There are days when I need to take off and look for inspiration, those days when I just can’t concentrate on the piece on my bench. Then there are days when I can be somewhere that will spark a million ideas without me even looking for them.
Recently I had one of the latter when visiting Stourhead in Wiltshire with my folks. It was my birthday and they took me for lunch, we decided to walk the gardens to make room for the pub food and cake! Our visit to the estate coincided with Floralia, the Roman festival dedicated to spring and the goddess Flora. The temples and classical figures were beautifully decorated with garlands and rhododendrons were in full bloom. Flora was said to be a nymph who married Zephyr, the west wind, and became the goddess of spring. The Romans’ would honour Flora by wearing ribbons and floral crowns and releasing hares and deer in the city as symbol of fertility.
It is hard not to be inspired by such a spectacular place, so I am sure my design book will soon be full of 18th century follies, floral garlands and Roman mythology.