Find out all about our collaboration with Kreetta Järvenpää
For ESSENZA's 'Gallery of Nature' collection, we are collaborating with Finnish artist Kreetta Järvenpää for the first time. Kreetta specialises in creating floral art and flower photography, resulting in timeless floral fantasies inspired by the Old Masters.
A floral fantasy
As the daughter of a flower and plant lover, Kreetta promised herself she would never have houseplants or a garden, too much work she thought. However, the sudden death of her mother in 2016 provided a clear new direction in her life. From this very moment on, the flower became her subject and created a very personal connection in her work. 'Flowers are my material; they are expressive and shaped by time. Everything has to be perfect before the final photograph is taken and I don't want my photography to look like a photograph at all. I create an escape from reality with my camera. 'A floral fantasy' - Kreetta Järvenpää.
The eternal beauty of floral still lifes
Kreetta's works are characterised by a dark, black background and subtle lighting that brings out the floral arrangements beautifully. It creates a certain drama that provides an entrance to a fantasy, so to speak. 'Reality and time have no meaning for me. I find my meditative space in the beauty of changing and blooming flowers, and in my works they remain eternal'. says Kreetta. Her style draws inspiration from 17th century art, especially the work of Dutch Baroque painter Rachel Ruysch who was acclaimed for her floral still lifes. 'I love working with flowers in full bloom, or when they are just fading out. When a flower, like a tulip, is fully open you can really see its face' Kreetta explains.
Creating the right photo can therefore sometimes take up to three days. Each flower has a different life cycle, which means they have to be stored in different ways to then be photographed together. Kreetta tries to follow the ecological process as much as possible and therefore also mainly uses local, sustainably grown flowers that are in bloom at the time: 'A flower is perfect at a certain moment, and sometimes it is already in its out-of-bloom state. Accepting that there is always movement makes a flower perfect at any time'.
Phaea and Ficaria
For ESSENZA's Gallery of Nature collection, we chose two floral still lifes from Kreetta's free work, in which she experiments with coloured backgrounds. These works beautifully depict the freshly blooming spring and late summer blooms, making them a perfect match for this nature-inspired collection. Kreetta on collaborating with ESSENZA: 'What caught my eye when I discovered the ESSENZA brand was a floral design with a warm, burnt yellow background. I love the cosy style of the brand. It's great to see my work come to life in a completely different setting.'
Phaea shows a seasonal floral arrangement in late summer. The choice of flowers clearly reflects the specific season, showcasing a sustainable selection of 'slow grown' flowers from Finland that are blooming at that specific time. The work showcases beautiful shades of orange, reflecting the feeling of a warm, late summer day. During this season, the Finnish sky regularly turns pink, making this a well-suited background colour for Phaea. Rotate the duvet cover to balance the image with a soothing plain lace in the same colour.
Ficaria is made in spring, which can be seen in the choice of yellow and orange garden flowers such as a daffodil in full bloom.
Other delicate flowers can also be seen, such as bell-shaped hanging frittalarias and the subtle, playful accent of bright blue forget-me-nots.All these flowers also grow in Kreetta's own garden, giving this image a very personal impression.Usually Kreetta takes photos of bulky floral arrangements, in contrast to this airy scene, making the fresh, sunny spring feel even more pronounced.Flip the duvet cover to balance the picture with a soothing, plain lace in the same colour.
