Georgia O-Keefe said, “When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your whole world for the moment.” And Elena's world is most definitely flowers.
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Meet Elena, an artist who creates “soft things for hard times”. Using textiles, sculpture and painting, she creates hyper-feminine surreal worlds, weaving ancient mythologies and a delicate naivety, evoking a sense of childhood wonder, primal curiosity and innate magic.
The natural world is key to Elena’s creativity, she says “Nature has always been a temple for my imagination, a place of wonder, play, and the quiet magic of whispering flowers, trees, and mosses. Some of my earliest and most foundational memories were in the garden, making elaborate fairy houses among the lilies of the valley, the hyacinth, and beneath the lilac bush.”
Inspired by this wonder and whimsy, Elena transformed her bedroom into her very own indoor garden. Part art installation, part functional bedroom, Elena used The Song of Summer collection’s prairie prints to create her vision. The GARDENIA wallpaper and BELTANE fabric depict plants native to both our homes, Britain and America, and their painterly, hand-rendered style is perfectly at home surrounded by Elena’s winsome art.
“With House of Hackney’s lush botanical wallpaper, the space has become a true oasis—like living inside the world I once imagined. My soft sculpture flowers feel deeply at home here, cut from the same cloth and spirit—rooted in reverence for the wild, the beautiful, and the surreal.” - Elena
Bejewelled fronds climb door frames, beaded petals adorn the walls, and over the bed, vines and buds cascade to form an enchanting canopy.
“Throughout my life, no matter how deep into my art practice I go, I continue to return to my bedroom as a central creative space. There’s something sacred about making work in the same place where you dream—it echoes the tiny worlds I built as a child.” - Elena
Against a backdrop of wild violets, bellflowers and trout lilies, Elena created a meadow of her iconic plush flowers, recalling the fairy-filled reveries of her youth. In vivid reds, soft pinks and buttery yellow, the petals bloom from stems crafted from our 100% hemp BELTANE fabric. Bejewelled fronds climb door frames, beaded petals adorn the walls, and over the bed, vines and buds cascade to form an enchanting canopy under which to dream.
Evidence of Elena’s artistry is woven throughout every aspect of her space, from the hand-embroidered floral headboard to the larger-than-life fabric sculptures. ‘Reclining in Flowers’, the alluring oil painting from her ‘Soft-Cœur’ show, hangs above an antique Chinese dresser and a selection of other artworks - of woodland sprites, wild blooms and curiosities - pepper the room. Georgia O-Keefe said, “When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your whole world for the moment.” And Elena's world is most definitely flowers.
Follow Elena on Instagram @elenastonaker
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