She Let Me Pick Her Passion Flowers

Mrs. Darlene Mae Millard Spratlin had a beautiful style of pressed-flower artwork, much different from mine. She used more whole flowers, brighter colors and was very precise, as you can see in her picture above.

Mrs. Spratlin helped set me on the right road when I first started pressing flowers. She introduced me to the microwave flower press. She taught me what kind of glue to use and how much. She taught me the proper way to pick violas and answered many of my questions. She tried to teach me how to be organized, but I didn’t do so well there. She would also let me come over to pick her passion flowers. Mrs. Spratlin was our neighbor and a good one too. She let me come down and borrow things I needed, but often she just gave them to me. She even gave my brother her lawnmower and hired him to cut her grass while she was selling her house.

One of the best things she did for me was to introduce me to the World Wide Pressed Flower Guild. She hosted the first WWPFG conference I attended, which was held walking distance from my house. I also rode with her and another friend to the last WWPFG conference, which was held in Tennessee.

Mrs. Spratlin died the day after Christmas 2009. I was glad to have had the time with her that I did have. I’m glad to know I’ll see her in Heaven, but I, like many others, will miss seeing her here on Earth.