The artistic visionary of Botanical Art, Mami Ogata, is a Tokyo native who has resided in Dallas since 1993.
Mami got an early start in her connection to growing things having spent many of her younger years living in the Japanese country side and by the ocean south of Tokyo. She has always been aware of having a keen attachment to nature.
She studied and became a teacher in the Sogetsu school of Japanese flower arranging (ikebana). The training, experience and development of the ikebana aesthetic is evident in Mami’s work, effectively sculpture created from flowers and natural materials
Mami worked for 8 years in the floral design business before starting her own company, Botanical Art, in 2003. She currently focuses on special occasions and weddings and on transforming spaces into the visions of her clients that meet their business or personal objectives.
Mami is competently assisted by her husband JD Driscoll with a degree in theatre and a resume including 7 years at the Dallas Theatre Center under designer Eugene Lee and 6 more years with Dallas celebrity stage designer Peter Wolfe. JD brings set design, lighting and construction expertise to the business. Between the two of them, they can achieve just about anything a client wants to do with flowers to create an environment.
Mami can accommodate a broad range of floral design work, but is most stimulated by the avante guarde & experimental designs and does not hesitate to bring interesting lighting into the mix to create a desired effect, or to design original containers of stone, bamboo or Plexiglas to set off her materials and truly create original designs for her clients.
Mami thrives on the interaction with her clients and the challenge of creating original designs with natural materials that invoke the aura and mood her clients want to establish in their space or at their event.