floralartmall.com


.Margaret Holmes

=

 

Carnations:
A wide variety of pastel shades

Camellia: 
there are hundreds of varieties


Lambs Ear or 
Stachys byzantina.
 

Gerbera:
come in many colours

asteila
Asteila:Silver spear,
It is a native of the Chatham Islands
It loves a coastal position and if you grow it in the sun, you will get soft grey leaves. Grow in the shade and it will be greeny grey.
Pick the leaves gently and rub with a soft cloth to wipe down the leaves and  remove fluff. If you rub too hard you will loose the grey! Don't immerse the leaves in water.
They will last for weeks on oasis and give any design a beautiful grey element.

 
 
 
 

 

free stuffshopping cartsflower arranging bookssubscribe for lessons and news

Modern Mass designs.  Ideas and techniques for flower arrangers, florists, floral artists and beginners. If you want more fabulous ideas click here

Modern Mass designs developed in Italy and require a bold design on a substantial plain container of simple shape. The design can be vertical, horizontal or diagonal. In this design you are not looking at individual flowers, but rather blocks of colours with "no room for the butterflies". Texture and colour are featured rather than individual flowers, with the container an integral part of the design.The flower colours you choose should intergrate well with your chosen container.
The design also requires a considerable amount of flowers, preferably of not more than 2 colours. Two or more masses of flowers of one kind and colour are grouped together in well defined shapes.
The colour scheme can be contrasting or harmonizing, and it is the masses and colour of the flowers which should predominate, and not their natural line.		 Margaret Holmes modern design

Demonstration horizontal design, for this 
workshop by Margaret Holmes. She used 
carnations,astelia leaves, camellias, stock 
and lambs ears.
Her foliage colours were based on the 
colour of the container which was blue/gray

Using all foliage of protea,bronze cordyline,
and geranium, this is a horizontal design by 
workshop particpant, Margaret B. 
Your container
You need a larger modern plain vase with not too small an opening.If you wish to paint your container, spray it silver first, then the colour of your choice. This is avoid "muddy" looking colours and give you a clear result.

Mechanics
Fill the container with old oasis to the top and then put your foam oasis in a cage or wire netting,on the top of the container.Push 2 kebab sticks through the oasis in the cage to the oasis into the container diagonally from different angles to secure the cage on top. Then use waterproof florists tape around the cage and neck of the container to secure it further. The time spent making sure your mechanics are solid and not wobbly is worth it! 
You will need a large number of flowers of one kind, but proportionate to the size of the container, such as carnations , OR roses, OR chrysanthemums, OR proteas,
OR gerberas OR camellias etc. If you are using larger flowers fewer blooms will be needed.Don't use anything with dominant centres.
Tall flowers or foliage are also needed matching in colour but contrasting in shape with the basic colour, such as gladioli, astelia,delphiniums, liatrus, tall spikes of stocks or snapdragons etc.
Optionally, add a third element, flowers or fruits, contrasting or harmonizing with the basic colour, but contrasting in texture.
You will need foliage with a large surface such as bergenia, aralia, anthurium, aspidistra, lambs ears or similar.
It is possible and of interest to add a further element to make the design more interesting, such as twigs, broom, dried leaves, vines, actinidias, wisteria, etc but it is not essential.
These are a guide only, see what you can find in your garden or buy what is in season

Pat used the same techniques for a diagonal design,using protea, bromeleid flowers and flax.

 .
Another horizontal design from Glenys,
using dried strylitzia leaves, protea, 
  • and dried canna heads
  • Margaret Holmes modern design

    • Margaret clustered the carnations and the 
    camellias before adding the lambs ears 
  • for texture.

    • The Design
    Start with the line of your design, with the tall material you choose, astelia, flax, long proteas etc,If your design is to be horizontal, put 3 long peices of this out to one side.Margaret you can see used silver astelia. Don't have them matching lengths, and if you are using a thick material, trim the end going into the oasis, to a point to make easier insertion.
    This now needs to be balanced with  plant material on the other side.Again take your tall choice and if necessary, bend it by gently stroking the middle with your hand, softly bending as you stroke. The warmth of your hand helps to bend long leaves without breaking them, but be patient. Bend into a loop and insert into the other side.If you have trouble inserting both ends cut the ends to a point, or wire them to a kebab stick to put them into the oasis. Do this with 4-5 peices until you are satisfied that the design is visually balanced.
    Now take  your flowers and cluster them tightly through the middle of the design starting at one side and travelling over to the other side.The aim is to have no one flower dominate but rather the group.Margaret has done this with the carnations
    Take your second flower choice and do the same thing along side the first cluster. Again pack them in tight and around and under your looped longer foliage. You can see how Margaret has done this with the camellias.
    Finally add the texture dropping down over the container, as you can see Margaret did with the Lambs ears, and with the flocks parallel to the asteila.
     

    Now step back and assess your design.
    Is your plant material fresh? 
    Is the oasis hidden? 
    Is the container suitable for the plant material in shape, colour, texture and style?
    Is everything related in size? 
    do the colours seem related? 
    Is the design top heavy, bottom heavy, lopsided?
    Does your eye travel from one part of the design to another or it is confused. Have you an "eye path" ?

  • Did you enjoy doing it?
    		•

     
     A wonderful modern mass design by Paul Thomas. He  got his inspiration for this wall design, by standing in the wood shed! If you want to see more of his excellent work, where he uses his natural surroundings to inspire designs that you can try yourself, find out more about his book The Art of Floral Design, available here.

    The Floral Artist's Guide: A Reference to Cut  Flowers and Foliages  by Pat Diehl Scace
    This comprehensive resource serves as a pictorial guide to over 500 different types of cut flowers,foliage, and dried materials for all levels of floral designers. It offers a complete guide to the botanical and common names, pronunciation, family name and related flowers, colors and availability, and the unique properties of each flower. 
    More...
    Leafing Through Flowers by Daniel Ost
    In this exquisitely photographed volume of cutting edge floral design, decorator and Dutch flower shop owner Daniel Ost's shows his innovative floral and leaf/branch/twig sculptures, in greens,  browns and multi-colored flora. He attempts to bring us into a totally new realm of plants and flowers as  art and architecture. The narrative is written in three languages  T
    More....

    Floralartmall.com
    33 McDonnell Street
    Omokoroa 3021
    New Zealand

    Phone +64 7 548 2866
    Fax +64 7 548 2868
    info@floralartmall.com

    All prices are in US dollars unless otherwise stated
    floralartmall.com and all its trusted partners have a comprehensive refund policy