DEMONSTRATION FOR VERMONT FLORAL ART GROUP

 

Lucy and I after the demo

Hello all,

Last Wednesday I had the privilege to be the guest demonstrator for the Vermont Floral Art Group at a fundraising event. Proceeds were to go to the Cancer Council.

Lucy, my beautiful assistant, and I arrived bright and early at the venue and unloaded from the car materials and containers for eight arrangements. We were very warmly welcomed by the president, Marion Goldsmith, the committee and members. 

We began our demonstration at the completion of their meeting with the 'Basic Upright' arrangement, being the very first lesson of our curriculum. I haven't included a photograph of that for obvious reasons.

I was not able to take photographs at the venue without intrusive backgrounds so I reset them up at home and photographed them. With the luxury of time I was able to fine tune them before photographing. 

In my arrangement, below, I used a triangular, glass vase with another glass cylinder inside it, filled with cotoneaster berries. When filled with water the berries are reflected on either side. The camellia bud was a necessary element.

Below is a simple arrangement using umbrella grass and orange, cotoneaster berries in a ceramic container.

The arrangement, below, is proof positive of my inability to let go of things, even a broken vase. I tried throwing it in the bin but changed my mind and brought it back inside. I wasn't happy with my first attempt because the space between the two pieces was filled by the dried branch. I was happier when I reduced the branch and just added the crinkly aspidistra.

The next arrangement was a lesson in trimming. The mahonia branch was much bigger and a number of large side branches had to be removed to reveal the lines of the stems and to create space. At the demo I had used the one and only arum lily from my garden however, when I set it up at home I added the sunflowers instead and trimmed a few more leaves.

The next photo is of the lesson 'Fruit and Vegetables'. The glass plate had holes through which I fed skewers attached onto kenzans underneath. I then pushed the vegetables over them. In the interest of full disclosure, it was not as easy as it sounds. The weight of the vegetables was such that it bent the skewers so I had to add supports for them to stay upright.

I wanted to use the basket which I had made using a palm inflorescence but I did not want to crowd it with materials. I wanted the basket to be the main feature. The two branches of Banksia Lemanniana seemed to fit the bill.

Another material that didn't make it to the bin was a bunch of these white, plastic strips. As I was about to put them in the bin an idea came to me on how to use them. So, here's an example of the lesson 'Both Fresh and Unconventional Materials.

For my finale I wanted to use for the first time my brand new container, a birthday gift from my cousin and his wife. I had used a varnish with some colour on the palm pod as its colour was too similar to the container. A vertical fixture held it up and the monstera deliciosa leaf and sunflowers, wedged in tightly, also added stability.

After our demonstration it was time for lunch. I took one look at the sumptuous buffet prepared by the ladies and realised that resistance was futile. So, to my shame, I overindulged.

Bye for now,

Emily