A farmer-florist tells the story of early spring through her camera’s lens
Owner of Warrenton, Oregon-based Erika’s Fresh Flowers, Kathleen Barber grows many of her own floral design ingredients. She also is an award-winning fine art photographer and member of the Professional Photographers Association.
“I wanted to tell a story about the Pacific Northwest in early spring,” she explains. “My character is a hunter-gatherer wearing his woodsman’s apron. Daffodils are the first sign of spring here along the Oregon coast, so I used them, along with bay leaves, moss, eucalyptus bark, Douglas fir branches, and pine cones — all gathered from my garden.”
With dark green felt as the apron base, Kathleen attached her botanical ingredients with Oasis cold glue, working from the hem toward the bib. Fir branches create the apron’s “fringe.” The midsection is formed by bands of eucalyptus bark, moss dotted with tete-a-tete narcissus and overlapping bay leaves. Vibrant golden double-daffodils, around 200 in all, decorate the bib. The heirloom blooms originated from clumps Kathleen’s father dug and transplanted decades ago from spots along old Oregon logging roads.
My character is a hunter-gatherer wearing his woodsman’s apron. Daffodils are the first sign of spring here along the Oregon coast, so I used them, along with bay leaves, moss, eucalyptus bark, Douglas fir branches, and pine cones — all gathered from my garden.”
kathleen barber, erika’s fresh flowers
Kathleen’s son Robert Barber, a college student studying electrical engineering, became her willing model. She imagines that his character has returned from fishing in a mythical stream. The scene is earthy, almost Hobbit-like, styled with old-world props including a deer skull, a cleaver, reference books, and weathered candlesticks. The apron coordinates with Robert’s peasant shirt finished with durable leather cuffs and a wool cape he brought home from a trip to Germany.
When Robert donned the hood, Kathleen knew her floral narrative was complete — a forest character come alive straight from the pages of a Tolkien story or a Brothers Grimm tale.
Creative Credits:
Floral Palette: Daffodils and foraged woodland ingredients from Erika’s Fresh Flowers, a cutting garden in coastal Oregon
Designer: Kathleen Barber, Erika’s Fresh Flowers, @erikasfreshflowers
Model: Robert Barber
Photographer: Kathleen Barber, Kathleen Barber Photography, kathleenbarberphoto.com, @kathleenbarberphoto
Venue: Warrenton, Oregon