Lessons

Schedule flower art

  • (This schedule is published in the book Flowerworld, a road to flower art. The schedule is as simple one in first concept published first time in 1985 in the book ‘Bloemsierkunst’)
    • Read for complete explanation the book Flowerworld, publisher. Terra. Read more

Flower arranging schedule

How to become a good or even a better floral designer, is an important and interesting question. It is not difficult to make a flower arrangement. It is more difficult to create a very good and exciting flower arrangement. Most difficult is to develop new styles. We can find the basis for a flower arrangement in the seven following essential elements:

- Awareness
- Composition
- Color
- Knowledge of materials
- Techniques, mechanics
- Creativity
- Sensitivity

These elements are the essential elements in your study in flower art. So in the art of flower design it is extremely important to work with these six basic principles and to put them into practice. They are our guidelines. Giving your work an own personality comes later and above all things requires creativity and sensitivity.

Creativity makes our work distinctive. Sensitivity makes it sensual or dramatic. Style rules can make clear how a specific style of floral art has to be created. In fact there are a great number of factors that influence the development of floral design, especially the many design elements and the design techniques.

Click on the small schedule to import the large one: it takes 14 seconds.

I have joined these factors in a concentric diagram in the book Bloemsierkunst and in the book Flowerworld (copyright.1984/1997, 2000).

How to read the diagram

We start to read this diagram from the center.
The heart is observation, awareness. Without watching closely and experiencing, everything that's around us, starting with nature itself, perfect floral design is not possible.

  1. Observation - Awareness.
  2. Design elements Composition - form development.
  3. Design element Color; theory, -harmony, -combinations, and -symbolism.
  4. Art history - architecture - interior design - period fashions - ornaments with plants - working with metal, clay, wood, stone etc. - sketching and drawing.
  5. Design techniques - design aids (wire, ribbon, Oasis, etc.) supplies (accessories) - bases (containers such as glass, ceramics, metal).
  6. Knowledge of plant materials, flowers and fruits, foliages, care and handling of flowers.
  7. Practical training of all styles of flower design – all types of arrangements.
  8. Creativity - personal views and direction of floral art - originality - development of our own style.
  9. Sensitivity - a special feeling, sentiment, a poetical idea, sensuality or dramatic effects.
  10. Experimentation - creation - continuous development - research.

A more detailed explanation of the schedule follows here:

1 Open your eyes, observation / awareness

It is a necessity, a must, to open the eyes; only then we can start a fantastic voyage of discovery of materials, shapes, variations, in composition and in color in floral design.

2 Design element Composition

Design elements and design techniques
There are many elements in a flower arrangement. We call them design elements and design techniques. It has to do with composition, color and the combination of materials.

We discover shape, color and differences in structures by observation. We see how materials has grown and taken shape. Look at the flowers and fruits. But also pay attention to roots and dead material. A tree is always more than it’s complete shape (the whole we call the gestalt) although the separate parts themselves does not form a tree. More is needed namely balance, unity and harmony, or if we put it in another way, coherence.

3 Design element Color

Color is a strong and essential element in floral design. An arrangement with a beautiful, refined blending of colors will attract more than an arrangement, which has a pretty shape, but a bad choice of colors. But remember an absolutely indispensable requirement of a good arrangement is the coherence of technique and the unique character of materials. With regards to blending of colors we can learn a lot from birds, fish, flowers, fruits etc.

4 General design and Art

As you will notice the esthetical aspect is the heart of this diagram. Aesthetics is the theory of beauty. This theory requires a development of our ability in observation in learning to see. Besides this ability it is very important to gain the necessary knowledge of architectural design, industrial design, interior design, floral design, fashion and other forms of art.

To achieve harmony in floral design we'll have to know something of the atmosphere and character of a building, a room and clothes. We also can learn a lot from paintings, sculptures and architecture which have shown us plant-, flower-, leaf-, and fruit patterns in various expressions throughout the ages. Both in stone and wood and paintings.

5 Design Techniques

Besides the esthetical basis, a thorough knowledge of rules of all techniques is self-evident in flower design. Thread-stitch and binding (design) techniques have to practice even if you think it is perfect.

Utensils and accessories
These are among others tools, thread, ribbon, Oasis, clay, plastics, metal, etc. Use these materials in the right and creative way.

Containers
Very important for good flower arranging is to have a range of suitable containers. The form of the vase and bowls is largely responsible for the form of your whole composition. A linear arrangement will look nice in a tall narrow vase, but a biedermeier will not.

6 Knowledge of flowers, leaves, fruits

These form the heart of our arrangements and we do not only have to know their names, but what's more important, their specific characteristics as well.

Secondary material
This encompasses for example: roots, branches, sand, moss, pieces of wood, etc.

Care and handling of flowers
A beautiful flower arrangement will not last long if we don't take the necessary precautions. What you have to do first is to have every flower well absorbed with water to which a preservation is added. Cut the flowers, don't put them in draught or in the sun. Give the arrangements water every day.

7 Practice and training

Everything said before will lead to better floral design; by study and by much practice.

8 Creativity

As in all creative arts, including flower arranging, creativity is a must to reach the top. Yet I see the craft of flower arrangements as the basis on our flower trade, which leads us to solid work by study and training. Creativity is a great help. It's after reaching this stage that creativity enables the flower designer to develop even further.

9 Sensitivity

A special feeling, and dramatic effect, or even a touch of sensuality will lift our flower arrangement to a higher level.

10 Experimentation

Finally we are able to develop our floral art more and deeper than ever before. It is a constant process of finding new ways of arranging, techniques and ideas. Work out your ideas and projects into unconventional flower arrangements.

back to index lessons

Last update of this page 23.05.2004