Bold and Dramatic!

Is the last flower long gone? And the vase- have you used it again, since or is it washed and put away? Now that the day is a distant memory, it's a great time to revisit that arrangement made in early February!

The passage of time gives a great perspective on what you did without the filters of the day. I'm hoping you feel a sense of pride for what you accomplished on your floral journey, cause the arrangements were pretty awesome.

 

 

My Belated New Year's Resolution

                                     A Darcy Rose trying to masquerade as a Peony                            


 Is late January too late to become resolved? 
Because I'm really serious about this one. 

It's this color, this dark pink/ magenta. It keeps following me around and I can't shake it. It's the color of a lot of my clothes and the minimal lipstick I own. It keeps popping up in my paintings, in my house. It's everywhere. And then there are flowers; the queenly garden roses, peonies, and dahlias- what is that one- that's the size of your head? Emory Paul, that's it- the one I special ordered two weeks ago.

 

If someone were to ask what my favorite color is, I would never, ever, say dark pink/ magenta- It's too girly, too...But just look around- gotcha!

And why do I have such a problem with it, is the question? I think it represents doing something habitually. It's fine to have a go- to color. But it makes me feel in a rut to continually reach for it.
So this year- this year I will resolve to
not go on auto pilot and explore other colors madly, deeply.

And a Happy New Year

Wreath Season came on and I can't tell you how much fun it was to play outside the box of the traditional wreath. I firmly believe that it is necessary to allow oneself to do adventurous and goofy things in all things creative to keep growing and keep a fresh perspective. Give yourself permission to make something completely out of your comfort zone. There will be something of value to hold on to when you step back in. 

This year I experimented with materials that have been sitting around my studio that were picked up here and there because they were interesting and seemed to have potential for what??? There were bags of cotton fiber and copper wire, leftover flowers left to dry along with leaves that are naturally gold on their back-sides. A friend brought over a piece of beautiful leather that quickly was incorporated as a wrap. Spray paint was involved as well and the hot glue gun. And tassels- did I tell you that I've become a tassel maniac?

They feel like rough sketches; ideas to be refined down the road- or not. 

Wishing all of you a healthy, rich and rewarding New Year. I am so appreciative of the flower loving community that has grown around the 7petals Workshops  and look forward to creating more adventures in the New Year!

                          With and without celosia

Holiday Wreath Workshop 2017!

The quiet hum of concentration in the Holiday Wreath Workshop resulted in particularly fine wreaths this year, very textural and lush with little surprises. Don't you think?

My apologies for those photos that didn't come out as sharp as they could. After reviewing them later, I realized that my reading glasses are now essential for viewing them....

Season of Circles

Here is the the first wreath of the season made this Thanksgiving weekend from a whole shelf full of leftover this and that from events done throughout the summer.  The dried marigolds were bought from Serenity Farms, a small Northern CA Farm https://www.facebook.com/serenityflowerfarm/. They have been growing and drying a lot of flowers this year that one doesn't often see. It appears dried flowers and wreaths are making an appearance again. It's not that they ever completely went away, but they became very predictable and statice filled. With so many local flowers being grown now, I look forward to the growth of this little dried flower/ wreath niche.

I was hoping to use my vast mix to create this wreath, forgetting once again, how much material is required to make a wreath when you want to repeat your pattern. I could have started over making a smaller wreath, but I always like to play.  So the addition of some fresh acacia darkened half of it and felt fitting of my mood around this Thanksgiving- which was a little bit dark and a little bit light.

It is a complicated stew of Thanksgivings past with loved ones gone, our one year old president vs wonderful relationships formed, the growth of 7petals and my beloved family and friends, including finally meeting the magical little Evelyn, my sister's granddaughter showing the rest of the family how to be the best butterfly.

Celebration of Fall Workshop

This workshop focused on the use of metal pins frogs to hold weighty flowers and botanicals in place. It's just one of many  flower support options and is particularly useful for home use as it reusable and works for a number of different needs.

It's amazing how unique and beautiful each piece is.  Really beautiful work, everyone!

 

 

Early Autumn

 

 

Daily Vase Workshop!

At long last, here is the work created at a workshop devoted to small, informal arrangements. We had an abundance of flowers as some people could not make the workshop. Those who came were like kids in a candy-shop of color and form. They were able to make a variety of arrangements from simple to complex. Some really lovely compositions came out of the day.
  

Godbye Dahlias, Hello Amarylils and Mums!

This arrangement was for a rehearsal dinner a few weeks back. Right on the cusp of the dahlia/amaryllis season. Amaryllis are being grown in a lot of colors now- not just Holiday Red and White. They begin to show up at the market in late fall.  Large flowers evaporate from the market this time of year and amaryllis fills that need along with some really awesome mums that are starting to appear.  Yeah, mums- the flower that my eyes tend to glaze over due to overexposure. The ubiquitous round disks in the usual brown, yellow, white and sometimes lime green. They are so tough and long lasting they have certainly earned their place. But let me tell you, there is a whole world of color and form to be explored and new flower growers are beginning to grow them.

Last fall Jon and I attended a Chrysanthemum Exhibition west of Sacramento in a hotel event room. We were greeted by rows of mums in tubes and hushed reverential tones. This was after all a juried exhibition. Judges seriously considered the attributes of each flower that may or may ot receive an award for very specific attributes. This flower jurying business takes place in different parts of the world in shrinking pockets. Below are some I saw that were pretty awesome.