A Centennial Celebration
The Greater New Bedford Garden Club Celebrates 100 Years!
In July of 2022 I received an email from a member of the Greater New Bedford Garden Club. She invited me to design a floral program for 2023 and I enthusiastically said yes! When I began planning my presentation I asked if there was a theme that I needed to follow. During that conversation I learned it was their 100th anniversary and I was honored to be chosen as a presenter for this wonderful milestone.
Historical Artwork
The more I thought about a celebration of gardening, community, and flowers I couldn’t help but think about art and how much art had also been created 100 years ago that we could also celebrate. This concept was the basis for my presentation. For phase one of planning I gathered images that inspired me and this is the collection of images I found as potentials to use for my demonstration:
“I couldn’t help but think about how much art had also been created 100 years ago.”
I really enjoyed the diversity of artwork and styles that I had discovered. I started to analyze the entire set of artwork to ensure I had enough of a visual variety in my presentation. I began to consider colors, style, texture, and even subject matter. These assessments would inform the next phase. Soon after I began to consider what flower recipes I could use in tandem with what flowers would be able to be used in multiple arrangements. This would help keep the flower cost lower for the overall materials.
The Presentation
I made the decision to only have three artworks in the final demonstration. In art there is a magic in the rule of three. I narrowed down the list to three distinct styles of artwork: simplicity, expressionism, portrait. While the styles were different I purposefully picked these pieces so have some flower color overlap.
Artwork no. 1
“New England Garden” painted by Frank Townsend Hutchens, alongside my companion floral arrangement. The recipe is: Roses, Delphinium, Hyacinth, Statice, and Lemon Leaf. I drew inspiration from what I would hope to cut from this garden and make a fresh bouquet if I had the opportunity. The Hyacinth is threaded on to a thick gauge wire to hold the curved shapes.
Artwork no. 2
“Composition XI” painted by Theo van Doesburg, alongside my companion floral arrangements. The recipe is: Hydrangea, Gerbera Daisies, Statice, Hypericum Berries, and Anemone. I chose to make two sister arrangements and gave myself liberty with the shape choice. Doesburg relies on simple, straight edges and I chose to rely on a more common flower shape, circles.
Artwork no. 3
“Prince Joseph Poniatowski on Horse” painted by Zygmunt Waliszewski along side my companion floral arrangement. What originally inspired me about Prince Joseph was how be is presented on this horse. I was instantly thinking of how elaborate his crown would be if he was king which is how I approached my arrangement.
Reflection
I was honored to participate in the 2023 program for the Greater New Bedford Garden Club! The members were so welcoming and kind. I look forward to my next live floral demonstration.
Schedule a Floral Demonstration with Liz
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Schedule a Floral Demonstration with Liz 〰️
