These designs are from a demonstration I did in early 2018. I thank the group for inviting me and thoroughly enjoyed my time with them sharing my personal design journey in floral art competitions.
I chose to depict my “past, present and future” floral art competition experience, both in Australia and overseas. Each of the designs was to represent some memorable event or sight from those competitions.
As an aside, we are often told to wear bland colours when demonstrating so our presence does not detract from the design. I am not much of a plain colour person so this can be a challenge, however for this demonstration I decided to change my appearance for each of the designs by simply changing the scarf I was wearing to add impact to the memory I was sharing with the audience. From the feedback afterwards, they loved it. It was definitely a reflection of my character which they also appreciated being shared with them.
So to the designs.
This is my “future” design showing my current preference for minimalist materials with pops of colour.
The structure is a single metal rod covered generously with black sisal. Into this are secured cotton covered wire bundles and vials. These are also wrapped with black wool. The top two placements are metals spiral rods (from a tractor suspension I think) covered with black wool.
Three chrysanthemums in as bright a colour as I could find give the design its colour “pop”.
This is my “past” design showcasing the wonderful time I had in Singapore for the Floral Design Society of Singapore Cup. My memories are filled with the abundance of orchids, palm trees and a fabulous few hours spent on the Singapore Flyer – a massive ferris wheel where you can actually have a fully served dinner in the cabins as they rotate.
The focal area of the design is the fan shaped palm leaf and orchid sprays. These are encased in a beautifully naturally shaped palm spathe with a wire circle covered in bark mirroring the circular shape (for the Flyer) joining the two ends of the spathe.
This is my “present” design showing some of the techniques I had recently learned. It utilises my favourite staging – the wire mesh stand. The stand is made by securing two metal rods into a timber base and then adding wire mesh. In this example I have used two mesh panels from a flat pack laundry basket (of all things!)
Three circles of corflute (plastic coated board used for outdoor advertising signs) are covered with ripped typha (bulrush) with gumnuts placed to cover holes that can also contain vials for water sources. These are a very versatile mechanic to have – I will do a technique post on them separately.
To mirror the shape of the seed pods, I have partially woven wire based shapes with more typha strips. Small seed pods have been strung together to repeat the seedpod placement.
Looking back now, these show just how much our design styles can develop over the years!
