The Tree of Life

‘'Art is partly communication, but only partly. The rest is discovery.'' William Golding

I met a flower artisan and we talked about his art. Romeo is a 22-year-old inspiring flower artist and the owner of the brand named Tree of Life. Cameroonian from the Ocean department, South region, he currently lives in Yaounde and his work consists of assembling different materials to form a treelike-shape of flowers. A friend introduced him to this art and now I have him unravel the secrets of his artistry. We met in his workshop and I had the opportunity to ask questions regarding this type of art he specializes in. I also got the chance to know more about his life as well as prospective projects regarding his art. Here is the story of this young talented man I am so proud to unveil to the public!

Unraveling The Tree Of Life

‘‘Although you might think that I named my creations after the famous story of Adam and Eve, it has more to do with my philosophies than anything else does. To me, life means happiness, beauty, and joy so I design my creations accordingly; I want them to bring people more happiness, beauty in their environment and joy; hence the name tree of life.’’

‘‘The fabrication of one tree of life requires a combination of different essential materials: organic branches, synthetic flowers, paints, recycle pot and wrap papers. I use branches from some specific trees, and I process them before paint and add flowers. The whole process in making one product can take about four days: you have to wait on the paints to dry on the branches before you mount flowers. Then after, you have to wait again on the whole thing to dry, and then it's ready to display and for sale.’’

‘‘Down the road, the tree of life is a potted flower and can be used as an interior decorative item in houses, the exterior of business facilities and terraces.’’

The Tree of Life, Art craft by Romeo

The Debuts

‘‘A friend introduced me to this art one year ago and as I started, my only drive was for the sake of art: to create beauty. Later on, having people appreciate what I do became what keeps me ticking. I think I owe that friend of mine a lot and wherever further this activity brings me, I shall take him on my wings. Everyone who sees my art is impressed, and that empowers me to perfection.’’

‘‘The most of my audience and clientele are feminine; I noticed women are naturally attracted to beauty and emotional things more than men - at least when it comes to what I do or art in general - men might also be attracted but the most sensitive remain women bottom line.’’

‘‘I am not just passionate about making trees of life; I consider myself a full artist even though I may not be famous. I write poems, I am fond of art, everything that I can use to convey beauty. Some time ago, I wrote a book of poems and got help from my teachers at school for proofreading and critics. I hope that someday I can save enough money to publish it.’’

‘‘My family has been so supportive of me since I started my activity in manufacturing and selling the tree of life. They always have been supportive whenever I started something that can generate income. I was born and raised in a family of merchants. I was still a toddler and my mother taught me my first business lesson. Being in this kind of family made me start my business very easy, although their support is not financial: Time to time, they give me advice, tricks, and tips to hone my creations.’’

Dark clouds, Business

‘‘Obviously, as in any human activity, I face challenges and difficulties doing what I do; the most familiar ones range to technical and human interaction issues. As for technical issues, sometimes I run out of raw materials like branches or quality paints that prove difficult to find on the market and this impedes me working until I fix the situation. The human interactions issues usually show up on the selling places: someone passing by can mischievously shove your items and never bother to apologize. Nevertheless, it doesn't stop me from doing what I do, and usually, I consider their behavior an act of ignorance of the value of my work.’’

‘‘I don't make a living out of selling trees of life, not that the business is unattractive but the scale of my activity isn't that critical to claim any big turnover. Besides, I still live with my family to feel pressure for money. I sell on public places like markets and sometimes I hover at public servants' offices. I usually display my products where I can get the most of impressions or I carry them in hands and look up prospective clients around. Even though I don't make a living out of it, I make a profit and what I gain helps me afford some good things a young man my age would love: sneakers, clothes, gadgets and such, and it enables me to support some household expenses when necessary.’’

Envisioning A Bright Future

‘'I am not after fame. However, on a business note, participating in art exhibitions could be a great occasion to network prospective clients.''

‘‘I sell one piece of art F CFA 3,500 (approx. € 5.33). I'm looking forward to opening a grand gallery for my art which actually would be a workshop. There would be a catalog and clients could pick out a model from it, they could add or remove some touches, then my team and I would work based on their preferences to deliver a tailor-made tree of life.’’

‘‘I have never been to an art exhibition - by the way, I am afraid of attending such events because they're the best way to get you on a spotlight - and it is exactly what I avoid: I am not after fame. However, on a business note, participating in art exhibitions could be a great opportunity to network prospective clients. I am even open about shipping my products worldwide if given the opportunity.’’

Thank you for reading through to here, I hope you enjoyed and learned something inspiring from this unique story. Stay tuned for more to come and please, leave your thoughts on his work down below, on the comments section!

Best.