Carmen Born - Pressed Flower Prints

Carmen Pont Born of Sant Cugat, Spain contacted me via Facebook to share the link to her shop, CarmenBorn (site is no longer active), where she sells vintage-inspired giclée prints of arrangements she makes with her own natural, preserved flowers.

pressed flower print

Nearly a year goes into each composition as the flowers are first planted and harvested, and then pressed. No chemicals are used to speed up the drying process.

pressed flower print

What's especially unique about Carmen and her online presence is that she is well into her 80s! After studying at the Master School for Applied Arts in Erfurt, Germany, she became a pioneer in fashion drawing in Barcelona and worked in that capacity for many years.

pressed flower print

Today she continues to utilize her creative talents by preserving flowers as digital art prints on high quality rag paper. I think it's safe to say the rich colors in the prints will be much longer lasting than that of actual pressed flowers.

Pressed Flowers Print

On a related note, if you've never pressed flowers, there's something almost magical in their resemblance to delicate, translucent paper. I went through a phase of drying flowers one summer and loved seeing how each little experiment worked out. Some hold their color beautifully; others not so much. And whether you use them on note cards or in a frame, they're a nice reminder of summer all year long.

Flower Press

Giveaway:

Leave a comment below as a chance to win my wood and corrugated cardboard flower press, perfect for small flower heads like violets and pansies, and sprigs of greenery. It's been gently used, but still has a very long life ahead. I'll randomly choose and notify the winner on Monday, September 9, so please be sure to include your email address or another way to be contacted within your comment.

Random.org selected Melanie (#4) as the winner - congratulations, I hope you'll enjoy pressing flowers!



Ann Martin
Ann Martin

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Comments

  1. I love pressed flowers - and your compositions are so wonderful. They have a vintage, nostalgic quality not too often seen in the pressed flower medium... I would love to have the press, simply because it belonged to and was used by a true pressed flower fine artist... Mimi

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    1. Mimi, let me clarify - Carmen is the artist who created the lovely prints, while the press I'm giving away is mine.

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  2. so pretty!

    rebekah[.]diehl[@]gmail[.]com

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  3. OK - I'll try this again - remembering to put my email address in here - llbollard@comcast.net. There.

    Carmen's compositions are breathtaking. I'd love to experiment with pressing flowers using a press - the blooms I press between the pages of my old medical dictionary don't work out very well. Thanks for being so generous with your press.

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  4. I would love to have flower press! I always wanted to do this, now I would have a reason!

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  5. I love pressed flowers. My mom has a press but she's now over 1000 miles away, so I guess it is time to get my own!

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  6. I am so pleased to see the work of an 80+ artist as I am quickly approaching that age. I work in mixed media, but paper is my first love.

    Marie davismarie@yahoo.com

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  7. Hi Ann, thanx for sharing Carmen's work, no age for ART!!!
    I have tried pressing flowers in notebooks and newspapers. My Dad who is 78 was sweet enough to bring some flowers and leaves from Kashmir on his recent trip there which I have dried but not used on any project. These I want to preserve always as a reminder of his love.
    http://www.kalasirjana.blogspot.in/

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  8. Flower pressing is one of the many many things I wish I'd had time to try! The results can be so beautiful!

    molihua89 at gmail dot com

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  9. I would love to try flower pressing. Drying just makes them too fragile.

    megandurant AT gmail DOT com

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  10. Are these really pressed!!...thy r like a complete garden...i tried pressing flowers by keeping thm under d matress...:) ur work is just awsm...
    jainlekha@gmail.com

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  11. I'd love to be able to properly preserve flowers. I've never owned a flower-press before! I recently attempted to press and dry some roses given to me by a loved one, and it failed miserably! I'm not certain what I did wrong, since I had researched it before, but perhaps using a flower-press would have been better. My e-mail: violetbark AT hotmail DOT com. Thank you! ~ Dreamer

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  12. I loved this ! I too have tried to press some lovely flowersby keeping them in big books but have never been able to do it such perfectly,the flowers loose colors when dried :( ! Flower press seems new to me !!

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  13. Beautiful work. I wish I could learn to preserve flowers as well.

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  14. I love to press flowers. I make greeting cards out of mine. It's fun to identify the plants and flowers when I collect them.

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  15. Oh My....I would LOVE to win YOUR press!!!! Making cards is my passion and this would make such nice embellishments - certainly an honor that it was yours.
    Paper Hugs,
    Jan Castle
    castle77 at Comcast dot net

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  16. I've never tried pressing flowers but I do so love the way they look! Thank you for the chance to win your press. :)

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  17. Thanks for giving your readers a chance to win the flower press. schwabmom@gmail.com

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  18. Wow! These pressed flower prints are awesome. I'd love to win a fllower press. artistinlalaland (at) gmail (dot) com Thank you for your generosity!

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  19. I love this. I used to press flowers with my mum as a child. I've just recently started again and have clusters of flowers spread in various old phonebooks around my house. I'd love to win that gorgeous press. Please consider me :) Thanks for the inspo! alexia_parenzee@hotmail.co.nz

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  20. My parents had a flower press when I was younger. Now I wish I had one, I've been using books! You're too sweet to give one away! dah08005@byui.edu

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  21. The giveaway is over; thanks for entering, everyone.

    ReplyDelete

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