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.