Hello Flower Friend

December News

Welcome to the December issue of Flower Thoughts.  We have more inspiration to share with you, and updates and news on future opportunities to enjoy floral design. 

Online Exhition - 'Meticulosity'

If you are familiar with the work of Irene Brockwell, you will already be well aware of her precise approach to designing and her unique and fluid ways with flowers.  She has enjoyed an extraordinary career in the flower world, including winning national floristry titles twice in two different countries.  Four national champion titles!

We are proud to present a gallery of Irene's work in an online exhibition entitled Meticulosity.  Click the link below to view a collection of 15 of Irene's composition in her signature style.  It's a stunning display of intricate mechanics and an infrequently seen attention to detail:

Festive Thinking Review

Both parts of our popular Festive Thinking program have now been realeased.  Many of you have joined in the learning and fun.  Don't worry if you haven't yet ... the content is available until the end of January 2023, so there is still plenty of time to access and appreciate all of the program resources. 

Festive Thinking is information rich and inspiring .... and convenient.  Watch, read, learn and enjoy at your own pace. Two festive design concepts, based around star shapes, with multiple versions of each concept (four designs in total) are presented in a video tutorial and two instructional eBooks.  Inspired by these resrouces, a talented team of invited Floral Designers produced star-themed festive compositions, which I analysed in our Design Discssion (recorded for you to watch). We've assembled the full analysis from the discussion into a comprehesiven eBook of notes and illustrative images - over 60 pages of insights and inspiration.  The notes also include my perspectives on alternative creative decisions,  technical solutions and potential improvements or possible adaptations.

The registration fee (AUD$35.00) includes:

• Video tutorial  (access to 30 January 2023)
• Two (2) eBooks based on the tutorial concepts  (download & keep)
• Design discussion video (access to 30 January 2023)
• Detailed Analysis eBook (download & keep)

Above:  A freestanding, bound composition, that uses the star shape as a core source of design inspiration - an interpretation based on the concepts presented in Festive Thinking.

Design Directions - 2023

Our next online course is Design Directions - starting in late January 2023.
 

What is Design Directions all about?   It's a course that invites you to to work in a number of specific design styles - a chance to exploring various theoretical concepts, along with investigating the different ways that proportions can be directed - vertically, upwards, downwards, horizontally and diagonally.  Task guidelines offer plenty of creative freedom and encourage you to apply techniques you know or wish to practise.  Course tasks include:
 

• Parallel designs
• Formal-linear designs
• Low designs
• Leaning designs
• Long designs

Design Directions starts on 30 January and runs until the end of May.  The small group size ensures an intimate learning environment.  The program involves 5 practical tasks and 6 online discussions (live and/or recorded).  The registration fee is $670 ($AUD).  You can register, find details, a flyer and more extensive information by clicking the button below:

Above:  Task examples I created for discussion and guidance in past Design Directions courses.

Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show

The southern hemisphere's pre-eminent flower event returns in March 2023.  No matter how you enjoy flowers, the show has something for everyone. 

29 March - 2 April 2023
Royal Exhibition Building & Carlton Gardens
Melbourne

Access more details and tickets here:

Want to get more involved?  Click the button below for detailed information about participating in the show's Displays and floral competitions:

Interflora World Cup - Update

The next Interflora World Cup is shaping up to be an extraordinary  and innovative event - not just the world's greatest floral design competition!

Ticket sales have been launched, and 24 countries have been confirmed to participate.

See you there?

New Facebook Group - Flower Thinkers

Have you joined our new Facebook Group - Flower Thinkers?  It's an inclusive community for all who create with flowers - a place to share in all things floral design.

Join the group here:

Answering a few simple questions when joining helps us better understand your interests in the flower world.  We review the answers to help us offer information and content that is relevant to you.

We have received a fantastic response so far.  We asked ... you answered.

We have taken the answers received so far and analysed them by topic - see the infographic below.  We represented the resulting topics with circles sized in proportion to the number of people who expressed an interest in each subject. It's fascinating and fun to see where the group's interests lie .... and a big help in understanding what you want to know more about.

Design of the Month

How many textures can you identify in this fascinating composition by David Berger?  It's an intriguing combination of all manner of tactile materials, including dimple-skinned Bitter Melons (Momordica charantia) - which have also been cleverly used as a water source from some flowers.

David created the design for our most recent One Container, Five Elements course.  While the arrangement captivates with its array of forms, textures, lines and use of space, the starting focus was the element of texture.  It's a surprisingly challenging element to put the spotlight on, since we often work with it intuitively or even take it for granted.  Putting it at the forefront of this task makes for a better understanding of our individual design processes.

See more of David's work here:

Our next One Container, Five Elements course starts in February 2023:

Inspiration from Floral Fundamentals

Floral Fundamentals, the group that connects Floral Designers to flower growers, has released its latest newsletter - full of Christmas designs and coverage of a 'Growers Tour'.  Witnessing how the flowers grows adds a new dimension to the Designers' creative processes - it's evident in the results.

Access the latest newsletter here:

Festive Greetings

Wishing you a safe, happy and creative festive season and a great start to 2023.

I'd love to have your questions about our offerings or how Flower Thinking can help you reach your own floral design goals.

Regards

Mark
 

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