Pressed Flower Workshops in Ottawa
Discover the art of working with pressed flowers through hands-on botanical art workshops with Kate Punnett, artist and founder of The August Press. Learn to create art with pressed botanicals, explore traditional flower-pressing techniques, or plan a creative workshop making pressed art from our selection of locally grown pressed florals for your bridal party or private group.
Learn the Art of Working with Pressed Flowers
The art of flower pressing begins with looking closely. Each flower has its own shape, structure and character, offering different possibilities for preservation and artistic composition.
Through The August Press, Ottawa-based botanical artist and educator Kate Punnett offers hands-on pressed flower workshops that explore both the practical craft of pressing botanicals and the creative process of making art with them.
Whether you're interested in creating your own botanical artwork or learning how to press flowers from the beginning, these workshops offer an opportunity to work with natural materials, slow down, develop new skills and discover the possibilities of pressed flowers.
Workshop Options
Option 1: Art Making
Create your own botanical artwork using pressed flowers.
average workshop time - 1-1.5 hours
Explore the art of pressed flower composition in a hands-on workshop using a selection of prepared pressed flowers and botanicals. Learn to combine colour, shape and texture, and discover how the arrangement of individual flowers can create movement, balance and depth in a composition.
With guidance from botanical artist Kate Punnett, you'll experiment with botanical materials and create your own piece of pressed flower art. These workshops are suitable for beginners and anyone looking for a creative, hands-on experience with flowers.
What you'll explore:
Colour, texture and shape in pressed flower art
Choosing and arranging botanical materials
Composition, balance and negative space
Creating your own pressed floral artwork
No previous botanical art experience is necessary.
Option 2: Flower Pressing and Art Making
Learn to press flowers, then explore their artistic possibilities.
average workshop time - 3 hours
Discover the process of transforming fresh flowers into pressed botanicals and using them to create art. This workshop combines traditional flower-pressing techniques with the principles of botanical composition.
Learn how to choose flowers for pressing, understand how their natural structures and moisture content influence the process, and explore techniques for preparing botanicals. You'll then use locally grown pressed flowers to experiment with colour, shape and texture as you create your own artwork.
This is an opportunity to explore flower pressing as both a practical skill and an artistic practice, guided by an experienced pressed floral artist.
What you'll explore:
Selecting and preparing flowers for pressing
Traditional flower-pressing techniques
How different flowers respond to pressing
Botanical composition and colour relationships
Creating artwork with pressed flowers
This workshop is ideal for anyone who wants to learn the fundamentals of flower pressing alongside botanical art-making.
Bridal Party Flower Art Workshops
A creative experience inspired by your wedding colour palette.
Bring the colours of your wedding into a hands-on botanical art workshop for your bridal party. Designed for bachelorette parties, bridal showers and bridesmaid gatherings, these private experiences offer a thoughtful way to spend time together while creating something by hand.
Working with a curated selection of prepared pressed flowers, you'll explore colour, texture and composition to create individual botanical artworks inspired by your wedding palette.
Each participant creates an artwork to take home as a personal keepsake of the gathering.
Whether you're planning an intimate bridal shower or a creative activity for your bridesmaids, a pressed flower art workshop offers a distinctive alternative to the usual wedding party activities.
Planning a bridal party workshop? Get in touch with your wedding date, location, group size and colour palette to discuss the possibilities
Private and corporate workshops
Private and Corporate Botanical Art Workshops
Bring people together through a hands-on botanical art experience. The August Press offers private flower pressing and pressed flower art workshops for groups looking to learn a new skill, explore creativity and work with natural materials.
Workshops can be discussed for corporate team gatherings, creative retreats, community groups, garden clubs and private celebrations. Depending on your group's interests, choose an art-making session using prepared pressed flowers or a workshop that introduces flower pressing as well as botanical composition.
Each enquiry can be tailored to your event, including the group size, location, available time and preferred workshop format.
To enquire, please include your event date, venue, number of participants and the kind of experience you're looking for.
Learn with Botanical Artist Kate Punnett
Kate Punnett is an Ottawa-based pressed floral artist, educator and founder of The August Press. Her work explores the beauty of local and seasonal botanicals, transforming flowers and foliage into carefully composed works of art.
With a background in sustainable floristry and years of working with flowers from local farms and gardens, Kate brings practical knowledge of plants together with an artistic approach to pressing and composition.
Through The August Press, she creates traditional flower presses and teaches flower pressing across Canada and the United States. She has taught for Slow Flower North America, The American Society of Cut Flower Growers, The Guelph School of Art and at various private events across Ottawa. Her workshops share both the techniques behind the craft and the creative possibilities of working with pressed botanicals.
Whether you're learning to press flowers for the first time or exploring botanical art, Kate's teaching encourages a closer look at the natural forms, colours and details that make each flower unique..
Workshop questions? Here are some answers.
No previous experience is necessary for introductory workshops. Each session is designed around its own learning goals, whether you're creating art with prepared pressed flowers or learning the fundamentals of flower pressing.
Do I need experience to attend a pressed flower workshop?
1
Pressed flower art workshops focus on creating artwork with prepared pressed flowers. Flower pressing and art workshops combine learning how to prepare and press flowers with creating botanical art.
What is the difference between the two workshops?
2
Art making workshops usually take a couple of hours and the pressing + art making workshops take 3-4 hours. Workshop length can be shortened or lengthened deepening on the event parameters.
How long are the workshops?
3
Do you offer workshops in other cities in Ontario or online workshops?
4
Yes! I love to travel for workshops. I have also been hired to run online workshops. Please inquire for more information.