Victorian Pressed Flowers with Robert Mahar

Date: Saturday, March 30, 2024

Time: 10am – 12:00pm

Location: Conservatory of Flowers, Orchid Pavilion

Participant Fee: $110 (Ages +12) Participants under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult who is also registered for the workshop

Workshop Description:

Explore the popular mid-19th Century pastime of creating an herbarium, a collection of dried flora assembled for decorative purposes or as a garden record. Join artist and maker Robert Mahar in learning best practices for working with delicate pressed botanicals and then create your own imaginative compositions mounted on paper – suitable for framing or stationery. Instruction will also include the fabrication of a simple wood flower press to preserve specimens from your own home garden.

This workshop is well suited for beginners – no previous experience is necessary. Participants will work with pre-pressed flowers provided in their material kits. It is not permitted to pick or remove flowers or plants from the Conservatory of Flowers.

This workshop will be held in the Orchid Pavilion, adjacent to the Conservatory of Flowers. When you are facing the main entrance to the conservatory greenhouse, the Orchid Pavilion is located on your right hand side. Consider visiting the historic Conservatory of Flowers after the workshop – admission is included with your registration.

Materials:

All materials are included and will be provided to participants when they arrive for the workshop. Each material kit includes: a selection of dried and pressed flowers, paper, adhesive and assembly tools to create decorative compositions; pre-cut wood, paper, cardboard and hardware to assemble a small-scale flower press.

About the instructor:

Robert Mahar is a California-based artist and educator who teaches thoughtfully researched and developed hands-on projects based in historical craft traditions. He’s also a proud contestant alumni, and subsequent associate producer, on NBC’s crafting competition show Making It with Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman. With an education in studio arts and art history, he has worked in a variety of creative fields including 13 years as an appraiser of modern and contemporary art. Learn more about Robert, explore his video tutorial archive and shop his collection of curious embroidery samplers at robert-mahar.com.

Gardens of Golden Gate Park Members: You are entitled to a 20% discount for this event. To secure your discount, please log in to your account before registering or enter the Member Discount Code in the “Promo Code” field when registering. For the Member Discount Code for this offering, please contact membership@gggp.org.

Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable.