When I went to my flower class yesterday, I thought: “I’d really like to work with orchids.” To my surprise and delight, it worked out that way—but not before two chrysanthemum stems broke in my hands as I tried to shape them into a curve that would touch the table.
The first element I chose for my creation was a monstera leaf. As befits its name, its size lends visual mass to the arrangement. Sometimes called a Swiss Cheese Plant because of the large holes often found in more mature leaves, it also looked like a painter’s palette to me. The shape was appealing.
Next, I added horsetail to create some strong angled lines. The lines were reinforced further with the addition of two stems of white orchids in the foreground and one more in the rear. The rear one touched the tabletop thus making the surface of the table an extension of the arrangement. “That one (the one in the rear) provides shadow,” Sensei explained.
Having pruned a stem of red celosia, I looked for a place to put it. “Red and white is a combination for an auspicious occasion,” Sensei informed me, seeming to hesitate about whether or not it was fitting and appropriate for the lesson.
“It’s my birthday. Surely that’s occasion enough to use red with white flowers,” I thought to myself. Finding the place for the furry, wool-like red flower was easy—like putting in the final piece of a puzzle.
Comments