Every artist is drawn to a medium that more than any other is conductive to his or her creativity; for Australian-born floral stylist Ruby Barber her medium of choice is plants and flowers. Rich in colour and evocative in composition, Barber’s floral arrangements, are in effect perishable artworks that captivate with their painterly finesse and sculptural sensibility. Working at her Berlin-based studio, Mary Lennox—whose name refers to the orphan heroine of Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic novel The Secret Garden, as well as the address of her first studio in Sydney—Barber’s projects range from flower styling and set design, to events and large-scale installations. She has also been collaborating with international brands such as Gucci, Asics and Zara Home, enriching their campaigns with floral splashes, as well as creating evocative compositions featured alongside articles and short stories in prestigious publications like The New York Times Magazine and The New Yorker. Her innovative approach to flower synthesis, a mix, in her own words, of the modern, classic and unexpected, is driven by a penchant for experimentation and a deep passion for flowers and plants. Barber recently found some time out of her busy schedule to chat with Yatzer about her blossoming practice and passion for floristry. (Answers have been condensed and edited for clarity.)

每个艺术家都被吸引到一个比任何其他艺术家都能胜任他或她的创造力的媒介；对于澳大利亚出生的花卉设计师鲁比巴伯，她的选择是植物和花卉。丰富的色彩和丰富的构图，巴伯的花卉布置，实际上是易腐烂的艺术品，吸引了他们的绘画技巧和雕塑的敏感性。在她柏林的工作室里工作，玛丽·伦诺克斯(MaryLennox)，他的名字指的是弗朗西斯·霍奇金伯内特(FrancesHodsonBurnett)经典小说《秘密花园》(FrancesHodsonBurnett)的孤儿女主人公，以及她在悉尼的第一个工作室的地址：理发店的项目包括花卉造型和布景设计、活动和大规模安装。她还与古奇、ASIC和ZaraHome等国际品牌合作，丰富了他们的花卉飞溅活动，并创造了令人想起的组合，包括《纽约时报》杂志和《纽约客》等知名出版物中的文章和短篇小说。她对花卉合成的创新方法，用她自己的话说，现代的、经典的和非预期的，是通过对实验和对花卉和植物的深深的热情来驱动的。巴伯最近在她繁忙的日程中发现了一些时间，与雅典泽聊天，讲述她的开花练习和对花店的热情。(为了清楚起见，已经对答案进行了浓缩和编辑。)

Patricia Zhou shot by Becca Crawford.

帕特里夏·周被贝卡·克劳福德枪杀。

Patricia Zhou shot by Becca Crawford.

帕特里夏·周被贝卡·克劳福德枪杀。

Where did your passion for gardening come from? How did it evolve into the creative occupation you are now involved in? Growing up in Australia, one is inherently connected to nature. I was never a particularly 'flowery' person but the natural world has always been alluring and interesting to me. I started working with flowers by accident, I was studying interior architecture and going to the flower market with a friend for fun when I started picking up small bunches for friends and family. It was the first interest I had that really stuck. The effect flowers have on people is something that really resonates with me and I like working with a medium that can make people so joyful. What are your favourite flowers and why? Does your taste change over time or seasonally? My favourite flower changes all the time and there isn't really a particular variety I favour over all others. I like flowers that have some personality or a story behind them the most... In an industry that is focused on the mass-produced, it’s a real treat to find something unique. How do you go about procuring the diverse plants and flowers that you use in your projects? Sourcing is the best part of the job! We spend a lot of time visiting nurseries in Berlin, greater Germany and all over Europe. Whenever we see something special we snap it up! The key is remaining curious and looking outside of the flower market for rarer flowers and plants. We also travel regularly to the main flower market in Holland to get an overview of what’s available there, rather than relying solely on the buyers from the Berlin market.

