Macro Monday - Bouquets to Art 2011

As I mentioned in my previous posts about Bouquets to Art at the De Young Museum in San Francisco, this year's exhibition one of my favorites. One reason is that several floral artists have selected works of art that I don't recall being chosen before.

I have always adored this pair of small paintings by Thomas Waterman Wood and was delighted that Market Woman was tapped.

Fleur de Vie floral designer Talin Tascian created a spectacular floral twin using the king protea's petals for her shawl and its silver flower heads in her shopping basket. Her apron was composed of woven flax (hala) leaves and her skirt black ti leaves. 

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I have walked by this beautiful fireplace mantel countless times and never noticed that the legs were carved dogs, until Grace Street Floral  made it patently obvious.

I imagine that Rhonda Stoffel had a blast choosing the materials for this whimsical sculpture. Rust hypericum berries (St. John's Wort), white tallow berries, and succulents were great choices for the face. I will never look at the under side of a magnolia leaf again without thinking that it looks just like the velvety ear of a dog. In fact, I believe I will be hounded by this image. 

Update - Rhonda Stoffel wrote me and shared this:

Yes he WAS super fun to make — I’ve been wanting to do something with those crazy-amazing dogs for AGES and was excited to finally have the opportunity to do so ( as usually the person who chooses that piece highlights something with the TOP part of the mantel - with more of the deer motif) — The dogs finally got their proper 15 minutes of fame!

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The initial inspiration for David Regan's Cod Tureen dates all the way back to biblical times in the Gospel of James where the metaphor of big fish eating little fish was used to illustrate the rich exploiting the poor*. In the mid-sixteenth century, Pieter Breugel the Elder depicted this story in a painting. Pieter van der Heyden, in turn, created the companion engraving in 1557. David Regan formed the ceramic version in 1997.

Thierry Chantrel of La Follia created the most recent incarnation...

...nearly 400 years after tulip mania and using the marine currency of sand dollars .

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Though it is refreshing to see new works of art interpreted, it is still exciting to visit the perennial favorites. Some of you may recall the 2009 interpretation of James Bard's The Steamship Syracuse. This year, College of San Mateo's C. Diana Vigil and floristry students did an admirable job echoing the Mississippi steamboat with blue delphiniums, white roses, and phaleonopsis orchids.

In 2009, the window of Job Lots Cheap was the emphasis. This year, this trompe l'oeil was enhanced by Nancy Liu Chin's literary contribution:



Sunshine Flowers and Event Design literally weighs the question: "Why compare apples and oranges?" on a vintage scale...

... in response to William Rickarby Miller's Still Life -- Study of Apples, 1862 and William Joseph McCloskey's Oranges in Tissue Paper, ca. 1890.

I hope that Marisse Newell's fantastic interpretation of Winter Festival conjures up images from the distant past for you...

...and that instead, you are looking out your window to newly sprung blossoms, like these arranged by Ikebana International.

Paradise Flowers' amaryllis blossoms are a great red-headed representation for Robert Henri's "The Lady in Black with Spanish Scarf", 1910.

Emil Yanos thought out of the box when he complemented The Blue Veil with a striking abstract sculpture.

See more Macro Monday images here and stay tuned for more stunning images from the 2011 Bouquets to Art in upcoming posts.
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* Source: Wiki and The Met

Bouquets to Art 2011 - Upper Galleries

Now that you've enjoyed the delectable foods served at the Bouquets to Art Opening Night Preview Party, please come upstairs to view the works of art as interpreted by prominent floral designers in the San Francisco Bay Area.

At the top of the stairs, you are greeted with a cascade of white dendrobium orchids spilling into a luscious pool of blooming delights designed by the florists of Blooming Floral Design. Their arrangement adds a third dimension to the diptych "The Niagara River at the Cataract".

Wendy Morck's crescent design cradles the portrait of Maria Maytilda Winkler perfectly.

Mykell Newton of Botanic Gifts contributed a design that lives up to his company's name. The smoky-colored mushroom valley is an inspired idea.

Ron Morgan's architectural interpretation of the Navajo necklace gets the award for Most Ingenious Use of Materials. Two wreath bases serve as great spines for the "necklaces". At first glance, the bold red bromeliad leaves appear to be the only plant material used. 

Closer observation, however, reveals other natural elements  like eucalyptus knobs, iris fruit pods, black beans, and bisected gourds.

I enjoyed stepping into the botanical shrine Charlotte's Blossoms built for Penelope.

Svenja Brotz's larger-than-life dance partner for Karen LaMonte's Dress 3 was my sister's favorite.

I like the arrangements that work with the paintings as well as on their own, like Lavender Floral's entry for the Richard Mayhew's Rhapsody...

... and Laurelle Hartley-Thom's depiction of Martin Johnson Heade's Singing Beach, Manchester...

... demonstrating beautiful pave technique and great choice of monochromatic florals.

The team at Michael Daigian Design also used the pave technique for their entry. They extended the scene in John Vanderlyn's painting Caius Marius amid the Ruins of Charthage, 1807, with a large stem of sandblasted grapewood...

...and a wardrobe of red roses, amaranth, and succulents.

I've admired Sandow Birk's Fog over San Quentin State Prison, San Quentin, California (2001) ever since the museum acquired it because I used to live nearby the cove in the foreground of the painting. I was impressed with Kim Haworth's subtle references to the prison with the stone-wall container, the striped fabric and bamboo bars. 

Florabella's design (top photo) reflects the lily-white skin and mane of red hair in George De Forest Brush's painting of A Celtic Huntress. The galax leaves formed the ideal fabric for the bodice and

the stalk of date palm fruit with a spritz of copper paint was the perfect choice for the red hair. I know many of you were wondering about that strange flower/fruit/creature. You are not alone; it stirred up quite a bit of conversation.  

Please stay tuned for more Bouquets to Art creations in the coming days.