To follow is a visual tutorial, from start to finish, of how we construct winter and holiday arrangements. We do rely on the armature for both fresh, dried, and faux stems and branches provided by dry floral foam. Once we create forms for a client, those forms are used for a good number of years. The forms you see in the upper left of the picture above are 4 years old. Yes, we patch them, when the forms get elderly.
the first gesture, for a new client.
later
The lines scribed in the forms indicate how wide the centerpiece will be.
These centerpieces under construction include a mix of faux berry and ball picks, and fresh cut magnolia stems.
An outer layer of fresh cut red bud pussy willow stems follows all around the centerpiece.
As David is doing here, always look up to determine where you want any element to land.
Karen took over the greening of these centerpieces.
Every fresh cut evergreen stem has been sharpened. The idea is to insure a tight fit between the wood and the foam. We have winter weather ahead of us. This means that whatever we fabricate needs to be winter hardy.
Karen is gifted. She can assess the volume and mass of a centerpiece, and give that centerpiece a green place to be of proper proportion.
finished centerpieces ready for the installation
the centerpiece was constructed around a light burst. Lots of LED lights on a twig like structure with stakes in the bottom is such an easy way of lighting the vertical elements in a winter arrangement. LED Lightburst
The right hand pot, installed.
The left hand pot, installed.
Start to finish, I could not be more pleased with the work my group turns out.