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A local artist whose paper creations are as intricate as the flowers that inspired them has opened up about how time in hospital after developing a nervous system disorder led her to discover a new creative passion.
From evening primrose to oriental poppies, daffodils and Jersey lilies, Kelly Jenner-Swani’s paper artworks are hard to distinguish from real flowers.
Intricately detailed, they are impressively realistic. Originally trained in Jewellery and Silver Smithing at Birmingham's School of Jewellery, Kelly shared how she first started making her flowers...
After 10 years working as a bespoke jewellery designer, in 2019, I developed Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), a dysfunction in how the nervous system sends signals to the brain.
Pictured: Kelly began making paper flowers whilst being treated in hospital.
I stumbled across paper flower-making whilst in hospital and started making them soon after as a form of art therapy. It wasn’t dissimilar to jewellery-making and it helped me feel grounded.
Having always been a nature lover, it allows me to capture nature’s fleeting moments and the memories of the feelings evoked by those moments in a three dimensional and sustainable lasting form. I became fascinated with the fine detail of natural forms which became a great source of inspiration.
Pictured: Kelly moved to Jersey last year and has always been a nature lover.
Each piece offers an invitation to discover something new by looking closer and, in doing so, to pause and reconnect, which I think is so important and I hope my work inspires others to do so. I moved to Jersey with my family in early 2023 to aid my recovery, which has allowed me to surround myself with nature and focus on my artwork. Inspiration is everywhere and I never want to leave the island!
I spend a lot of time researching and photographing flowers in their natural environments, watching them over their life cycles and studying their construction. I sketch out templates and working from the centre outwards, I use salvaged and natural materials combined with wires and crepe paper, which are cut, dyed, painted and coloured by hand.
My background in the jewellery industry definitely helped to train my eye to work on a small scale and I love the problem-solving element of the build! My flowers can take anything from hours to days to construct.
It is so hard to name just one! Wildflowers in general are my favourite.They are often so small and overlooked, but so beautiful and vastly important for our wildlife and ecosystems.
You can find Kelly’s work on her Instagram - @kellyswani - and in JARO Gallery in St Helier.
This article first appeared in Connect Magazine which you can read in full below...
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