Helen Ahpornsiri’s Fern Art

WORDS Michaela Stehr IMAGES helenahpornsiri on Instagram

Illustrator Helen Ahpornsiri creates intricate artworks from tiny ferns found in her garden in the East Sussex countryside.

She cuts her plants and leaves into desired shapes before carefully pressing and arranging each plant on paper, creating a collage of interesting creatures and patterns. Her delicate works, each of which is tiny, takes time, concentration and precision.

Helen’s whimsical creations were recently featured on the Instagram blog.

Another detail from the Phylloxera picture ?? #insect #phylloxera #entomology #fern #herbarium

A photo posted by Helen Ahpornsiri (@helenahpornsiri) on Dec 3, 2015 at 2:11pm PST

??? Pressed Fern Hare #hare #fern #pressedflowers #herbarium #leaf #illustration #marchhare #rabbit #nature #wildlife #natural #leaves

A photo posted by Helen Ahpornsiri (@helenahpornsiri) on Dec 27, 2015 at 1:55pm PST

Little Fern Fox with gold finishing ?✨? #fox #pressedflowers #fern #illustration #mini #woodland #nature #herbarium

A photo posted by Helen Ahpornsiri (@helenahpornsiri) on Jan 9, 2016 at 6:19am PST

Experimenting with prints and shiny shiny gold ??✨ #Fern #herbarium #illustration #fish #goldfish #gold #art #pressedflowers #leaves #leaf

A photo posted by Helen Ahpornsiri (@helenahpornsiri) on Jan 14, 2016 at 5:39am PST

I haven’t been able to share much work lately, but I promise I’m busy and there are leaves everywhere! x #fern #illustration #leaves #herbarium #leaf #leafart #pattern

A photo posted by Helen Ahpornsiri (@helenahpornsiri) on Feb 6, 2016 at 9:52am PST

Mini Prints of this chap are now on Etsy! (Link in profile) #reindeer #fern #antlers #deer #nature #illustration #print #giclee #etsy #etsyshop #stag #mini

A photo posted by Helen Ahpornsiri (@helenahpornsiri) on Feb 10, 2016 at 6:49am PST

I’m gilding each of these Giclee prints with 24k gold ✨ They will be on my Etsy store in around a week, by which point my desk may be entirely gold and super shiny. #narwhal #herbarium #fern #gold #gilding #print #giclee #leaf #leaves #illustration

A photo posted by Helen Ahpornsiri (@helenahpornsiri) on Feb 12, 2016 at 7:52am PST

A little original piece included in my studio sale ??? #Fern #illustration #bird

A photo posted by Helen Ahpornsiri (@helenahpornsiri) on Feb 21, 2016 at 7:24am PST

One half of a special Valentines commission I had the pleasure of working on. This little Bear is about an inch and a half in size ?? #bear #mini #illustration #fern #herbarium #leaves #leaf

A photo posted by Helen Ahpornsiri (@helenahpornsiri) on Feb 14, 2016 at 12:56pm PST

Picking out some tiny Fern for the picture I’m working on ??? #fern #leaf #leaves #herbarium #pressedflowers #flowerpress #botanical #garden

A photo posted by Helen Ahpornsiri (@helenahpornsiri) on Feb 16, 2016 at 5:58am PST