The Cacique TouCh | The 5 Secrets of Floral Design
“I MUST HAVE FLOWERS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS”
Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arranging. “Ike” meaning life or “arrange” and “bana” meaning flower.
In Ikebana, the soul of each flower is kept alive through the arrangement, meaning that each flower, each stem, each blade of grass of withered seedpod has a purpose in creating a whole. Uh, oh… Here he goes waxing on, waxing off again. Am I suggesting that I am a black belt in floral arrangement? Maybe a green belt. After two decades in the industry, I am beginning to understand that true mastery - of floral design, karate, or table setting - comes with patience, meditation and reflection on the form. Here's my five cents on flowers...
Floral design is about the arrangement of distinct floral elements to create a beautiful new form. Untitled by Angelika Wallace-Whitfield.
Design Tip #1: Greater Than The Sum of Its Parts
The French surrealist poet Paul Élouard once wrote “La terre est bleue comme une orange” (the earth is blue like an orange). Despite what you may think, his is not a random collection of words. The construction is deliberate, creating a burst of imagery for the reader. As with Ikebana, floral design is not just about sticking flowers in a vase. It is about the arrangement of distinct floral elements to create a beautiful new form.
Design Tip #2: Creative Expression Comes Within Certain Rules of Construction
At its core, floral design is about the beauty that comes from combining colors, natural shapes, graceful lines, and the expression of the total form of the arrangement. That said, some designers find a need to express said “beauty” through sheer size and zealousness of bloom. In the Cacique school of thought, big is not best. Seasoned designers realize the importance of space to be filled, but just as importantly, space which is not meant to be filled, but created and preserved.
Design Tip #3: The Stem of the Matter... Matters
The varying forms of ikebana share certain common features, regardless of the period or school. Any plant material - branches, leaves, grasses, moss, and fruit - may be used, as well as flowers. Withered leaves, seed pods, and buds are valued as highly as flowers in full bloom. For us, the flair in floral arrangement goes down even to the stem of the matter - making use of even dead stems, twigs and other inanimate elements to create gorgeous masterpieces.
Design Tip #4: Celebrate Nature. Don't Replicate It.
Green belt you may be, but mother nature you are not. Floral design is not about bringing the bush into the house (or the house into the bush for that matter). As with ikebana, a great floral arrangement aims not to bring a finite piece of nature into the arrangement, but rather at suggesting or celebrating nature, creating a beautiful link between the indoors and the outdoors.
The Cacique Effect. Great floral design doesn't exist in isolation; it is an essential, multi-sensory part of the design puzzle.
Design Tip #5: Stop and Smell The Roses
“Ikebana is not just about sticking a flower into a vase. It is about the love and need of the artist to create beautiful forms…Ikebana is not just about flowers. It’s about the person who arranges them.”
What worked well for one event might not work well for another, so don’t expect a one-size-fits-all floral solution. As with the 7 Secrets of Event Design, reflection on floral design is essential to the advancement of the form. Debriefing is essential. What worked well? What did we learn? Always remember that floral design doesn’t exist in isolation, it is an essential ingredient of the overall experience - a multi-sensory, critical part to the event design puzzle, that we work endlessly to never solve. ;) SS
To find out more about Cacique Floral Design, feel free to contact us here.