For the past two years I have been delighted to participate in the Art in Bloom event at Anderson House in Washington, DC. Floral artists choose a painting, sculpture or decorative object from the collection to interpret in flowers. It is a great exercise in thinking outside one's normal floral approach and the results from all the artists are often incredible.
Here are photos of my pieces from 2022 and 2023.Monday, April 3, 2023
Tuesday, March 23, 2021
Spring 2021
Spring is especially welcome this year - after a very disman 2020, things feel brighter and lighter and seeing the garden come back to life is particularly thrilling in 2021.
Small events are on the horizon - this past weekend we did some flowers for a house party and were so happy to be thinking in a cheerful way.
Tuesday, January 12, 2021
Some new work
I have a degree in weaving and textile design. When I am designing with flowers, my hands and mind are always considering ways to include some sort of weaving into my work.
This piece is an elevated flat lay - I wrapped a metal ring in bind wire, crossed it with linen thread and thin reeds, added a felt wrapped element, ringed that with packing material and added pressed flannel flowers and maple leaves.
This piece really expresses the combination of my interests.
Thursday, September 17, 2020
Unique container challenge
My floral education group has been full speed ahead since we pivoted to an online platform in March when the pandemic closed everything down.
We met monthly for years (32 to be exact) and really thought on our feet and got busy on Zoom like everyone else to keep everyone together.
In order to keep ourselves and our members motivated we began to issue design challenges and have the members post their creations on our private member page. We have a weekly meeting to either talk about how to do the challenge or to review the photos.
It is fun, people are thinking outside the box/vase and I hope getting some respite from all the horrific news in the world.
This week the challenge was to work with unusual containers. For the first one I manipulated a piece of craft foam around a glass vase to create a soft suede like container, and filled with it wth incredible dahlias from our friends at Grateful Gardeners.
The second one is a generic vase wrapped with reed braid to give a boring vase some life. I kept the color palette very soft so the spiky branch and protea could be dominant.
Monday, June 15, 2020
Edible bouquet
Friday, November 15, 2019
Memorial arrangement
apparently, purple more than pink and I made this piece for the synagogue. One of my aunts did florals for this same synagogue in the 60s and it is just too crazy that now I am delivering arrangements there. And that's what happens when you live as an adult in the same area where you grew up.
Boutonierre workshop
We worked with both dried and fresh florals. Dried flowers are a thing these days - used in ways that are very different than the way they were used in the the 60s and before.
We had lots of fun and I made this little piece just to give it a try.
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Mantle decor
Saturday, May 11, 2019
UMD/Shady Grove
This year the brief was to make a piece that represented fire. It was such fun to work on these large fiery tropicals.
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
HIgh tops
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
A little hope for spring
Monday, January 21, 2019
Baby Shower
Monday, September 17, 2018
New Faculty Brunch
Thursday, September 13, 2018
Back to School 2018
I delivered this piece last week to Holton- Arms School for a back to school event.
Monday, January 15, 2018
EMC Part 2, first assignment
This is the first one - sent in today just in time. The assignment was for a hand tied bouquet.
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Some new work
Monday, September 4, 2017
Maddie and JD
Friday, August 25, 2017
Back to School
I used green centered sunflowers yellow Versilia roses, Sweet Annie, scabiosa pods and a wonderful burgandy coleus.
Saturday, August 5, 2017
Sarah and David's wedding
I have known Sarah since she was born and her mom is one of my oldest and best friends. When she contacted me about her marriage to David and how they pictured the event I was so excited. They were going to hold the ceremony and reception at El Rey, a Mexican bar at 9th and U Sts in DC.
When Sarah's mom Karen and I were kids, we went to Georgetown most Saturdays to the shops. At that time there was a great number of wonderful unique stores. Powder and Smoke, Coffee Tea and Spice, The Phoenix (still in business!), Three Penny Bit and many more. They were full of treasures to our eyes. At the top of Georgetown there was the Pappagallo shoe store in an old townhouse. In the attic hanging from the ceiling were hundreds of paper flowers from Mexico. My mother and I began to make flowers and I sold them to Ursells - a furniture store on Q St. All of these memories came back and I asked Sarah if in honor of the Mexican connection (David is of Mexican descent) I could decorate the chuppah in paper flowers. She agreed and I spend many enjoyable hours constructing them.
The wedding was such fun. Sarah and David collected black and clear mezcal bottles for vases. I put bright groupings of gerber daisies into each one. We made an industrial looking chuppah that worked with the look in the bar.
Sarah wanted a floral crown and a gardeny bouquet and all of the colors and ideas came together to produce a wonderful looking event that I was so happy to be part of.
Photography by Ann Marie Van-Tassell
Saturday, June 10, 2017
Graduation week
These pictures are from Sidwell Friends School in DC. They had the most perfect weather - a beautiful summer day with hardly a cloud in the sky and none of the typical DC humidity!
I was happy to use Red Charm peonies and dusty miller in these pieces - the Red Charms are the perfect color to match the burgandy of the school color.
Friday, June 2, 2017
Jeannie and Chris
Monday, February 20, 2017
Weddiing Reception
for the tables and went to town on the mantle arrangement! Photos by Alex Polyakov.