Field Notes 2021: Roshni Robert

Explore Bloedel Reserve through the art, writings, and uniques perspectives of the Creative Residents during the time they are visiting the grounds. These entries give you a peek at works-in-progress, sources of inspiration, approaches to craft, exploration of new techniques, and more.

October 2021

Roshni Robert joined Bloedel Reserve as the October Creative Resident.

I approach painting and floral work in much the same way. I am always drawn first to color. I have my “favorite colors” like everyone does, but the longer I work with color, the more interested I have become in odd parings, in seeing something work out unexpectedly. I don’t like hot pink, for example. I may even despise hot pink. But, there it is, next to something all lavenders and creams or in a peach toned piece and, tucked down in the bottom, it elevates the arrangement. I like seeing these surprises. In the same way, I like to paint something that will surprise me a little. I like to draw a character that makes me laugh, or I like to lay water out and coax color in a direction, not sure of what will happen. The feeling of having a conversation with my work is vital to me. This is where I draw the line between being a traditional florist and being a traditional artist. I have found my place somewhere in between these two definers. I relate to both and I cringe at both. I think of myself as someone aiming to be as free as possible while creating visual emotional content. Floral artist? Maybe. I haven’t decided yet.

I grew up in the garden in Home, WA with my Grandmother Ruby. “Granny” as she was known, grew all manner of wild looking perennials, but was known for her tall, bearded iris for which she competed and also judged local competitions. The bedrock of my floral design practice and certainly my style was absorbed from her. Granny designed in a very organic and loose way that was much different from the floral trend of the 80s. She used only what was available to her in her yard at the time and she styled things in a way that would highlight the way things grew in nature. An arrangement could be only snowball viburnum and lilac en masse in a large vase, or could be an ikebana design employing minimalism to show off a gorgeous iris. So, I started, like many do, by following behind my Granny in the garden, eating strawberries and attempting to emulate what she did. In the end of 2010 I moved to Norman, OK and in 2011, began working with Birdie Blooms doing wedding and event florals. Working under Katie Huskerson grew me in my production practices as well as in contemporary design skills. Birdie stretched my capabilities and made me into a more confident designer, giving me the opportunity to work within a whole new world of flowers. In 2017, I returned home to Washington to take on a lead florist position at a local nursery. It was here my love of the garden was revived. Being home gave me a drive to dig in Granny’s garden beds, now tended by my mother, and renewed my interest in cataloguing latin names and varieties of plants in my mind. I used the nursery as a living set of flash cards, walking round the aisles reciting plant names to myself until I could remember them all. In 2018 I returned to Norman, OK and have been at The Flower Shop since then. 2019 saw me branch out on my own to do weddings and begin gardening in earnest in Oklahoma, a landscape and climate very different from what I am used to in WA! I have made friends with local growers in order to bolster my options as well as seek advice about growing here.

While in Residence at Bloedel Reserve, Roshni created a garden scene inspired by the Mughal paintings of 16th and 17th century  India, exploring fusing her Indian and Northern European heritage into one cohesive story. Viewers could choose to enter the scene or view it from different angles on the path.