This workshop is part of the Public Programme for the exhibition of Constance Spry
Join Robin Lucas, designer of the Constance Spry exhibition, in this masterclass in floral creation from material you may think to throw away.
A few months after Constance Spry opened her little shop on the Belgrave Road, Spry came across an old friend, Florence Standfast. She and Spry had shared a room together in a London hostel for ladies in 1905, when Spry was training to become a health lecturer and Florence was an art student.
But now Florence, or Flo as she was always known, was struggling to make a living and was practically destitute.
Spry immediately conjured up a job for her, announcing that she needed someone to make beautiful artificial flowers to sell in the shop, and soon had Flo happily installed in the newly created “Arts Department” in the shop’s dingy cellar. Spry did not doubt for a moment that Flo would rise to the occasion and, happily, her instinct proved right: Flo devised a way of creating botanically accurate flowers from paper, which she then hand-painted and dipped in hot wax. The Arts Department went on to make faux flower arrangements and framed “Flemish Pictures” which proved very popular with customers.
Robin Lucas is an artist and designer. From an early age, he has always had a sketchbook on the go and holds a particular fascination for the natural world, history, gardens and interiors. A keen collector of books, art, and curiosities; Robin uses these interests to create a natural dialogue between interiors and his work.
Having studied Biology at St Catherine’s College, Oxford, Robin spent time at the World of Interiors magazine and the renowned London based fine country house antiques dealers Jamb, before establishing his own studio focusing primarily on illustration and design.
Robin takes much of his inspiration from his surroundings and divides his time between his home on the Isle of Wight, London and the wilds of north Lancashire.
