Susan McLeary will present “The Art of Fashionable Flowers” on Oct. 22 at 2 p.m. at VMFA, followed by a signing of her book “The Art of Wearable Flowers.”
Fine Arts and Flowers is about interpreting art through the medium of floral design,” says Susan McLeary, one of two guest speakers at VMFA’s upcoming exhibition. “My hope is to inspire the audience to look at floral design as art.” McLeary is a floral designer whose portfolio is full of elegant table decorations and blooming archways. But her signature creations are meant to be worn. She makes elaborate fashion accessories out of flowers and succulents — intricate headpieces, floral tattoos, rings, necklaces and bow ties. It’s wearable, ephemeral art. She offers online tutorials and in-person instruction in floral design through her firm, Passionflower Sue. R•Home spoke with McLeary about her work, her books and her upcoming lecture.
R•Home: Why wearable flowers?
Susan McLeary: I have always been enchanted with the tradition of wearing flowers. Jewelry-making was my first creative outlet. Then I fell in love with designing flowers and became fascinated with the idea of combining the two.
R•Home: What will you be speaking about at Fine Arts and Flowers?
McLeary: My talk will be a love letter to the floral industry. I’ll share tools and techniques to inspire any gardener or flower lover to design flowers for the home. I’ll be sharing a slideshow of ideas from my new book. My plan is to complete eight pieces as I speak.
R•Home: Tell us about your books.
McLeary: “The Art of Wearable Flowers” is a how-to guide for creating 40 floral fashion accessories. My second book, “Flowers for All,” will encourage and instruct flower lovers to take a few elements from the garden or the market and coax them into something artful that can be shared and enjoyed.
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McLeary creates imaginative arrangements with an artist's awareness of texture and color.
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Fine Arts and Flowers 2021
Oct. 20-24
Fine Arts and Flowers, presented by the VMFA Council, is a museumwide, biennial exhibition of floral design, featuring over 80 original floral arrangements that interpret works from the Mellon Collections, as created by members of The Garden Club of Virginia, The Virginia Federation of Garden Clubs, Ikebana of Richmond and Garden Clubs of Virginia.
Admission to the exhibition is free. It opens with The Horse, of Course!, a gala celebrating the reinstallation of the acclaimed Mellon Collections. For more information about tickets to lectures, luncheons, a fashion show by VCU Fashion Design students, floral design workshops and family activities, visit vmfa.museum.
