✿ Imagined Flower Challenge: My Approach
On 19th May 2025, I joined The Imagined Flower Challenge, hosted by @estee.zales, where artists combined flowers with daily themed prompts.
Rather than simply pair the two elements, I used each prompt as the seed for a children’s book idea, creating named characters, tiny worlds, and mini narratives alongside the illustrations, as a way to develop the relationship between my approach to text and image.
This narrative twist, which I hadn’t seen in the challenge before, made the work feel personal and helped me grow in both writing and illustration.
Instagram post by @estee.zales, 4th May 2025
✿ 𖤣 𖥧 𖡼 ⚘ ✿ 𖤣 𖥧 𖡼 ⚘ ✿ 𖤣 𖥧 𖡼 ⚘ ✿ 𖤣 𖥧 𖡼 ⚘
✿ 𖤣 𖥧 𖡼 ⚘ ✿ 𖤣 𖥧 𖡼 ⚘ ✿ 𖤣 𖥧 𖡼 ⚘ ✿ 𖤣 𖥧 𖡼 ⚘
My Challenge outcomes
✿ Day 1: Flower + Vampire
Viv and Vinnie made a friendship chain, so long that there were no daisies left in the garden.
✿ Day 2: Flower + Cheese
“Look, Ziggy! That cloud looks like a bunch of flowers!”
Said Max, smiling up at the sky.
“Hmmm…I just see a cheese platter. See? Cheddar on the right and Brie straight ahead!”
✿ Day 3: Flower + Robot
Today, Nia wanted to show Fib the sunflowers at the bottom of the garden.
She reached up and pulled one down for him to touch, and for the first time, he felt warm inside.
✿ Day 4: Flower + Pencil
Charlie was feeling nervous.
What if no one at her new school liked the same things she did?
✿ Day 5: Flower + Shoe
Betty didn’t believe in “saving things for best.”
She wore her best shoes every day.
✿ Day 6: Flower + Bird
The bouquet toss caused chaos! Not because they wanted to get married, but because there were pink wild peonies and everyone knew those were in this season.
✿ Day 7: Flower + Letter
Poppy always takes the longest route to the post box, so that she can whizz through the wonderful wild flowers.
❀ Challenge highlights
I was honoured to have my pieces featured in Estee’s challenge highlights and on her Substack Journal Rash (which you can subscribe to here).
Estee herself took a unique approach with her Imagined Flower Encyclopedia - worth checking out if you haven’t seen it yet!
One of my challenge pieces has even bloomed into the beginnings of something new (which I will share more about soon! ✨)
