Creativity: Flowers as a Medium

I love the flower show at the county fair. I entered once as a novice and won a ribbon but have not entered since because one can only be a novice once. I simply cannot compete with the members of the adult classes. The same ladies win every year because of their outstanding flower arranging skills.

Each class has a particular requirement to interpret with flowers. It is so fun to see what people come up with.

These arrangements were representing a county fair carousel-

                                     

                                     

(Sorry for the terrible focus.) This arrangement, while it has a lot of "movement", is not very aesthetically pleasing.

                                      

           

                                           (There is a black top hat under the arrangement)

                                     

                                     

                                      

                                      

                                 (This one had a black top hat and a white magician's glove)

         

                                                (Arrangements using a wheel in the design)

                                       

      

I just love this one. It seems to be all garden flowers. Can you imagine what this lady's flower gardens must look like?

                                     

                                        

                                              This is a miniature. Less than three inches tall!

        

      

These are the tall arrangements. It is very difficult to get elements to cooperate exactly at this size. I closely examined the thought that went into the entry on the right-

                                

                The monochromatic color scheme is anchored with this beautiful glass vase.

                                 

                                             Lime green Amaranthus adds drama

                                 

                            Spectacular and pristine Casablance lilies are the focal point.

                                 

Curly willow branches strung with tiny lights complete the adherence to the theme "Carnival Lights"

                                 

A creative and winning interpretation of the theme. The blue card indicates it won a special prize.

I made a special flower arranged last week also, though not for the fair. I was asked to make one for a memorial service for the mother of our friends, the Quezadas, who are missionaries in Mexico. Ellie's mother passed away and there were no flowers expected at the church and no money to buy them. I was pleased to work on an arrangement using just flowers from my garden (and I added some Queen Anne's Lace found by the roadside). The arrangement needed to be large as it would be the one decoration at the front of the church (there was no casket). Those were my requirements. I added my own.

                     

While I was limited by the types of flowers I have blooming right now, the flowers chosen were thoughtfully placed. Flowers, historically, have had specific sentiments attached to them and I thought about those things when I made the arrangement. The sunflowers represent the humble farm life that Lupe led. The bright red, pink and orange zinnias are the colors representing her Mexican heritage. The white shrub roses are a traditional funeral flower of mourning (white for the dead). The blue hydrangeas were a favorite of hers and her daughter-in-law Lila told me that one of the last photos taken of Lupe was posed with blue hydrangeas. I included branches from apple trees (apples attached) to represent her life in the Northwest among the orchards (her husband worked with migrant pickers).

Though this would not win any ribbons, I was honored to be asked to do this and pleased that my garden flowers could serve a meaningful purpose for other people.