About the artist
"Flowers have always fascinated me—not just their physical forms, shapes, and colours, but also their symbolism and meaning."
Lorna Freytag is an artist based in Oban, on the northwest coast of Scotland. She works with pressed flowers to create human forms, exploring the connection between people and nature.
Originally from Edinburgh Lorna studied at Gray’s School of Art and her work has taken her to New York, Sydney, London, and Dubai.
Her journey into flowers began during her recovery from breast cancer. Seeking a calming activity, she turned to flower pressing—a peaceful, mindful process that became both meditative and creatively inspiring
Lorna hand-collects and presses most of the flowers herself, often from her garden or those of neighbours and family. She uses traditional methods, pressing blooms between layers of paper and allowing time to work its magic. Imperfect flowers are embraced for their character—the ones that brown or fade—because they tell the real story of nature and change.
Artist Statement
Like flowers, Lorna’s work holds many layers of meaning. The shapes of her larger pieces, titled Floral Souls, are a reference to herself—her shadow on a sunny day. They are a simple, honest reflection of being present in nature.
For Lorna, these figures, and her portraits, also capture how she feels when she’s outside in a quiet forest or a peaceful garden—calm and grounded. Living in the Scottish Highlands, there is inspiration everywhere.
At a deeper level, the flowers represent us as people, our memories, emotions and the passing of time. They’re ever-changing, impermanent, varied, and not all are perfect. Just like us, the flowers will eventually fade leaving behind something quietly beautiful.