Blending floristry skills with cultural awareness, Ngarrindjeri woman Tanya Karpany is planning to create floral arrangements with significance for Aboriginal people.
Tanya, who is studying floristry at TAFE SA, says her goal is to produce meaningful arrangements for Aboriginal people incorporating plants specific to their country from the desert to the rainforest and everywhere in between.
“I want to specialise in creating arrangements that respect and acknowledge different regions in our country,” she says.
Tanya says she has always wanted to work with flowers and now that her two daughters are at university, she has the time to pursue her passion.
“My dad was an artist and he brought me up with a love of flowers,” she says.
“When he died, I started creating botanical art drawings and watercolours as a way to be close to him but I always wanted to extend my creativity to floristry.”
She is currently researching the Dreaming stories of Indigenous people in other parts of Australia to ensure her arrangements will reflect local culture.
Tanya says she is motivated by the need to provide strength and comfort to Indigenous families, especially in times of grief, and she plans to make funeral arrangements a specialty.
She also practises weaving which she says can be a healing process and she’s looking at ways to include a weaving activity alongside her arrangements.
She is proud of her Ngarrindjeri culture and her connection to Queen Louisa Karpany, who was her Great Great Great Grandmother and Queen of the Ngarrindjeri nation.
“Queen Louisa inspired my interest in weaving, while my favourite flower is Caleana major, the Large Duck Orchid, because it reminds me of growing up by the lake, river and Coorong,” Tanya says.
“My family always spent time by the water camping with relations and taught us about the Ngarrindjeri language and animals.”
She says National Reconciliation Week (27 May – 3 June) has helped to raise awareness about the hurt and injustice experienced by Aboriginal people and she hopes the awareness will continue to grow.
“I work stories into my art like those of the Stolen Generation because it’s important to have that knowledge passed on,” she says.
“It is important to hold onto who we are, our identity and where we are from. The depth of our connection to land ensures the survival of our culture.”