Bouquets to Art 2008

Overall I felt the floral artists who participated in the 2008 Bouquets to Art exhibit at the De Young Museum stepped it up another notch over the 2007 entries. See if you agree.

I don’t know what the artist named the above creation, but I call it "Primitive Explosion". I find this to be a very dynamic expression of the primitive art it is interpreting. It not only repeats the color palette and structure of the artifacts, but it extends it. It looks like the flowers are thrusting forward from within like a spontaneous floral big bang explosion. It was a fantastic greeting into the hall.

One could almost believe that the painting below would have revealed the calla lilies had the canvas only been big enough or had the artist, Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), only stepped back a few yards. I like how the floral artist was able to start with an achromatic, abstract painting and complement it with color and organic elements. The addition of the ostrich egg, added in a yin yang fashion, was inspired.

The first time I saw colored floral foam offered at the flower mart, I didn’t think I could ever think of a way to use it without it looking cheesy. I am proven wrong, again; this is a great way to use color floral foam.

I found this amazing grouping of steel-grass-clad vases to be the perfect accompaniment to the soft sepia photographs in this room.

I can't explain why Michael Daigian Design's calla lilies with flax leaves work so well, maybe it's the contrast of the geometric versus the classic. Maybe it's the way the calla lily heads peak out, craning their necks, hoping to see the princess on her throne.

This floral arrangement is not necessarily the most artful, but you have to give the floral artist credit for finding a wig that so closely matches Queen Elizabeth’s hair that I fear that she is walking around in a skull cap right now.

The flower petals suspended in gel were a great means to represent the splatter in Sam Francis’ (1923-1994) painting. (Unfortunately I came later in the week and the gel yellowed already; I’m sure this display looked fresher early in the week.)

I adore how the Manzanita branch was spray painted to look like bronze here.

A very literal interpretation:

I will be attending the 2009 Bouquets to Art next week. You get exactly one guess what I'll be posting about next week.

Bouquets to Art 2007

Next week, from March 17-21, The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco will celebrate the 25th anniversary of their largest fundraiser, Bouquets to Art. The best floral designers all over the Bay Area are invited to design a floral creation to be paired with one of the museum's works of art. There will be nearly 150 floral exhibitions along with elegant teas and luncheons and even a formal gala night. Two of my favorite florists, Ron Morgan and Paula Pryke, will be giving demonstrations. If you are interested in floral design and you can only go to one event per year, this is the one to choose.

The remainder of this post is mostly recycled from a homework assignment I wrote in my floral design class in 2007. Our wonderful instructor, Wendy Pine, asked us to write about at least two of our favorite creations and one that we did not like. Thank you, Wendy, for making this post a breeze to publish!

I’ve lost count how many times I’ve been to Bouquets to Art. I remember going the very first year that it was offered back when it was at the old De Young Museum. I clicked my heels with delight and was awed at the brilliance of marrying fine art with floral art – two of my favorite passions. My excitement for this show never waned from year to year. Each year offered new ideas, new combinations, and new interpretations; and yes, each year offered misguided creations allowing me and my friends to feel smug about our impeccable taste. This year did not disappoint us. I had to miss last year’s debut of Bouquets to Art because I was traveling, so this was my first time seeing the exhibit in the new De Young Museum building.

I have to admit that I miss the fabulous winding drive up to Legion of Honor location with the spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge. I miss seeing the tent set up in the courtyard signaling a very special event before you even walk into the building. Arriving from the garage elevator at the De Young comes up short. The De Young is much more spread out; in some cases, you almost have to look for the bouquets. The Legion of Honor imparted a more intimate feeling and every room was filled with flowers. Nevertheless, the show at the De Young was fantastic again.

Some of the interpretations were very literal:

I know those braids were made of plant material, but they look so close to human hair that it gave me a bit of the willies.




Some arrangements were extensions of a painting. This “tree” could have been on the other end of the courtyard and echoed the feeling of the sunlight and shadow in Albert Bierstadt’s painting.

Other arrangements conveyed the spirit of the art:

Ron Morgan's design is wonderful as always. Only he would be bold enough to use a discolored leaf as a major design element.

Posing barbed wire like a lasso in this interpretation of Frederic Remington’s bronze sculpture "The Bronco Buster" created movement and is also representative of the cowboy’s political cry “Don’t Fence Me In”. The clever use of cut branches helped create a strong line but also appeared to defy the laws of physics.

It's easy to overdo the props, but the black satin was a great a prop here because it exudes the drama of this painting byRobert Henri, "Lady in Black with Spanish Scarf", 1910.

Some of the popular works are nearly impossible to photograph without admirers filling your frame. This one was so popular that I was unable to get a photo of the accompanying painting.

I believe it was one of Wayne Thiebaud’s paintings of the San Francisco hills like this one:

Wayne Thiebaud, Down Eighteenth Street, 1980 Oil and charcoal on canvas

This arrangements has some many wonderful textures, it looks like Joseph’s dream coat. The floral artist writes:

“My intention is to create a panorama as we see it in the painting and then ---
a reminder to really see and appreciate the infinite textures, shapes, and
subtle colors in a forest.”

Some arrangements looked good enough to eat:

This interpretations of Wayne Thiebaud’s wonderful work of pop art "Three Machines" (1963)  is called "Gumballs Gone Wild":

I hope you enjoyed coming along; I wish you could have smelled the fresh fragrance of these flowers. Which were your favorites?

Flickr set here.