewelry to her new flower tattoo designs, Sue has redefined floral wearables far, far beyond traditional pin on corsages and flower crowns. With a new book on wearable flowers in the works (Chronicle Books, 2020), you are sure to see even more of Sue’s floral art in the future.
A staunch and early supporter of sourcing seasonal, locally-grown flowers, Sue has served as an instructor at numerous floral design trainings, including all of Floret’s 2016 on-farm Floral Design workshops. Students from all over the world have lined up to learn her tips and tricks for creating everything from large scale event installations to the most intricately detailed floral wristlets and rings. Sue’s teaching has totally transformed the way floral wearables, particularly wrist corsages, are being made and worn at weddings and events worldwide. But moreover, Sue is re-defining and transforming floral design as an art.
When asked what drives and motivates her, she says without hesitation, “Innovation. And a desire to streamline and de-mystify processes and share my findings, and a desire to elevate floral design – to make people take pause and consider floral pieces as they would other art pieces.”
I asked her to share some of her recent creations with Floret Blog readers. Below are a few examples of some of the creative, innovative and versatile ways to use seasonal blooms in floral wearable designs. Aren’t these stunning?
What I love about the piece pictured above is that Sue designed it to be worn multiple ways, such as shoulder corsage, a choker or even as a type of belt or sash. Other examples of multi-use designs are below:
I just completed Sue’s new online course and was so impressed with the production quality of her video tutorials. I’ve taken a lot of online courses, and hers is among the best! Her instruction was clear, thorough and engaging and left me feeling confident and inspired to go out and make beautiful floral art.
Learn more about Sue McLeary in my previous Farmer and the Florist Interview and on the Passionflower website.
Photo credits: Floral fascinator photo by Amber Marie Photography; all other images by Amanda Dumouchelle Photography.
Melissa Hislop on
I’m not sure I understood what itherial meant until I became aware of Sue’s designs. The online courses I’ve seen have been wonderful and very informative. I am much more confident using floral advehsive now. I hope to be able to afford to see more soon!