MASTERCLASS # 19

 

Hello all,

At Saturday's masterclass I provided each participant with a large glass container (70 cm high) in the shape of a martini glass. I had bought 25 of these vases 13 years ago to use as centrepieces for my son's wedding. With the help of my sisters and sisters-in-law, we created arrangements using a monstera deliciosa leaf with a long stem placed inside the vase, so that the veins of the leaf were visible to the guests and the long stem rose upwards. We filled the cavity that was created by the leaf with masses of white alstroemeria. The effect was of giant martinis.

Unfortunately, the only photo taken by the photographer is the one below. I apologise for the quality but it is a photo of a photo.

I also provided each participant with two different materials and asked them to make a table centrepiece arrangement for a function.

This exercise comprised three themes - 'To be viewed from below', 'Glass Containers' and 'To be Viewed all Round'. It occured to me, albeit too late, that I should have photographed the arrangements from below, from which we could see better inside the glass container.

I make a point of making an arrangement of whichever theme I set my senior students. I feel it's important to challenge myself as well as the students.

I made the arrangement above using umbrella grass and aloe flowers that I found growing by the roadside. At first glance one might think that I bent the umbrella grass but I didn't. I cut them and wired each group, diagonally creating interesting lines at eye level of the guests. Also, if I had just bent them, the stems would have been out of water.

Christine used Kashmir Cypress (Cupressus cashmeriana) along the rim of the container like a lacy curtain and massed the aloe flowers just above.

Cym, also, used Kashmir cypress around the rim of the container but created some height  with a couple of the stems. Her flowers were bottle brush (Callistemon citrinus), which she massed to one side and, because it was to be viewed all round, she placed a small number on the opposite side.

Lei opted for a more minimalist look, using only the aloe flowers, whose stems created interesting angles inside the container. She added accent with one umbrella grass which she trimmed into the shape of a pin wheel.

Lucy, as is often the case, decided to go high but she paid particular attention to the placement of the roses inside the container to make sure they were not 'squashed' together and that the stems and leaves were pleasantly arranged.

This was not an easy exercise, one of the difficulties being the dropping of bits of materials at the bottom of the conical vase. As this would have been at the guests' eye level it was important to keep it pristine. We employed a number of tools to retrieve them. I produced tongs, Lucy suggested piercing with wire and Cym produced a mini vacuum cleaner with a thin nozzle, photo, below.

At Wednesday's class Shaneen's theme was 'Relief Works'. On a pale green board, she attached dried elk horn, which she sprayed copper, dried cycad leaves and one dried leucadendron.

Lei made an iris arrangement using Louisiana iris, the only ones she had available. She had to use leaves from flag iris to arrange in the traditional way. She placed a small sprig of Japanese maple to finish the arrangement.

I found this large monstera deliciosa flower in the garden, that had to be plucked and arranged. Not an easy thing as it is heavy and has a short stem. It, also, doesn't penetrate the kenzan very well. So, I decided to create interest with the leaves, cutting away half of each and then trimming them into triangles. The arrangement looks rather flat in the photo but it isn't in reality. The lower leaf extends forward.

Bye for now,

Emily