Using a vivid imagination and a sharp eye for gathering plants, Bridget Beth Collins turns relics of nature into beautifully lush collages that form delightfully whimsical scenes.

The Pacific Northwest artist forages materials for her pictures from the area surrounding her Seattle home and arranges the pieces into intricate shapes that create a distinctive sense of depth. With her touch, flower petals can transform into regally feathered birds, berries can become sea creatures, and leaves can turn into human faces.

Collins’ love of nature was fostered at a young age, when she traipsed through magnificent mountain meadows during backpacking trips and let her imagination run free in her backyard every afternoon. She pretended she was a fairy and gathered plants to press in books at home. Now, as an adult, Collins continues to be inspired by nature. She says ideas for new pictures constantly jump out at her as she goes about her day. “I go for a walk in my neighborhood or bring a bouquet home from the market and I see a whale’s tail in a shamrock leaf, or a snake’s scales in the sedum,” she says.