Accomplished floral arrangers
from Memphis and all over the country are coming to Dixon
Gallery and Gardens today to prepare their entries for "M3D
On the Edge," the 15th Memphis Flower Show presented
by Memphis Garden Club.
The arrangers will interpret in flowers 50 pieces of three-dimensional
art by local artists. They are seeing for the first time
the works of artists Maysey Craddock, Wayne Edge, Ted Faiers,
Joyce Gingold, Terri Jones, Greely Myatt, Brian Russell,
Allison Smith and Carroll Todd.
For advance preparations, they relied on photographs of
the pieces that are inspiration for their floral creations.
Contemporary sculptures are a good fit for modern floral
design, which has become more abstract and spare, said Buff
Adams, co-chair with Edie Marshall of the show, which is
free and open to the public for viewing Saturday and Sunday.
Today's arrangers are doing fewer mass designs and more
artistic creations with fewer flowers.
Julie Spear, a garden club member who is entering a table
design in the show, is enthusiastic about the direction.
I'm really excited about the three-dimensional theme because
I always think of floral arrangements as sculptural, too,"
Spear said.
A veteran floral arranger, she presented several workshops
prior to the event to show novice garden club members how
she goes about interpreting works of art in her designs.
She took her inspiration from a group of torsos on small
pedestals that were sculpted by Joyce Gingold.
Spear did two similar designs spotlighting the creative
process for The Commercial Appeal.
(Participants in the show may not have their actual entries
photographed and published in advance of judging, which
takes place today.)
"You don't want to repeat what the art looks like in
your design, you want to interpret it," Spear said.
"I like to do something that is the opposite of the
art. Since it's monochromatic, I chose bright colors for
my design."
And because the bisque torsos rest on pedestals with hard
edges, Spear's design featured curvy lines.
"When I look at the composition, I see a lot of parallel
lines," she said.
So she selected two red containers with rounded U-shapes
to hold her flowers and connected them with arching pieces
of steel grass.|
To contrast with the bright red of the containers, she chose
lime green anthuriums. Mini calla lilies with cream flowers
provide movement in the design, while stems of equisetum
add a vertical component.
"I try to create a conversation between the various
elements in the design," she said.
The second arrangement features several types of flowers
placed in a horizontal block of moss-covered floral foam.
"I like to mix colors, textures and heights,"
she said, as she placed stems of white Star of Bethlehem,
blue irises and orange gladioli in the foam. "And everything
doesn't have to be perfectly straight up."
Two stems of equisetum tied horizontally to the flowers
with steel grass unify the design.
"This is also a great arrangement for a dinner party,"
Spear said.|
Each floral arranger competing in the show submits a "statement
of intent" in 25 words or less, as well as a list of
the flowers and foliage used in the design. Visitors can
read the arranger's words along with comments from the judges.
The entrants vie for 10 awards from the Garden Club of America
and 11 from the Memphis Garden Club.
The first Memphis Flower Show, then called Flowers and Art,
took place in 1978 and has happened biennially ever since.
In 1984 the event became one of eight major flower shows
sanctioned by the Garden Club of America.
"We work hard to come up with classes that challenge
the top arrangers from all over the country," Adams
said.
New categories this year include a class for botanical jewelry
and embellishments, and a challenge class in which participants
will interpret "Shades and Shamrock," a hanging
collection of light bulbs and wires by Greely Myatt.
Although they have seen a photo of the sculpture, they will
not know what flowers or container they will be using until
they get them today from show organizers.
In the botanical jewelry class, exhibitors fashion dried
plant materials into wearable pieces of art.
One of the entries is a gilded fish pin made from a tiny
spruce cone, an almond and orchid petals. Banana peel, orange
rind, acorns and sea vegetables were used to create a pin
that looks like a red flower.
In the embellishment category, entrants were sent the same
3-inch round box to completely cover with plant materials.
In one design, the box has been turned into an apple with
a curvy snake holding it open.
The show also includes a division for horticulture, featuring
cut flowers, cut branches and foliage, as well as container-grown
plants and trained plants from members of the Memphis Garden
Club and the Little Garden Club, which is also affiliated
with the Garden Club of America.
There's also a conservation exhibit and a display of native
plant propagation done by children and grandchildren of
garden club members. |
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