An everlasting memory
Dein has long been capturing the beauty of the banal by plaster casting everyday objects. But when she had the idea of casting the flowers she’d had at her wedding – a new idea emerged. The florist explained that many brides had asked about how they could preserve their wedding bouquets. Since then, Dein has been taking commissions to create bespoke wedding flower tiles.
To capture her beautiful ‘fossilised’ flowers, Dein makes impressions in wet clay, and then pours plaster directly over it. The clay captures the intricate details, subtly colouring the plaster as it sets. To add the final touches to each unique piece, the casts are then finished and refined by hand and some are painted.
About the artist
After studying fine art at Middlesex University, Dein landed a prop-making apprenticeship at the English National Opera and has created props for a host of prestigious venues, from the Royal Opera House and Globe Theatre to the London Transport Museum – and even the hallowed Selfridges Christmas windows.
It was while studying at art college that Dein first became enamoured with the intricate yet simple results of the casting technique:
“I came across this very basic form of reproduction (casting) when doing a class in glass blowing,” the artist recalls on her website.
“We were told to press shapes into wet sand into which we then poured the molten glass. I went back to our college studio and started experimenting with pressing things into clay and then pouring plaster onto the clay to make pieces of sculpture. I was amazed and fascinated at the detail achieved yet the simplicity of the process.”
This was the catalyst for what would become Dein’s celebrated signature style.
From the local church to the Big Smoke
As a prop maker, Dein was able to develop her knowledge of casting, mould making and other techniques. But it wasn’t until her youngest son started school that she began to turn this art form into a professional career.
“The local church put a call out for creative people in the area to show their work. A gallery saw my tiles there, and invited me to exhibit with them,” she explains.
“That summer I’d taken a stall at London’s Dandy Lion Market where I met a lady who bought a small tile. She commissioned me to make four large tiles using the favourite things that she and her husband and their children had chosen.
“Since then, I’ve worked to various commissions, and I’ve been making new pieces, experimenting with different compositions of plants and flowers, and different combinations of plaster and concrete.”
To see more of Dein's work, visit her website. Are you doing anything special with flowers? Get in touch and share your passion with us!
