Congratulations to Amanda Duran, our latest Instagram winner! Amanda is a self-taught artist from Sydney, Australia who makes beautiful floral inlay charcuterie boards.
Amanda's passion for entertaining long provided an opportunity to express her creativity, particularly her cheese and fruit charcuterie boards embellished with greenery and edible flowers. Since she was unable to entertain during lockdown last year, Amanda found herself in need of keeping busy. Inspired by her platters, Amanda had the idea to incorporate flowers into wood boards using resin. She says, "These are difficult times, however, they can present opportunity in many ways."
Amanda says: "So began, during our daily walks, the collection of all the beautiful native wattle, bottlebrush and various flowers that our local birds, especially the cockatoos, break off the trees." Amanda decided to press and dry her flowers - though it's a long process, she felt it yielded the best results. She says: "I had flowers all over the place: in books, under bricks, even under our mattress!"
Amanda's husband, who is a carpenter by trade, helps bring her ideas to life, cutting out shapes in acacia wood, which is also native to Australia.
Amanda started to research products and came across ArtResin. She loves that ArtResin is safe for direct food contact once cured, is easy to work with and, as she creates all of her boards in her home, has a low odour. Amanda says: "I love ArtResin. This product has taken my platters to the next level. The clarity really highlights the natural beauty in the flora, which is truly stunning. When a flower is suspended in the resin, it adds so much depth and dimension to my art, and this gives me the confidence to create ... as we Aussies say 'have a go'."
Amanda says: "I would describe my platters as being rustic, uniquely highlighting the beauty and individual character of the native Australian bush flora coupled with the varying wood grain of the Acacia. Especially when paired with some delicious local produce."
Though Amanda hasn't had any formal training, she believes the best way to learn is through hands-on experience. She says, "I found that creating has been great for my wellbeing. I've also started to incorporate flowers into beautiful old fashion cut crystal glasses and platters, which is also stunning. In time, I would love to have a dedicated work space. I’m even dreaming about a room just to dry flowers."
@platterduran65
Congratulations on your win, Amanda!
To celebrate all the amazing artists staying home and creating, every month we will be sending out a 32 oz kit to a couple of artists who have tagged us on Instagram—and we'll share their work with the world!
