Although realistic artificial flowers can be documented back to the Queen of Sheba’s biblical visit to King Soloman, the specific Japanese art of hand painted, hand shaped silk flower making, called Somebana, is a relatively new one. Current materials, tools, and methods date only to the 1940s, with numerous printed patterns and resources available if one can read Japanese or Russian. Only a few teachers currently offer training in English. 

These flowers start out as flat, white silk fabric which is stiffened, ironed, hand-cut, hand-painted, shaped with specialized heated tools, and finally assembled into better-than-lifelike adorments for hats and garments. 

The end results of these techniques are breathtakingly beautiful
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