Flowers and plants are beautiful, but they don’t last forever. In fact, the way their beauty fades and withers is why some people find them so appealing. But artist Rachel Dein has other ideas when it comes to displaying these fleeting beings in a beautiful way.
She’s developed a way to preserve them as sculptures. These sculptures quite literally solidify each detail that makes the beauty of plants unlike that of anything else.
She does this by creating plaster casts of the plants.
From them, she cuts stunning tiles.
Dein’s technique developed after she worked as a propmaker for such celebrated institutions as the Royal Opera House and the Globe Theater.
To create her tiles, she uses a variety of plant species.
Sometimes, Dein even paints the tiles so that they look more lifelike.
But even when she doesn’t, they have a very true-to-life feel.
To create the tiles, Dein presses flowers into clay. When they’re removed, they leave perfect impressions.
After that, she pours a mixture of plaster and cement into the clay mold.
When the plaster mixture dries, she peels away the clay, revealing the raised patterns.
Each mold is unique, and can only be used once.
(via Colossal)
You can see many more of Dein’s tiles on her website, Tactile Studio, and you can even purchase one of your own from her online shop.
