Nature’s beauty is finite. Flower artist Roni Hen reinforces that sentiment with each handmade creation. Her works, which rely on dried flowers, rocks, bark and other natural materials, have a relatively transient quality.
“Each design tells a story,” she said. “And like a story it comes to an end.”
Hen’s meticulously sculpted creations eventually crack, fade and turn to dust. It’s why the Israeli-born artist named her enterprise “Flower Dust.”
From her home in Squirrel Hill, Hen sculpts and arranges each piece. Ranging in color, shape and size, no two works are identical; however, themes, like the sun, mountains and oceans, tie various pieces together.
“I create with inspiration from the things that I see,” she said. “It’s not like a machine that does shapes, and circles and triangles. It’s more freestyle. It’s abstract. It’s like nature.”
One of Hen’s pieces, which she titled, “The Circle of Nature,” encompasses all four seasons within one tree. Inspired by “an ancient rainforest,” the work includes a moss-covered hand-carved trunk that rests on stone. Ushering forth from the base are a collection of flowers and a handmade butterfly that gently floats within the mix.
Another piece, which Hen titled, “Orca,” features hand-carved ocean rocks sitting atop a small epoxy sea. The work is intended to convey a sense of an orca rising from the depths, she explained.
Before arriving in Pittsburgh two years ago with her husband, Hen spent time in various locales.
She grew up in Givat Ada, a small neighborhood in Binyamina-Giv’at Ada, located in the Haifa District in northern Israel. After completing national service in Beersheba, Hen moved with her husband to Switzerland.
Her experience in the “Playground of Europe” granted an awareness, she said, of the way wood interacts with water, specifically lakes.
Cold water, she explained, slows down decay and prevents wood-rotting fungi from forming.
In Switzerland, Hen noticed not only the way wood responded to various climates, but how other creatures interacted with the environment.
Whether while living in Europe or on other travels, “I always like picking stuff up, and using it,” she said.
In her possession are not just a host of simple barks and branches, but items bearing singular features, Hen explained.
“They have signs of what bugs do, and it’s very beautiful,” she said. “You need to see it to understand.”
Within the branches are intricate scratches and tracings revealing insect paths and other natural activity. Juxtaposed to dried flowers and rocks, the wood pieces add to the living quality of the work, she said.
Hen has expanded her awareness and artistic undertakings. During the past two years as a Pittsburgh resident, she has readily made use of nearby paths and parks.
She loves the city, she said, and is proud to call it home.
“It’s really like an endless forest,” she told the Chronicle. “It’s the first time that I saw something like this, and I love the community and all the people and the neighborhood and the vibe.”
There’s an organic quality to so much existing in such a small space. Having joined the fold, she said, she hopes to add to the area’s beauty.
“My home is open,” she continued. “People can just let me know if they want to come pick something up or come over just to see my design.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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