Wallhangings can be a real challenge to make look “floral arty” without being too craft based. Added to that, this design was to be staged without a backing, meaning that design components could not be glued or attached to a backing but rather the design needed to hang freely against the staging wall. (WALL HANGING DROP 1M X 500MM WIDE, NO BACKING TO BE USED.)
I was gifted a number of interesting gourds some years ago and have not really tried to use them in my designs as the fellow that left them to me was very adept in their use – I didn’t want to be seen as competing with his expertise!
However, when thinking about the title for this class – From the Land – my first ideas were around what is grown as this was part of an agricultural show. Hence the gourds came into use as the “arms” and “spine” for my wall hanging.
Once again this was on a day where only roses could be used as flowers so I kept their inclusion to a minimum and focused on highlighting wheat and the gourds.
The central spine gourd has a hole drilled through the top to allow a small length of timber onto which the two smaller gourds are threaded through their stem. This kept the damage from drilling holes in the gourds to a minimum. Wheat and roses have been placed in existing holes in the gourd arms.
Using paper covered wire as the drops, I have covered vials with wheat stalks for the roses, interspersed with horizontal placements. This is a technique from Hitomi Gilliam where she makes floral “curtains”. You will be able to find it on YouTube.
This design placed second.
Judges Comments: Creative use of items to meet the class title. Use of required staging space (1m drop) not utilised sufficiently. Balance and colour are good.
