Marie-Laure, Nohô Host in Montpellier: When Nature Becomes a Painting

Some passions begin with a leaf picked up off the ground, a dried petal, or a seed forgotten in a pocket. They grow slowly, almost without us noticing, until they take over the house and fill our days. Marie-Laure is one of those people who have learned to see nature in a new light. In Montpellier, she creates ephemeral botanical artworks, born from walks and spontaneous gestures, which photography captures before they vanish. On Nohô, she shares this unique world, halfway between art and contemplation.

Can you introduce yourself?

I became passionate about creating arrangements. At first, it was with leaves, mostly dried leaves. Then I expanded my work to include dried flowers, and other elements: feathers, seeds. And now I’m focusing more on photography. I create ephemeral artworks, photograph them, and then produce them in various formats, from postcards to A1 size. I’m still exploring; I’m always discovering new techniques and new ideas. Right now, I’m into writing in Chinese, Aramaic, and Russian using leaves. Writing a word like “home.” The range of possibilities seems limitless to me. And then I also create from a spontaneous gesture, and that results in shapes that surprise even me. I recently developed a way to create ephemeral bouquets that I photograph, and it produces something I see in the work of professional photographers. I’m quite happy with my results.

Is this a side hobby or a full-time job?

It’s still a side hobby, but it’s taking up more and more space and time. Space in my apartment, too, because I store all my plants in boxes and jars, and the leaves themselves are folded in thirds. I’m on the lookout for the right furniture to store all the framed posters as well. It takes time, but I’m not complaining. And then I have to go out and collect my flowers and leaves.

Where do you get your raw materials?

I find quite a bit in my garden, and then I go for walks and collect what the trees have given me. Usually, I pick up what has fallen. This involves several trips into nature, and each time it’s a double benefit: I get to walk around and learn something new. I always bring my phone with the Plant Net app to identify the plant, where it comes from, and trace its entire life cycle. I enjoy this just as much as creating paintings.

How do you assemble and secure your creations?

When it comes to art pieces with dried leaves or dried flowers, I glue them down. But I’ve noticed over time that they don’t stay in place: they end up sliding down anyway, because of inertia and gravity. So they change over time. For some people, that’s nice; for others, it’s not what they wanted. That’s what led me to take photos instead.

What do you offer on Nohô?

An encounter, an immersion in my creative process. I can share samples of what I create, explain how I work, and how I conceptualize a composition. It’s a way to step into this plant-based world, to understand how something as simple as a leaf can become a work of art.

When Nature Becomes Art

On Nohô, certain encounters reconnect us with what truly matters. Marie-Laure’s work is one of them: an art born of wandering and movement, where nothing is cultivated to be beautiful, yet everything ultimately becomes so. Scenes that emerge, live for a few hours, and remain in a photograph. An invitation to slow down, to look at what nature offers when we take the time to bend down and pick up a leaf.