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Do you often find that you buy, cut your own, or receive some fresh flowers that looked beautiful in their bouquet, only to find that you have no idea how to arrange them nicely in the vase? However keen your eye usually is for form and colour, flower arranging is always easier if you learn a few principles behind it, which you can then expand on or even subvert completely and go your own way. Getting to grips with the basics of arranging is the best way to start, and to avoid ending up with the ad-hoc bundle in a vase that was once a beautifully styled bouquet.
Elements Of Flower Arrangin Light
The location of your flower arrangement will be an integral part of its actual design. You can manipulate the natural light or introduce some artificial to emphasis the piece. Positioned under bright lights the whole piece will be brought to the fore, while spotlights can be used to highlight certain aspects and create shadows. Coloured light bulbs can create a mood for the piece, and can provide an unusual enhancement of the flower's colours.
Texture
Look at the flowers and foliage and see how the different textures draw the eye. For example, multi-textured flowers like hydrangeas sit well with large and smooth leaves that provide a more simple contrast.
Scale
An explosion of flowers can look out of balance with a small, squat vase. The rule is generally followed that that longest stem is 1 - 2 times longer than the vase.
Space
Space is as much a part of the arrangement as the flowers themselves. Any spaces existing in the piece are to be considered as part of the whole scheme.
Accent
Nearing completion, you may find that your display follows all sense of scale, proportion, and texture, but still seems to be lacking. An accent will create and focus and bring the whole arrangement alive. A common way to do this is to use a few large blooming flowers either above or below the centre of the piece.
Overall Effect
Balance
The design can successfully be either symmetrical or asymmetrical and achieve balance. This is done through the equilibrium of colours and shapes so that none outweighs and over-awes the other. For example, dark colours can appear "heavier" than lighter ones so these should be balanced carefully. The same can be said for large flowers versus smaller ones, so avoid placing them at the top or edges of the piece.
Warm colours like oranges and reds are attention grabbing and make the piece appear closer, while cool colours like lilacs and blues recede into the background. Positioned at the far side of a room from the entrance point, cool colour flowers can make the room seem longer.Keep yourself centred as you arrange and your design should follow suit.
Unity
All elements of the arrangement must be perceived as unified. This incorporates the flowers, the container, foliage, accessories, all creating an impression of a single display.
Rhythm
An accent in the arrangement can be further emphasised and harmonized through rhythm, often established by curved lines sweeping through the accent, or by the use if repetition occurring throughout the arrangement.
Harmony
This is the cohesion of all the elements working together. You want to make your floral arrangement look and feel good, and harmonize with its chosen setting.
Tips:
Before you begin picking up the flowers, get an idea in your head of what you want from your arrangement. Consider where it will be placed, what angle you want it seen from, and any overall effect that you hope to achieve.
Give the flowers some water before you arrange them. This will keep them looking fresh as you adjust them. If you are going to use floral foam to support and moisten the flowers, ensure it is soaked before putting in place.
Cut flower stems with a sharp knife under running water or underwater, trying to achieve an angle of 45 degrees.
When you are ready to arrange, start with the flowers that will create the main shape and body first. Allocate each flower its own space in the arrangement. This does not mean that you should be sparse with the flowers, but that an overcrowded vase will destroy all sense of balance and rhythm.
If you are just starting on the basics of flower arranging, use an odd number of flowers for the initial form layer. Then try to build on this with a variety of shapes and textures that contrast but respond well to each other.
Utilise the natural curves in the foliage and flowers that you use. This will enhance the aesthetic appeal and allow you to experiment creatively.
Don't forget to take a step back every now and then and circumnavigate your piece. This will give you a better perspective of the arrangement as a whole and judge it from the angle at which you desire it to be seen.
Eastern Styles of Arranging
The art of flower arranging as we know it today first came from the cut flower experimentations of the East. It is believed that the Chinese were the first to put cut flowers into a water container. Chinese flower arrangements try to implement seasonal plants only, as each month has its own special and symbolic flowers. Similar to the language of flowers that reached Europe in the 17th century, the Chinese held certain flowers to represent elements of character and luck. For example, the narcissus is the symbol of prosperity, purity, and good fortune, while pine boughs signify nobility and wisdom.
The Japanese took the principles of flower arranging and created their own form of design as a meditative practice. The Chinese way is to express the elements in relation to space and nature, while in Japan the styles embodied icons of mankind, heaven and earth. Foliage and tall flowers represented heaven, which was connected by the middle flowers that the symbolized man, to the short bottom flowers of the earth.
Ikebana is the Japanese word for flower arranging, and the art is increasingly popular. Unlike Western trends where the arrangement exists to show off the beauty of the blooms, ikebana celebrates leaves, stems, the vase, and all elements available to the eye. The design is much more linear.
Rikka is the most formal style of ikebana, and aims to express the natural landscape. The designs are usually quite large and look very elegant. It comprises nine parts that demonstrate different angles, directions and length to create the whole. They are carefully set into proportion to each other and the vase. The vase usually measures around 20-30cms and should flare at the top with the clean stems of the plants rising out.
Nageire is more informal and spontaneous in appearance, although it usually requires additions to hold the flowers in place. It basic visual scheme is with leaning flowers coming out of a tall tube shaped vase. The proportions are still quite rigid, as the main branch must be 1 - 2 times the height plus the width of the vase. The second level must be ? that of the first; and the third is ? the height of the second level.
Moribana is the style on which beginners usually start as it is the simplest. The aim is to create a piece to be viewed from all sides on a wide, often flat vase or dish shape. The arrangement should be inspired by the materials more than religious representation in these designs.
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