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College of North West London digital art assistant to display work in US
A DIGITAL art assistant won a prestigious photography award with pictures of humans formed of flowers - which will become part of a transatlantic exhibition.
Catlin Harrison, 37, who works at the College of North West London in Dudden Hill, Willesden, scanned in various plants, leaves, reeds and stalks into her computer and used image editing software to combine the resulting pictures to create colourful characters which she has named 'The Flora Gods'.
The collection is made up of eight plant people, two for each season of the year, in which she only used specimens flowering at that particular time.
Catlin took a year to complete the project, using such a high quality scanner that when magnified, insects can be seen on the foliage.
Her most popular Flora God comes in the summer form of 'Avia Grannyfolia', a vivid impression of a grandmother complete with walking stick, shrug and hat. "Grannyfolia is dedicated to my late grandmothers because both were keen
gardeners," said Catlin.
"I hated gardening as a kid because they used to drag me round garden centres, which was really boring, but it obviously influenced me," said Catlin.
It is that influence which has now helped Catlin win in October the creative digital category of the 2009 Windland Smith Rice International Award that celebrates nature's best photography.
Catlin's prize is to have her Flora Gods exhibited at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC, the capital of the US between for six months until May 2010.
"The Windland Smith Rice Award is totally unexpected, as there were tens of thousands of images submitted," said Catlin.
"So I feel extremely honoured to have my work shown in such a prestigious place as the Smithsonian Museum.
"I'm awed to be in such good company."
She plans to visit Washington to see the exhibition next Easter.
Catlin's achievements have not ended there as last month the very same images were awarded a silver gilt medal from the Royal Horticultural Society Autumn Harvest Show in London.
The most baffling part of 'Flora Gods' is that she never used a camera even though her work is considered photography.
Catlin said: "Some people think the definition of photography is using a camera.
"But for me it is about the use of light. In Greek, photography means 'drawing with light'."
This month she will begin work on her next project, a series of scans which reflects the theme of the seven deadly sins.
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