I have a number of other posts that show designs for this annual competition.
In each case, as an Impose (or Imposed) we are provided with all the materials – plant, sundries and staging – that are needed. Exhibitors have 3 hours to stage the design using at least 80% of the materials provided and we are not allowed to bring anything with us but cutters, pliers and glue.
The title for the exhibit is given to all exhibitors in a briefing 15 minutes prior to the start of the time allocated. As this is part of a huge annual agricultural show, for the last half of the time allocated the general public can actually watch the designs being completed.
This time the design required was for a country wedding ceremony with staging supplied as a 2m square base with a 2m backboard with two tree stumps and two whole, two broken timber slices. The sponsor for the plant material is a local Australian native flora wholesaler so his additional requirement was that we not use floral foam in the designs. This did not worry me at all as I know native flora does not last well in foam as it clogs the capillaries that should be taking up water.
My plan was to make the stumps the centre of the ceremony, where the couple would stand and later sign the official documents.
As the stumps were too heavy to move, I have used them as a central part of the area with hessian bands tied around to soften their impact.
Xanthorrhoea spikes are tucked into the back of the hessian with a cross bar for stability. I wanted to have this as a pseudo arch but it would have been outside the height limit and there was not enough to keep it stable if I had placed any other plant material on it!
One of the supplied hessian buckets is filled with plant material to look as though it had been collected “wild”. The remaining supplied container is behind one of the broken wood slices with a smaller grouping of plant material. The second broken wood slice is placed on the top of the stump as the “signing” area with a single plant placement and small buttonhole design.
Hessian bows on the stumps are decorated with everlasting daisies and banksia leaves glued to the hessian.
The two whole wood slices are placed in a bed of bark chips for the couple to stand on.
Judges Comments: A compact design that lost points by not utilising the allowed space as well as it could. Placement at the base between the stumps is lost and could have enhanced the height of the design by placement elsewhere.
