I enjoy the challenge of a “foliage only” design as there is so much variety that we become blind to when focusing on flowers for a design interpretation. It is important to check the judging rules for each competition to ensure you know what is considered “foliage” for that particular competition.
Here we could use seeds, lichen, moss, succulents and even flower buds so long as there is no colour (of the flower) showing.
I felt that too much manipulation of foliage for this design would not effectively show a “restlessness” so I have used minimal plaiting/weaving which is often the way a foliage only design is staged.
The structure for this design is one of the wire mesh rings (for the technique click here) that I have attached to a piece of timber as the base.
Around the mesh, placed to allow for the natural weeping of the foliage, is casuarina with a lichen branch set through the circle. Some driftwood and tillandsia are placed at the base of the circle with semi dried woven flax and corn dolly woven reeds (for technique click here).
Woolly bush is at the top of the circle and conifer foliage either side of the base with some dried Norfolk pine along the timber of the base. A few autumnal leaves are scattered through the design for the indication of movement (restlessness).
Judges Comments: A good basic structure showcasing the casuarina in a different way that interprets the class title. The top placement of woolly bush is distracting and too visually heavy as is the large base placement.
Overall there is too much material in this design with nothing that brings the various parts together.
