The Pegasus: from a pencil sketch to The Savoy

Every sculpture starts on paper. The Pegasus started in June 2019 as a pencil sketch of a winged horse rearing out of a classical urn, set on a column about one metre high. Nine months later it had stood on the staircase of The Savoy and in the orchid greenhouses of one of the finest growers in Holland.

Where does a flower sculpture begin?

With a drawing, always. The sketch fixes the pose, the scale and the feeling of the piece before a single flower is bought. For the Pegasus, the pose had to read from across a ballroom: the horse thrown back on its hind legs, the wings open, the head turned. The urn and the column lift it to the height of a guest's eye line, so the sculpture is seen, not looked down on.

What holds the flowers?

Under the flowers there is a hand carved form, light enough to travel and strong enough to take thousands of stems. The surface is rough where flowers will cover it and smooth where it stays visible. Nothing in the piece relies on water or floral foam, which is what lets a sculpture travel, stand under hot lights and still look fresh at the end of the evening.

How is it dressed?

Bloom by bloom. White roses build the muscles of the body, cascading orchids pour from the urn, and the wings are laid feather by feather in white. The work is slow by nature and that is the point: from a few metres away the horse reads as one smooth form, and up close every flower is perfect.

The finished Pegasus was photographed at first light above the Mediterranean, the moment the sun came through the wings. Those images and the film made that morning are on the flower sculptures page.

Where was the Pegasus shown?

In October 2019 the Pegasus travelled to London for Bridelux, the symposium that gathers the leading wedding planners and designers. It stood at The Savoy, at the foot of the grand staircase, with the programme moving between The Savoy, The Langham and Two Temple Place.

In March 2020 it crossed to Holland. It was dressed again in white roses, callas and orchids in the greenhouses of Walter Grootscholten, the Orchid Master, for a sponsored shoot, with roses from Meijer Roses, and then shown at the Dutch Wedding Awards.

Could a Pegasus be made for your event?

Yes. Each sculpture is a single piece, drawn for one place and one evening: a wedding, a gala, a hotel or a brand launch. It can be a Pegasus, a swan or any animal or object you have in mind. The commission page explains the four steps, from the first sketch to the evening itself.