你对园艺的热情从何而来？它是如何演变成你现在所从事的创造性职业的？在澳大利亚长大的人与自然有着内在的联系。我从来就不是一个特别“花花公子”的人，但自然界对我来说一直很有诱惑力和趣味性。我偶然开始花的工作，当时我正在学习室内建筑，和一个朋友一起去花市玩的时候，我开始给朋友和家人买小束花。这是我第一次对这件事感兴趣。花对人的影响是真正引起我共鸣的东西，我喜欢用一种能让人们如此快乐的媒介来工作。你最喜欢的花是什么？为什么？你的口味是随时间变化还是季节性变化？我最喜欢的花总是在变，而且没有什么特别的品种，我比其他的花都更喜欢。我最喜欢那些有个性或者背后有故事的花.在一个专注于大规模生产的行业里，找到一些独特的东西是一种真正的享受。如何采购您在项目中使用的各种植物和花卉？采购是工作中最好的部分！我们花了很多时间参观柏林、大德国和整个欧洲的托儿所。每当我们看到什么特别的东西，我们就抓住它！关键是保持好奇，寻找更稀有的花卉和植物市场之外。我们还定期前往荷兰的主要花卉市场，了解那里有哪些花卉市场，而不是仅仅依靠柏林市场的买家。

Photo by Anna Rosa Krau for Brigitte Magazine.

图片由安娜罗莎克劳布布里吉特杂志。

Photo by Atilla Hartwig for Rosenthal.

照片作者Atilla Hartwig为罗森塔尔。

Photo by Alexander Straulino for Stern Magazine.

亚历山大·斯特劳里诺为斯特恩杂志拍摄的照片。

What are the guiding principles behind a good flower arrangement? Do you primarily go about it intuitively or is there a preparatory process where you methodically work out the details beforehand? The way I work is very intuitive. I respond to the selection available at the flower market and try and curate the most beautiful results with what is there. The most interesting arrangements are created by considering each stem as you place it, highlighting unusual curves and imperfections. I like to have each stem prepared and stripped back of unnecessary leaves before beginning to put the arrangement together. This helps things come together smoothly. I also try and not work with stems that wouldn't be impressive on their own. In most circumstances, I avoid anything that would be considered as a 'filler'. As an artist, is it the aesthetic or the conceptual aspect of nature that is the driving force behind your work? I've never thought about this before but now that you ask, I think it is both! I try not to over intellectualise my approach too much because I have certain limitations that are dictated by nature and the environment. I have to respond to what's available and possible within the project. The driving force behind the work will always be the flowers I can source and everything evolves from there. You have to remain kind of flexible when you work with a natural, perishable medium.

好的插花背后的指导原则是什么？你主要是凭直觉去做，还是有一个预先有系统地制定细节的准备过程？我的工作方式非常直观。我对花卉市场的选择作出回应，并试图用那里的东西来管理最美丽的结果。最有趣的安排是在你放置时考虑每一根茎，突出不寻常的曲线和不完美之处。我喜欢把每根茎都准备好，剥去多余的叶子，然后开始整理。这有助于事情顺利地进行。我也试着不使用那些不会给人留下深刻印象的茎。在大多数情况下，我避免任何会被视为“填充物”的东西。作为一个艺术家，你的作品背后的驱动力是自然的审美还是概念？我以前从来没有想过这件事，但既然你问了，我想两者都是！我尽量不要过分理智我的方法，因为我有某些限制，是由自然和环境所决定的。我必须对项目中可用的和可能的内容作出回应。这项工作背后的动力将永远是我可以得到的花朵，一切都是从那里进化而来的。当你用一种自然的，易腐烂的介质工作时，你必须保持一定的灵活性。

Photo by Becca Crawford for DITA world.

Becca Crawford为Dita World拍摄的照片。

Photo by Becca Crawford for DITA world.

Becca Crawford为Dita World拍摄的照片。

Photo by Our Food Stories.

