MASTERCLASS #10

 

Hello all,

For today's Masterclass I provided the participants with a number of agapanthus stems with the flower heads cut off. I also gave them a variety of accompanying materials and allowed them to choose a container. I asked them to make the agapanthus stems the dominant part of their arrangement.

The arrangement, above, is my example of the exercise. I wired the stems at the bottom and, again, at the very top to keep them in place. Then I added the stem of Kamo-honnami camellia through the structure.

Akemi used her stems out of water, which is fine because they can last quite a while without water. She also used a large loquat branch and some agapanthus flowerheads, clustered in the centre of her structure. The container she used, except for the colour, is the same as the one I used. They are very useful because their curved shape adds stability, which other containers of similar size would not have.

Christine used a container with spits on both sides and fed the stems through. She completed this dynamic arrangement with oranges on stems, which are not in water but made sure to remove the leaves, which would have wilted very quickly.

Jenny used a large container with many holes, which, she discovered, is not as easy to use as she at first thought. Regardless, she persevered and she, too, created a dynamic arrangement, using the stems sharply on one side and strips of gymea leaves curved on the other. The pomegranate stems added curved lines in contrast to the sharp, straight ones, and the fruit, a focal point.

Ok, so I'm going to have to use this word 'dynamic' again because I can't think of a better one to describe Lucy's arrangement, below. She used five stems and one, large, Green Goddess lily, just unfurling, in a large, ceramic container.

So, for Vicky's arrangement I looked up the thesaurus for a synonym to 'dynamic' but, amongst the many words, I could find none that were accurate. So, I'm back to dynamic. She used the Siberian dogwood stems around the agapanthus stems, which she clustered together, creating a much stronger line. The hakea flowers, stripped of their leaves, added colour and form.

Bye for now,

Emily