The Beauty of Layering - Nature Workshop

layer: a sheet, quantity, or thickness of material; a covering of a surface or body 

layering: the action of arranging something in layers; the presence or formation of layers (rocks in geology, for example); method of propagating a plant (the shoot being fastened down to form the roots while still attached to the parent plant) 

“May the flowers remind us why the rain was so necessary” 

Xan Oku 

Layering is a word that breathes potential. It brings to mind the many possibilities, meanings and purposes imbued in that which is layered. Layering, as linked to nature, brings to my mind the beautiful layers of a plant. I’m fascinated by the rows of petals, stacked wide or stacked high. 

Flowers speak a language that we will touch upon in the workshop, if ever so slightly. Each flower and plant has had its own meaning for a very long time, and it became popular once more in the Victorian era - perhaps because flowers were a means to say what could not be spoken. They sent a very specific message and so were chosen with care. This is something that we’ve lost nowadays, I believe for the most part, or which we look upon with awe or fascination. I do try to dabble in the meaning of flowers and take great joy from being able to choose a plant because of its beauty, but also because of the meaning behind it sometimes. I have to say that the most important thing is to always appreciate nature and see it as an end in itself. Sometimes simplicity is best, and you simply like a flower because it is full of life and beauty. 

The layers of a flower are also reminiscent of the layers in our own lives. Think of the layers that we earn from experience, the layers of knowledge,  the layers that are our roles in life (the many characters we play), and the myriad of feelings we experience throughout even 1 day or week.       

Yet, what does the Beauty of Layering really mean? 

This workshop is here to open up those layers and provide you with a new perspective to yourself and your understanding of yourself along with a greater appreciation for nature and what it can support us daily. 

“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” 

Henri Matisse 

What art forms can help us appreciate layering? 

We will be looking at and discussing examples of flowers and layers being used in: fine art, installation art, body art, literature and music. 

I think it’s worth pointing out here that layers are not always layers which we can see. Sometimes and in many cases (as with our lives) the layers are out of sight, deep down. When it comes to layers in art, literature and music I believe we can all appreciate that there are various layers to the layers. In art you can have layers of paint, layers on top of one another, a drawing underneath another one (hidden), then there are also the layers of meaning of the painting or sculpture. In literature there are rarely the physical layers, there are the layers or stacks of pages, layers of meaning, layers within conversations, layers of characters and roles and their emotions. In music too, we do not see the layers - we feel them. We feel the silence, which is a layer in its absence. 

“If I had a flower for every time I thought of you, I could walk in my garden forever.” 

Alfred Lord Tennyson  

What can the layers of nature teach us? 

Layering implies a lot; we are asking of ourselves to dig deep and uncover the layers beneath - some which we are aware of, whilst others which we are not, and others still which we do not want to uncover. 

Nature has so much to teach us in terms of patience, acceptance and love of the cycles of life, amongst other things. But these cycles of life are reminiscent of the layers of flowers. These very layers are the ones that grow, bloom, dwindle, fall, die - at times to be born anew in the next season, sometimes to be reborn straight away and others which only bloom for 1 season. Yet the plan does not deny or exist against its cycle - it exists for itself and is beautiful. 

The cycles of life are fundamental to our own lives and they are deeply ingrained in all that we do. Think about the things in your life which have followed the pattern of: beginning-ending-beginning. Most of our life follows such a pattern and it’s important, it’s consistent and it is something we can rely on because it is natural. This is not to say that you have to always accept what people call fate or destiny - some things in life are your choices to make. But the cycles of life affect those things which are completely out of your control, the things you simply cannot change - and here you have a choice too, to accept or to fight. Things we cannot change are for example growing older, so as we grow up we have more choices to make but also more responsibilities (one cannot exist without the other, if there is to be balance), we progress from primary to secondary and so on (we cannot always stay in the same spot), and the cycle continues, the adventure continues! 

We have to decide if we’re on the side of life, or not. To decide to live and dance along your path is a courageous and worthwhile pursuit - well at least to me :) 

“Like wildflowers; you must allow yourself  to grow in all the places people thought you never would.” 

E.V.