We were lucky to catch up with Lisa Bologna recently and have shared our conversation below.
Lisa, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
Optimism comes from joy within. Finding your true meaning and what you contribute to the world has to start from the heart. I have been an artist all my life. I can remember being in elementary school around Halloween time and it was parents night the next week. To decorate the school, the art teacher had us all paint Halloween posters. Most of the kids did your typical pumpkin or ghost. I drew inspiration from a recent music class. During that class our teacher played a musical piece called Dance Macabre that featured skeletons and violins and as a 7 year old, I imagined these creatures playing the instruments. When we were tasked with making a Halloween poster, I knew I would paint what I saw in my head. My artwork was highlighted outside the music room for all the parents to see. I never even told my parents about it but I remember my mother commenting about it when she came home. It was then I told her it was my artwork. That was probably the first time I realized how visual my brain works. Even to this day as I create art with my wedding bouquets, I am always trying to challenge myself and display them in different ways. I recently worked on a piece where I suspended the bride’s wedding portrait to make it look like the photo was floating above the flowers. It was hard and challenging but I could see it in my head. When it was done it was perfect and just as I had pictured it. The rush of accomplishment I felt seeing that finished piece was just like it was when I was 7 years old. It’s that magic when everything comes together that inspires you to go and do it again.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Searching to find a way to channel my creative talents, I started my floral preservation business in 1992 called Articrafts Floral Preservation. I currently have two professional size freeze dryers in my home processing flowers 24/7 for more than 30 years. Having worked with both fresh and dried flowers, I strongly believe that in order to have the ability to take a bouquet apart properly, it is necessary to know what went into putting it together.
While my formal training began with fresh floral design at the New York Botanical Gardens, I have since mastered preservation and color enhancement techniques. These specialized treatments coupled with my design sense enable me to transform wedding bouquets into finished pieces of art. What I do is unique in that I use the science of sublimation which is the extraction of water from flowers while bypassing the liquid phase through the use of professional freeze dryers. Flowers can be 3 dimensional or pressed depending on what the bride’s preference is. Either way, once the flowers have been taken apart and freeze dried, they are a better quality dried flower vs other methods of preservation.
The magic happens when I put them back together in their frame. Once dried, some flowers will need a bit of color enhancement. These pieces become heirloom keepsakes and it’s important to know what aging may do to certain blooms. The freeze dryers do most of the work to preserve color. I color enhancing ever so slightly once they are dry as needed. I stop short of painting petals to make them look artificial but I am sensitive to how certain flowers and greenery will age and will tint them accordingly. I’ve had several years of practice at it! Another thing I do to minimize aging is when I frame a pressed bouquet I do so without using any glue. Glue over time will show so it is the tension on the frame that holds everything in place. I do all of the framing myself. The real joy for me is when I design a bouquet and see it transform as I am working on it.
Whether it is pressed or 3 dimensional, I sometimes recreated it to look like the bouquet and sometimes the design is deconstructed to look like a piece of art. Either way, it is my hope that each of my brides will cherish their flowers on their 25th anniversary as much as their first. No two pieces are identical. Every single bouquet I preserve is a joy to me.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think learning as much as I could about flowers helped me to understand how to manipulate them in the best possible way. There are dried flowers and then there are better quality dried flowers. My goal was to create the highest quality dried flower possible to work with.
Knowledge is power. The more you know your product, the better you will be at working with it and it will show in the finished piece.
Practice makes you better. I am always trying to learn new ways to make my work better. If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.
Be kind to yourself. I have more work to do than there are hours in the day but I will get there one bouquet at a time. Sometimes I have to remind myself of that. I have been blessed with the most wonderful clients who know I take my time on each bouquet and it is worth the wait. You have to have patience and trust the process. If you do, it will never let you down.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
My parents always encouraged my creativity from when I was very young. Now as an adult, I have three grown children who are all in creative fields as a musician, writer and an artist. I encouraged my kids to follow their dreams just like my parents did for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://articraftsfloralpreservation.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ctflowergirl/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/articraftsfloralpreservation
Image Credits
Maryilyn Roos Photography
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
