Introducing floral collage artist, Valeria Alevra…

I hope you had a lovely weekend.  To start off the week, I have a real treat for you today!

Last month I was contacted by floral collage artist Valeria Alevra and I’m delighted to feature an interview with her today, together with her gorgeous work.

When did you start your business and where are you based?

I’ve been doing paper collages since I was very little, but started creating my own floral patterns and floral collages during the winter of 2008.

I’m based from home, which is also my studio, a converted Victorian warehouse in North London.

Could you tell us about how you became interested in creating floral collages?

I often wonder what beautiful houses look like inside and whether they are as grand as they are on the outside.

I used to imagine that wonderful things happen inside wonderful country houses, like flowers growing on the ceilings, and fresh water flowing in hallways.

With this vision, I started creating my first floral images.

Could you tell us about the process behind you artwork?

I create collages the old-fashioned way, using paper and glue.

It’s usually a long process that requires a lot of patience and concentration, but I love every minute of it.

Each little piece of paper needs to be carefuly selected and cut, then glued to the right spot, so that the end result will be the desired one.

There’s usually a lot of paper mess in my studio when I work on new projects!

Where do you get your floral inspiration for your designs?

Nature inspires me, like smells, colours, and light. Music helps me put my raw thoughts together and give them a direction.

What are your plans for the remainder of 2012? 

I’m currently working on a series of mini collages, but my main focus is on textile and wallpaper design.

I would simply love to create my own floral wallpaper and can’t wait for it to happen!

What is your favourite flower? 

It’s the Passiflora. When I was a teenager I came across some passion flower seeds. I planted them and waited eagerly for them to sprout.

Nothing happened for months and I was left waiting in vain. To my surprise, almost a year later, the seeds grew and that same Passiflora is still in our garden.

It’s a beautiful flower and I love its determination to grow and blossom. But you have to be careful what you plant next to it!

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing Valeria’s beautiful work today.

It never ceases to amaze me that there are so many talented flower-inspired people out there!  And I feel very honoured to be able to highlight their talents on Flowerona…

If you’d like to keep up-to-date with Valeria’s news, she’s on Twitter and Facebook.

(Images : Valeria Alevra)