Erin Gleeson
CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS
Erin Gleeson
is the New York Times–bestselling cookbook author and artist behind the lifestyle brand The Forest Feast.
An absolute embodiment of natural abundance, Erin’s work and recipes reflect a joyous appreciation of flora, family, creativity, and community. When we first saw Erin’s books and her vibrant artwork a few years ago, her proclivity for colorful botanical apparel and lush outdoor settings jumped off the page, too, and we knew we’d come across a kindred spirit. And in person, Erin is just as kind, gracious, and generous as the tone of her cookbooks and blog.
After working in New York as a food photographer, Erin left the city for a cabin in the woods, which took her work in a whole new direction. Inspired by local California produce, she has now created five vegetarian cookbooks and a line of products that showcase her unique blend of photography overlaid with watercolor illustrations and hand lettering.
Erin’s goal is to inspire people to be creative at home, to cook more with vegetables, and to share meals together. She lived in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California with her husband Jon and their three kids for many years, the location that inspired so many of her books, before moving to Madison, Wisconsin.
Erin’s latest book, The Forest Feast Road Trip, is about her culinary road trip through California (spring 2022). Her work has been featured in publications including The New York Times, Huffington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Food52, O, The Oprah Magazine, InStyle, MindBodyGreen, and People Magazine.
Where you can find Erin
What are your earliest memories involving flowers?
As a small child, I remember getting in trouble for picking all the flowers in the backyard at my aunt’s house when the grownups weren’t looking! I just loved them so much, and still do. I now see my 3-year-old daughter wanting to pick flowers everywhere we go and I get it!
What were some of the major points along the trajectory of your botanical-related work?
My mom is an amazing gardener and has always loved and grown flowers, so I am sure it started with her. On walks, she’ll point out flowers and tell me what they are called. She loves vintage floral patterns and always used them around the house growing up (still does!) in her wallpaper, dishes, bedding, curtains, etc. Lots of those sort of vintage dusty rose type prints.
Can you share a bit about the flowers & botanicals that grow in places you’ve lived?
I grew up on an apple orchard and there’s nothing like the look and smell of the apple blossoms blooming in spring! It’s magical, even as the petals fall off the trees and cover the ground in a dusting of white. That scent takes me immediately back to the orchard!
Another scent that transports me is jasmine. I went to college at UC Santa Barbara where vines of it grew everywhere. I now have some on my deck in the woods and everytime it blooms, the scent takes me right back to riding my bike around campus. Here in the woods we have a few camellia trees blooming pink and red. This year they bloomed from January to June and I loved every minute!
What drives your creativity?
Nature! Especially plants and trees full of fruit and flowers. I am always scoping out what’s blooming and growing in the woods near where we live, and as I drive around town. A couple days ago I did a u-turn to go back to a bush I saw growing at a gas station. It was sprawling with dense orange blooms and I had to take a photo for pattern inspiration in the textiles I’m currently creating.
I am constantly using flowers to style the photos I am taking, especially when I’m shooting my cookbooks. I love to use flowers alongside plates of food and incorporating edible flowers into dishes and cocktails. I love color, and I think flowers are a vehicle for that. Flowers can be especially helpful in styling food that is brown and uninteresting.
I often photograph flowers, scan flowers, and watercolor paint flowers to add to my photo layouts and textile designs. My fabric designs and cookbook layout are almost always a collage of photographed items and painted items, combined. I put these collages on lots of items in my shop like cheese boards, table cloths, clothing, art prints, and olive oil. I also recently did a wine collab with a local winemaker and designed their spring Sauvignon blanc label.
What role do botanicals & flowers play in your life, and what benefits do they provide for your emotional and mental well-being?
Our house is surrounded by redwood trees and I think they provide a sort of calming effect that can make space for creativity and ideas to come, especially when I am able to spend time outdoors. I have 3 little kids and the house can often feel messy and chaotic. But if I have a vase of flowers on the dining room table, it makes everything feel better. I buy flowers often at the grocery store or farmers market, but I often also pick things. Since my brand is called The Forest Feast, people always ask if I forage in the woods. I do not — I drink cocktails in the woods — but I do pick all kinds of things outside for bouquets! I love living in a place where I can walk outside and find something pretty to put in a vase many months of the year.
“Create something that you love,
because if it’s authentic to you,
other people will inevitably be drawn to it.”
How do you think flowers & nature can help people create more community?
Sometimes I think we could solve everything by putting a vase of flowers on the table and inviting people over for dinner! I am a big believer in the idea that eating together can create community. My books try to use colorful vegetarian food as the vehicle to gather people.
Meeting at parks and restaurants is great, but inviting people into your home creates a unique opportunity to get to know each other more intimately. Meaningful conversations will be sparked that may not as easily happen elsewhere. To see where your friend, coworker, or acquaintance lives and to eat their food creates an understanding of their background and family and creates more opportunities for empathy moving forward in your interactions with them and in the community.
So with my products and books, I’m hoping a new floral tablecloth or a new recipe idea will inspire people to cook and gather!
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given that’s helped shape your work?
My literary agent encouraged me early on to follow my gut when making decisions, which is a good reminder to come back to when you’re in the middle of it all and things feel cloudy.
What does abundance mean to you?
Lots of mismatched color and pattern, all mixed together! It brings me joy and makes everything feel more fun.
What advice would you share with others who are beginning to develop their creative styles?
Just allow yourself to experiment without wondering what it will turn into, or what the end product will be. Play around and create something that you love, because if it’s authentic to you, other people will inevitably be drawn to it and your audience will find you.
What would you create with flowers if you had unlimited resources?
I would plant an epic cutting garden with tons of year-round flowers to pick! I would also expand my line of floral dresses and tablecloths. (Currently working on that!!)
Image credits: Erin Gleeson
Handpicked
A few of Erin’s favorites…
Favorite flowers
Dahlias, peonies, nasturtium, gardenias, and jasmine. But I also really love carnations for their vibrant color, affordability and long-lasting nature – I probably buy them more than any other flower.
Favorite season
Late summer turning to fall has less fog and better sunsets here in the woods. The temperature is often perfect and we are able to be outdoors a lot. It’s also the time of the Jewish high holidays, which feels so festive at our house with big meals and hosting friends and family. I also love an end-of-summer vegetable garden bounty and want to paint and photograph everything we harvest.
Current inspiration
I’m very inspired right now by the brand La Double J. I love their overload of color and pattern and their mission to “raise your vibration.” Also love Farm Rio’s maxi dresses, Oscar de la Renta’s floral dresses (especially this nasturtium one) and all things Jungalow.
Favorite floral patterns
I collect floral maxi dresses. My favorite ones have long sleeves and bold, warm colors.
Current color obsessions
Pinks, reds, oranges.
Your last great read
I recently enjoyed This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub.
Favorite botanical destinations
Every spring I love going out to Half Moon Bay on the ocean near where we live to see the fields of yellow mustard. I also love to see the poppies blooming in the Santa Cruz Mountains at Russian Ridge Preserve, about 10 minutes from our house. And in San Francisco at Golden Gate Park, I love the huge patches of nasturtium.
Creative hobbies you’re into
I’m currently into making garlands of dried flowers (straw flowers) to hang in the kitchen.
Thank you so much, Erin!
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