Class Title: Over the Edge – Autumn Delights
Staging: hebel brick on bench, space allowed 70cm width with height unrestricted, brick may be placed at any angle on the bench, design should extend over the edge of the brick and may extend over the edge of the bench, judged from front and sides.
A new staging style for me – using a hebel brick that can be placed in any direction as the base for the design. for those of you unfamiliar with this type of brick, it is a lightweight composite material similar to styrofoam (although much heavier and thus more stable as a base).
I decided to have the brick angled upwards and have my design trailing over the edge of the brick and the display bench. Most other competitors placed the brick tall with their designs coming over the top edge of the brick and down the face of the brick.
I had previously made an autumn leaf covered container (see technique here) that forms a perfect cone for the foliage and flowers of the banksia that are abundant in autumn here. This was placed with the flat side on the brick to allow the opening to have dry foam inserted for the placement of the plant material. The brick was kept at raised from the bench by placing some rocks underneath one end.
For my plant material, I selected branches that already had a few twists and turns so that the placement would indicate that they were tumbling out of the container and down the side of the brick and bench. Loose autumn leaves were scattered through the front of the design to link it to the container and the rocks (same colours) below the brick. Additional dried leaves were strung onto wire for placement and twisting through the front of the design.
For judging the design was placed at a slight angle to the front of the bench to highlight the existing depth of the design when viewed from the sides.
Judging feedback: The judge was impressed with the different approach and the plant material used for both the focal area and the container. He suggested that the container made him think of a cornucopia which would have needed an abundance of plant material cascading from it.
