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- María Durán
María Durán
"My name is Maria Duran and I was born in a small village of 300 inhabitants nestled at the foothills of a dormant volcano. In this village we lived surrounded by nature, with a cold river featuring a waterfall and forests all around us. My childhood was filled with playing in the pools of that river and exploring the woods. It was during these times that I discovered my love for nature, and it's this love that inspires my creations.<BR><BR>
"I come from a family of farmers who have a deep affection for the land and its fruits. From a young age, I learned to care for plants in order to enjoy their flowers. I learned to recognize, based on the lunar phases, the best times for pruning and planting, caring for the plants that generously respond to care.<BR><BR>
"My roots trace back to a great-grandmother who raised 15 children and never had time to tend to her garden because she was devoted to being a mother and a wife. However, she always asked her grandchildren to gather flowers for her vase, believing that 'a home with flowers will never lack food.' Also, my roots include my grandmother and my mother, both passionate gardeners who turned cultivating their gardens into an act of self-care. From them, I learned that tending to plants is a way of taking care of oneself, a nurturing gesture for the soul.<BR><BR>
"Living in a small village, I had to move to the city to study and develop professionally. Yet, as life unfolds, things don't always go as planned. The COVID-19 pandemic forced me to halt all my plans and return to my village, to my origins. In my childhood home, with my life plans on pause, I found myself without a clear direction. I gradually began dedicating time to something I loved but had put aside, considering it less 'productive.' I started spending time enjoying plants and their flowers. I began nurturing my creativity and ability to create.<BR><BR>
"I learned to preserve real flowers. I embarked on my own research to discover the best ways to preserve flowers and got to work. But I faced many failures for a long time; trial and error became my method, though errors outweighed successes. Most of the flowers turned out poorly, losing their color. My initial attempts were discarded because they didn't turn out well.<BR><BR>
"It turns out that each flower is unique, with different textures, a wide array of colors, and specific sizes and thicknesses. I realized that I needed to experiment with each flower to determine the best way to dry it while preserving its beauty. I discovered that I needed a lot of patience. Flowers must be carefully picked and dried in a space free of humidity, well-ventilated, and exposed to sunlight, using botanical pressing. After a month, the flowers are dry. Opening the press after a month feels magical, finding those lovely little flowers waiting there, ready to be admired for their beauty.<BR><BR>
"Gradually, I started seeing the world through different eyes. Suddenly, every wildflower, every leaf with unique colors... they all became treasures I wished to freeze in time, so I could admire their beauty, simplicity, delicacy, and magic. Now, my passion is collecting and drying flowers. My raw material is everywhere, every garden and trail is a treasure trove for me. I see thousands of possibilities and ideas for creating. One of my favorite parts of my work is seeking out flowers. I visit all the gardens in my village and I'm grateful to all the people who generously share the flowers from their gardens. I'm also thankful to the earth for allowing me to enjoy each of the little flowers that appear along the way.<BR><BR>
"But there's another part of my work that I love immensely, and that's when I sit down to create. I see all the dried flowers I have, and in my mind, thousands of possibilities, combinations of colors and shapes begin to spin. Sometimes we take the beauty around us for granted and don't enjoy it as we should. I feel that each piece created with preserved flowers allows us to forever enjoy that beauty, giving it a special value, because each piece contains a piece of that natural richness the world holds, which we sometimes forget to admire.<BR><BR>
"Plants are so appreciative; we care for them a little, and they become so happy. And that gratitude is contagious. Working with plants makes me feel thankful for each little flower I can enjoy, every new discovery of a new type of flower. The immense desire to create that arises every time I see the dried flowers ready for use. I feel incredibly grateful to life for giving me the opportunity to dedicate myself to something I love, to spend my days surrounded by nature and a desire to create."
