Find out what design elements and techniques are needed to create a Free-standing Floral Design
Contemporary Design Characteristics Many free-standing designs are made with a technique called "Inter-connecting" or "Joining". This technique assists materials to support themselves by a connecting mechanism. In the design opposite, cocktail sticks have been used to join long stems of Snake Grass ("Equisetum"). Alternatively cable ties, wire, middelino sticks, strong flower stalks etc could be used. It is a contemporary design so creativity with materials is key here. As more and more Snake Grass is added the structure starts to become self supporting and creates a scaffold within which flowers can be added. Flowers can be glued on or test tubes used with the design to provide a water source for the materials. If test tubes are being used they should either be visible as part of the design feature or they can be covered and camouflaged to blend in with the natural materials being used. Use a variety of textures - a natural look has been created here by using the silver birch twigs with small Ornithogalum florets glued to it to give it a Spring feel. The velvety texture and dominant size of the Phalaenopsis Orchids provides movement for the focal point and softens the design against the backdrop of natural disarray. |
Materials used: Snake Grass (Equisetum hyemale) 1 x bunch Silver Birch x 5 stems Drumsticks (Craspedia) x 6 stems Orchids (Phalaenopsis) variety x 6 Chincherinchee (Ornithogalum) x 4 stems cocktails stick | SNAKE GRASS! Snake grass is excellent to create lines within a design and it also has a lovely visual texture due to the ringed nodules intermittently up the stem. These nodules are very flexible and due to the stems being hollow, they can be bent and manipulated into all sorts of shapes with internal wiring. Snake grass is also ideal to use in modern parallel designs or used to create an edging in foam based designs or to line a square vase. It is native to the North American marshes and is available all year round! |
Step by step creation of the above design
My intention here was to spiral the middle section of the Equisetum to provide some shaping to the base of the design.
STEP 3:
Start by joining the Equisetum with the cocktail sticks into the desired shape ensuring the Equisetum stems are all touching the table in order to build up it's self supporting property. See images below.
STEP 5: Slot some silver birch twigs through the completed snake grass design.
STEP 6: Glue the Ornithogalum flowers onto the silver birch in a natural growth pattern to give a natural woodland feel.
STEP 7: I have used the Crispedia stems inside the hollow stems of the Equisetum. Alternatively the full stem of the Craspedia could be used to emulate them growing up through the bottom of the design.
STEP 8: Finally the beautiful Phalaenopsis Orchids create the focal point and can be arranged climbing up through the design in the manner of a climbing clematis. The orchids can be glued into position. Alternatively I have used decorative pins which complement the yellow of the Craspedia and Ornithogalum. I have recessed some of the Orchids as they climb upward in order to draw the eye further into the design as well as making it look more naturalistic.
Get Trendy & Creative
Many professional designers put emphasis on creating free form designs where a concept idea is the central idea eg Gregor Lersch in his book "The Relationship of Contrasts".
Evaluation
The Craspedia stems are very stick-like and may be a suitable alternative to using cocktail sticks to inter-connect Equisetum. This would be suitable for a low table decoration or framework to complement another design.
Curtis, C & Vagg, D & J (2004) "Contemporary Floral Design" London: NAFAS
Gilbert, V (2011) Foliage for Florists" No place specified: The Society of Floristry Training Fund
Koh, D (2010) "Damien Koh Monograph" Oostkamp/Belgium: Stichting Kunstboek
Lersch, G (2010) "The Relationship of Contrasts" Muster/Germany: Floral Design Edition
Pinterest available at: www.pinterest.com
Van den Akker (2000) "Floral Composition" Houten: Terra