The floral art section of this iconic Australian showcase forms part of the Flower and Garden section. It is a multi-day competition with up to 8 competition floral art (decorative) classes at each session. This means that every second day competitors must have their designs ready for judging by 8am with staging not to begin before 10.30pm on the previous day. All night sessions are common as some of the designs are staged 1 metre square by 2 metres in height.
For our designer, Kim, this has been a life long tradition despite in more recent years it meaning a total of over 1300 kilometres of driving to stage designs in each of the 5 sessions of competition. Planning begins almost as soon as the schedule is released with structures being built and tested, plant material nurtured or sourced and work/life balance completely thrown out the window!
Below are all the designs from Kim staged in 2021 with some brief comments by her. Each of them will feature with more detailed information in our Designs section on this website in the coming months.
| Session 1 | |
|---|---|
| Forest Fantasy 1m square x 2m HIGHLY COMMENDED I wanted this to be "fantasical" - something only in our imaginations |  |
| Tangled Beauty 1m square on mesh Originally the sticks were natural colour but got mildewed after heavy rain and could not be cleaned so I painted them with the only colour on hand (black). They are too hard to see in the design as a result. |  |
| Harmonious Company using Australian native flora Cube 60cm THIRD PLACE |  |
| Parallel Petite I don't know why I entered this, I don't like doing petite designs! Tried an intersecting parallel |  |
| Floating Suspended Shape HIGHLY COMMENDED This is another name for a mobile design with emphasis on a defined shape |  |
| Ups and Downs 1metre on plinth FIRST PLACE I enjoy using the plinth as it it a smaller base than the design so you can go down as well as up with the design. |  |
| Floral Gatherings Collage FIRST PLACE Broke with tradition by having a split backing for this interpretation. |  |
| Session 2 | |
| Moment in Twine 1m square on plinth THIRD PLACE Would have like the stringing to go down the side more |  |
| Transparency HIGHLY COMMENDED Wanted to interpret this without using a see through medium so suggested transparency by using the empty frames |  |
| Woven and Wild Foliage Only Tried a few unusual foliage weaving techniques |  |
| Sheer Brilliance Collage SECOND PLACE I actually didn't want to add any plant material as I liked it with just the jute string! |  |
| All Knotted Up 1m square on mesh SECOND PLACE Lots of learning about knots and macrame for this one |  |
| Square Dance 60cm on cube SECOND PLACE Thinking of hay bales and checkered tablecloths |  |
| Session 3 | |
| Glorious Confusion 1m square x 2m Roses must be included I'm not very good with roses - much prefer to use Australian native flora |  |
| Feathers and Roses Made some feathers from rope but still not happy about having to use only roses |  |
| Recycled and Repurposed wallhanging SECOND PLACE Using the Himmeli technique to make a freeform structure with paper catalogues then roses from corn husks and toilet paper roll flowers |  |
| Boxed and Beautiful Roses Once again struggling with only being able to use roses. |  |
| Session 4 | |
| Echoes of the Bush Collage HIGHLY COMMENDED Hoping for the contrast of fire and regrowth |  |
| Branching Out 1m square SECOND PLACE In my happy place with Australian native flora! |  |
| Layers of the Bush HIGHLY COMMENDED About the best use of a cat scratcher I can find 😉 |  |
| Along the Fence Line I suspect I was downpointed for this as the judge would have seen this fence post a few years back. |  |
| Arrangement of Australian Native Floral in Something Other Than A Vase HIGHLY COMMENDED Just a bit of fun as this used to be a class for those who had grown the flora used |  |
| From Nature's Perspective Contemporary |  |
| Horizontally Challenged THIRD PLACE Much discussion between the competitors about the title for this class. Would the judge be looking for a vertical or horizontal design? |  |
| Impose 2m x 2m After working all night, this impose was allocated 3 hours with all material being supplied. The title given at the start of the three hours - Suitable for the Entry to a Country Music Festival |  |
| Session 5 | |
| Rhythmic Overflow 1m square on cube SECOND PLACE Looking to follow the spiral lines of the vase |  |
| Restless Textures Foliage only A break with the traditional way of showcasing foliage and textures |  |
| Jewels in the Crown HIGHLY COMMENDED Just giving this a try - don't particularly like doing floral jewellery |  |
| Beauty and the Beast HIGHLY COMMENDED Repetition and contrast |  |
| Nature Into Art Wallhanging FIRST PLACE Unravelled a placemat to create the structure. |  |
