Bouquets to Art 2013 - "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue"

BOUQUETS TO ART 2013

Exhibitor:  Jenny Tabarracci AIFD, City College of San Francisco

Assistants:  Imelda Iraeta, Sungmum Ryu, David Cushing

Artist:  Richard Diebenkorn

Artwork:  Miller 22, 1951

"Something Old"

These garlands of abaca black mesh, pearls, silver beads and decorative wire were used 4 years ago in an AIFD presentation and ISES event.  I consider this my "Something Old" in the design.  I packed and stored them and was able to use them for the third time for Bouquets to Art this year.  The mesh comes in a roll and originally came from Accent Decor.  You can also buy it at Shibata at the San Francisco Flower market in different colors.  It was cut in half and shaped into garlands with decorative accents.  This is a great mechanic that can be used over and over again.  This was the main mechanic that held the Bouquets to Art design together.  It was attached to the metal stands with black cable ties.

 

"Something New"

The design concept, combination of materials and the way they are used represents the "Something New".   The materials were chosen because in my eye they portrayed a similar feeling and characteristic as the shapes, colors and lines of the painting.  I was also influenced by the other paintings in the room and wanted to create a design that would blend well.  I designed the materials in an organic repetitious fashion with lots of depth, layering and circular motion.  The floral materials used in this design were silver dollar eucalyptus, tillandsia and anthuriums.  The anthuriums were the only material that had a water source which was a water tube sprayed black. 

Detail work through out the entire design.

 The floral design was also inspired by the art work of Robert Motherwell titled "At Five in the Afternoon"

 Prep work for the silver dollar eucalyptus garlands.  Leaves are cut off branches, put in piles and then strung on black 12 gauge aluminum wire with a stacking technique.  The wire is curved tightly at the beginning and end of each section so the materials will not slip off.

 

Silver dollar eucalyptus garlands completed in different sizes. Then attached to metal frames and mesh with black cable ties.  Garlands sculpted around and into the design for final technique.

"Something Borrowed"

I borrowed these metal stands from the Retail Floristry Department at City College.  You can buy them at Accent Decor.  They are the frame work to the design.  Holes were drilled at the base and secured with screws into custom pedestals made out of plywood.

"Something Blue" 

Blue "Co-Flex" a cohesive flexible bandage was used to wrap around the metal frames.  This is something I came across riding horses.  It is used in the horse world regularly and comes in all different colors.  It works well in floral design and does not need glue.  The painting has small accents of blue and I wanted to portray the same effect with the floral design.

Metal frames were first wrapped with the blue Co-Flex and then the mesh was added with black cable ties.  This was the key mechanic to the design.  The mesh really held everything together.

 

Sometimes it takes two people to get the mechanic just right.

Thank you to my assistants Sun, Imelda and David! Hope everyone had a chance to see the show.  Many, Many amazing designs!  Congratulations to all!

Design Supplies

Black abaca mesh, water tubes sprayed black, jewels, beads, pearls from Accent Decor, blue Co-Flex, black cable ties, black 12 gauge aluminum wire, black and silver 24 gauge decorative wire.

American Floral Trend "Garden Club"

 

City College of San Francisco Student AIFD Chapter along with 12 other SAIFD Chapters were requested to create designs for the 2012-2013 American Floral Trends Forecast program.  The program was presented at the American Institute of Floral Designers National Symposium in Miami, Florida on July 15, 2012. The program was presented and led by Talmage McLaurin who is the publisher of Florists' Review Enterprises.  Each college had a student representative present the design on stage with Talmage.  Julie Harris spoke about the " Garden Club" container design and Oxana Sanukova spoke about the "American Gypsy " wedding bouquet .   These American Floral Trends of Rural Route, Garden Club, Sea to Shining Sea, American Gypsy and New Victorian were also explained and shown in the January, 2012 issue of Florists' Review magazine.  http://www.floristsreview.com/home

The biggest challenges for us were conceiving a fresh and innovated design that translated the Trend and getting the props and mechanics to another state.   Each college was provided the concepts, color swatches,  possible flowers combinations and elements for their Trend.  The concept for "Garden Club" is a progressive and modern approach to the local garden clubs of America.  Think in terms of micro and vertical plantings, modernized garden tools, colorful garden boots, gilded wood, spheres and stylized birds to name a few of the Trends characteristics. Below is the process of the design in the workroom at Miami. The students did a phenomenal job working individually and as a team.  I had a smile on my face from ear to ear during the program.  It was so exciting and joyful to see all the students interact with Talmage on stage.   This was a wonderful experience for everyone.

 Julie Harris and Imelda Iraeta (above)

Brightly colored garden hoses are available to the consumer in many hardware and garden stores.  We decided this would be a fabulous prop and material to use in the design.  The hose was sculpted in a sphere using matching cable ties.  This material is great for movement and line.  Also, it works well for shipping.

Geometric forms are a characteristic of this Trend and the repetition makes a strong statement.  The spheres fit snug inside the containers without any additional mechanics.  Curving lines and a modern sleek look work well with the containers and the Trend.

 Oxana Sanukova (above)

Monobotanical compositions are another characteristic of this Trend.  We decided to use composite rose designs which reinforce geometric forms and add a garden feel to the display.

The rose petals are glued to cardboard which was wired to an embellished wreath ring.  The wreath ring was wrapped with double sided satin ribbon then angle hair and aluminum wire were wrapped over that for additional accents.

Yumi Ota, Kanako Copeland, Oxana Sanukova, Imelda Iraeta (above)   

Final prep work for the display and then lemon leaves were glued to the back of the wreath rings to hide mechanics.

  Imelda Iraeta and Julie Harris (above)

We used only two colors (green and orange) from the color pallet of this Trend to keep it clean, simple and modern.  The last steps are to wire the composite rings to the hoses, transport to the staging area and then set all displays an hour before the show.  This design is a lot of fun and I encourage you to experiment with the hose and make your own creation for the "Garden Club" Trend.