The Arrangers’ Guild met on January 17, 2023, for class 3 of 6 units.
Today’s design consisted of a crescent shape to create a curve design with your plant material.
Our class instructor today was Margaret Kirkpatrick, who gave us a demo on bending and manipulating a leaf or any tough plant material, such as a young sago palm. You can condition it to be able to bend and make a curve shape. Here are a few handy tips:
Tip # 1: After you trim the edges on a sago palm, you put three branches together, then insert them in a nylon stocking so you can manipulate by bending it to curve, then remove the nylon sock, and you will have a curve shape.
Tip # 2: When using a softer leaf, like an aspidistra, you can massage it to form a curve shape. If you want to make your leaf shiny, rub it a few times with a soft cloth. This brings out the oils in the leaf.
Tip #3: When using oasis, always soak it for 3-4 hours. Do not remove a flower, reuse the same hole as it will not drink the water and will die. Also, always remove the bottom leaves, or they will rot in the oasis.
After a short break, the students created their own designs. Margaret Kirkpatrick then critiqued each one and showed us how to improve on our designs, and they came out beautiful! Nice job, everyone!
Submitted by: Nancy Iandoli
Photos by: Nancy Iandoli