Interview

Written By Editorial Team

Maria Fika Evelina

Retiring from eighteen years as a professional finance and accounting practitioner, Maria Fika Evelina started her artistic journey in floral design and calligraphy. She is a self-taught Indonesian artist.

By the end of 2020, Fika began focusing on her brand, Flower Getaway and Fikalligraphy. She believes that floral design and calligraphy complement each other.

Through her natural garden style of flower design, she caters to a wide range of flower arrangements, including but not limited to flowers for everyday use, special occasions, weddings, and corporate events. She has received some inspiring feedback from several wedding clients and some prestigious brands such as Cartier, Breitling, Chopard, and Toyota.

In line with her motto to never stop learning, Fika is currently working as a virtual assistant for creatives. The purpose is to help them with routine and monotonous tasks such as administration, bookkeeping, email and calendar management, project management, social media advertising, and much more. This provides creatives with more time to focus on what they love doing—creating.

 

What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?

“I have a Bachelor’s degree in economics, majoring in accounting. While still employed, I decided to follow my passion for arts and crafts by taking various workshops, some over the weekends and others after office hours. After taking countless art workshops both in the country and overseas, I fell in love with three things: calligraphy, flower arranging, and painting, particularly watercolor, gouache and acrylic.

In 2019, I took a break from office work and began to develop my creative skills as a floral designer. I took an informal intensive course at the London Flower School, majoring in wedding and events. I went on to participate in numerous floral workshops to learn from both international and local floral designers.”

What inspires you most?

“My inspiration for flower arrangement comes from the beauty of natural flowers, with their rich color combo, texture and shape. I also get some ideas from Pinterest and from the customers themselves. They share with me their favorite color, flowers, the occasion, the suits and dresses, and their whole concept or wedding theme.”

“Nowadays, the floral designer is more concerned and aware of creating not only beautiful artwork, but also sustainable arrangements, as part of their responsibility to mother nature.”

What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?

“I love creating natural garden-style arrangements, showcasing delicate blooms in soft pastel hues, monochromatic or even bold pantone with sustainable techniques. There’s no hidden message in my work. I just appreciate God’s creation and try to showcase or highlight its natural beauty, without any human manipulation or effect.

I don’t use floral foam for the sustainable arrangement as it is bad for the environment. Instead, I replace it with chicken wire or snow fungus, or other structures that will help strengthen the base of the arrangement.”

How would you describe your work?

“My work is like a melody that is created based on my mood and/or following the mood board that I design for each client. I love experimenting and combining several elements into my artworks. I pay attention to the little details and try to incorporate my client’s personalities into my arrangement, especially for weddings. Every design is unique and personalized. I never duplicate a design for another client.”

Which artists influence you most?

“I have several artists that I look up to, such as Gabriela from La Musa de las Flores, Brigitte Girling from Moss & Stone Floral Design, all of my mentors in London Flowers School (LFS), Joseph Massie, Monaflos, Sue McLeary, Cassel, Contelier, Yuki Yoshikawa, and a few others.”

 What is your creative process like?

“It always starts with the variety of new batches of flowers from the supplier. I am an impulsive buyer. I can scroll for hours choosing the flowers, especially if I find a unique and unusual flower that piques my interest. I mix and match the color palette for the main flowers, the filler flowers, highlight and base flowers. I also decide on the foliage and branches. After that, I arrange the flowers based on color coordination, from bold to pale. Then, I start arranging the flowers using the techniques I’ve learned.

Usually, for any arrangement, I always start with building the solid base first using neutral colors, then layering with flowers of different colors. In my centerpiece or bouquet, I use a minimum of 3 layers. I also put some watercolor techniques into the arrangement, such as grouping for bolder effect, or mixing for less saturated color. I always plan for interesting compositions by determining the highest and lowest point, and not forgetting to applying the negative effect concept to make it more balanced.”

What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?

“Diversity in society, different preferences, choices of flowers, and techniques result in different flower arrangement styles and tastes. Flower arrangement styles are evolving. Many creatives are challenged to deliver an improved service, which in turn gives the designer more room to explore their creativity.”

Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?

“Through my floral business, Flower Getaway, I collaborated with Cartier and Breitling for gifting bouquets and in-store displays during the Christmas of 2021 and the Valentine of 2022. I’ve participated in a live calligraphy event for Cartier during Christmas 2021, and Chopard during the week of Easter 2022.”

 
Editorial Team
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