我们的食物故事的照片。

Do you approach the design of an arrangement that will be photographed differently from one that will not? How does photography inform your creative process? Flowers in real life vs. flowers in photographs can be two very different things... Often I use a camera to make edits on arrangements before finishing them, you see the whole piece very differently through the lens. It usually helps me scale the arrangements back and leave space for the flowers to breathe. Creating an arrangement that has no other purpose than to be photographed is my favourite way of working. You can be a lot more creative when with the form and flower selection when longevity isn't a consideration. In your work there seems to be an intrinsic bond between flowers and femininity. Is this something that has organically emerged or is it part of your artistic doctrine? The bond between flowers and femininity is iconic; the relationship is so engrained in my visual language. I regularly subconsciously marry the two motifs, just because it's a reflection of what I personally find beautiful. We are also basically an all-female company so it's not surprising that we have a feminine voice... However, we also create designs and projects that challenge the preconceived ideas of flowers and femininity.

您是否接近将与不一样拍摄的设备的设计？摄影如何通知您的创意过程？现实生活中的花和照片上的花可以是两个非常不同的事情……通常，我使用相机对整理之前的布置进行编辑，通过镜头看到整个件非常不同。它通常帮助我按比例缩小布局，留出空间供鲜花呼吸。创建一个没有其他目的而不是要被拍摄的安排是我最喜欢的工作方式。当“长寿”不是一个考虑的时候，你可以创造出更多的创意。在你的工作中，花和女人之间似乎有内在的联系。这东西已经有机地出现或者是你的艺术原理的一部分吗？花与女性之间的联系是标志性的，这种关系是如此雕刻在我的视觉语言中。我经常潜意识地与这两个主题结婚，只是因为这是我个人发现的美丽的反映。我们也基本上是一个全女性的公司，所以我们有一个女性的声音并不奇怪……然而，我们也创建了一些设计和项目，挑战花和女性的预想到的想法。

Photo by Becca Crawford.

图片来源于Becca Crawford。

Photo by Becca Crawford.

图片来源于Becca Crawford。

Photo by Becca Crawford.

图片来源于Becca Crawford。

Collaborations are an integral part of your work. What are the challenges and rewards of working with other professionals during a project? Collaborations are what keeps things interesting! Every new project expands our network and introduces us to new ideas and creative practices that help us further expand and refine our own. All in all I think each and every collaboration is very rewarding, even if the project didn’t run smoothly ... I learn so much from working this way; about people, design, business - it's absolutely invaluable. Confronted with the ephemeral nature of flower arrangements do you ever think of channeling your creativity into other mediums? We are interested in how we can collaborate with different design fields and mediums to enrich other creative projects with nature. I think plants and flowers will always be at the core of what I do but also that this area of interest can take me beyond the field of floristry. What projects are you currently working on? We are working on a number of projects this year that will allow us to travel to other cities and take inspiration from new landscapes. We will be spending time in Paris, Mexico and Italy and I hope the list of continues to expand as our calendar fills up. We are excited to see where this year takes us!

协作是你工作中不可或缺的一部分。在项目期间与其他专业人员一起工作的挑战和回报是什么？合作是保持事物有趣的原因！每一个新项目都扩展了我们的网络，向我们介绍了帮助我们进一步扩展和完善自己的新想法和创新实践。总之，我认为每一次合作都是非常有价值的，即使项目没有顺利进行.我从这样的工作中学到了很多东西：关于人、设计、商业-这绝对是无价之宝。面对短暂的插花本质，你有没有想过将你的创造力导入其他媒介？我们感兴趣的是，如何与不同的设计领域和媒体合作，以丰富其他创造性项目与自然。我认为植物和鲜花将永远是我所做的工作的核心，但这方面的兴趣也会把我带到花的领域之外。你目前在从事哪些项目？我们今年正在进行一些项目，这些项目将使我们能够前往其他城市，并从新的景观中汲取灵感。我们将在巴黎、墨西哥和意大利呆上一段时间，我希望随着我们日程的满，名单会继续扩大。我们很高兴看到今年的进展！

Photo by Robbie Lawrence for Gucci.

罗比·劳伦斯为古奇拍摄的照片。

keywords:Design Art 

关键词：设计艺术