Hitomi’s Part Two Notes

CREATIVE USE OF COLOURS

            Per Benjamin Colour Theory

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CATEGORIZING COLOR HARMONIES

Conventional Color Theory

Polychromatic Bouquet – Bridging the Primary Triad Color Harmony

BOTANICAL LIST: Ranunculus asiaticus ‘Burgundy’ & ‘Minerva’; Tweedia caerulea; Eryngium planum; Handing Amaranthus (Amaranthus caudatus); Parrot Tulips; Narcissus var.; Spray Rose ‘Jana’; Fritillaria uva-vulpis; Hellebores ‘Anna’s Red’; Rose ‘Combo’; Monstera (mini)

SUPPLY LIST: Flat Cane; Bindwire; Bark wire; AD footed Ceramic container

COLOUR CHALLENGE:

To Design a Triadic Color Harmony using the raw hues of the Primary Colors – Red, Blue & Yellow as starting points is the challenge. The ‘Per’ bridging requires 2 points of origin from which you can navigate the colour path to connect them skillfully and creatively. The challenge of originating from 3 points most frequently and intentionally lead to a Polychromatic Color Harmony.  It becomes an exercise on how to unify the 3 colours with connective colour derivatives that when carefully orchestrated, create a much more harmonious visual than the 3 stark hues from which I began this color conversation.

I demonstrated in my mentor session…  how to break down the Red/Blue/Yellow to a more palatable softer, less harsh palette… Pink/Cream/Blue Lavender, toning down the pure hues by applying the grey or brown tones within the hue, thus lightening the intensity so they were not fighting with each other.  Then using further extraction from the resulting nuanced colours, you can reach some amazing complex harmony to bridge and to extend the colour experience.  When you begin with 3 colours/flowers and then expand to multiple extractions from the flowers and bridging of colours…. it inevitably result in an intentional Polychromatic Harmony.

I intentionally used my Fiber Art Tapestry as a background to keep myself inspired to achieve similar colour adventure with flowers.  There are variable texture, line and form to consider, to sequence in a pleasing way to complete this design. 

STRUCTURE:

A white footed ceramic container with blue painted pattern, has hints of soft yellow in its whiteness.

The mechanics used to hold the flowers in this vessel was created with bark wire in the chicken wire method.  Over this mechanics, a concentric, continuous rings of white flat cane was loosely bindwired to it.  Intentional quick method for efficient and quick install of flowers, and later ease of dismantling was the plan.

In the European Terminology…

BOTANICAL COLOR SELECTION & TRANSITION/GRADATION:

YELLOW    Parrot Tulips – ‘Combo’ Roses – Fritillaria 

Deciding to lift up the delicate Fritillaria bloom to expose the green stem and foliage to emphasize the depth and character of the bell flower, led to the decision to make green a part of this color palette. Added in the green Monstera to commit to the green in the palette

RED           

Amaranthus caudatus – Ranunculus – Hellebores 

BLUE         

Eryngium - Tweedia 

Connects with the Blue in the container, to bridge to that color

Also added in the Narcissus to bridge back to the white container and to the white flat cane structure.      

Fiber Art Vessel Cov1 (Coil Method) – Colour Extraction

BOTANICAL LIST: Hanging Amaranthus (Amaranthus caudatus); Rose ‘Amnesia’; Ranunculus asiaticus ‘Burgundy’; Mini Calla ‘Paco’ (Zantedeschia elliottiana); Gerbera pomponi ‘Chique’; Hellebores ‘Anna’s Red’; Lilac ‘Lavender Bouquet’ (Syringa vulgaris); Parrot Tulip var.; Astrantia major; Monstera (mini); Aspidistra elatior; Equisetum hyemale; Tillandsia var.; Fantail Willow (Salix udensis ‘Sekka’)

SUPPLY LIST: Midollino Extenders (Midollino, Aluminum wire, Yarn); Bindwire; 10” clear Glass Cylinder Vase

COLOUR CHALLENGE:

To identify the layer in the Fiber Art Vessel to extract from… Red Violet from light to dark, dusty (grey tone) to dirty (brown tone), to Red, and adding the complementary Green as contrast since the stems of mini Callas and Tulips are important linear element to be kept visible for visual flow.

The start of the visual linear flow was built into the structure with the Midollino extender free-flowing out at the top into lines.  These were created to allow the transition of hand-crafted lines of colour to the living flowers and their stems.  The key operative here is that the Fiber tapestry transitions into Flower tapestry.

FLOWERS make the Fiber Art come ALIVE, they add LIFE to an innate art object. 

STRUCTURE:

When we talk structure…. It can be an armature beneath the floral, or it can be a visible part of the artistic expression. In this design, the vessel, the holder of flowers in its complete entirety was created to slip over an utilitarian glass cylinder to connect the color experience which was hand-crafted into the flower experience.  It became the deliberate source of color inspiration for the FLOWERING.

Multiple strands of Midollino extenders were created with intended variation of thicknesses to build up the body of the vase just like you would in pottery class, using the coil building method.  

The layers of the build were continuously stacked and shaped with bindwire holding them together, in most part with no gaps in between with the tatami method.  The random thicknesses of the extenders allows for the desired appearance of hand-made imperfection, I personally tend to gravitate to the Law of Random and Nature of Imperfection.

The linear, almost viney extensions at the top of the vase are intentional part of the structure that holds flowers. It also further transitions the solid, innate object, the vase, to liquify like a splash.  

These extensions are supported with gorgeous, naturally artful shapes and lengths of the fasciated willow.

This container allows your imagination to interpret the color, the line, the texture and the shape to flower it in different ways.

BOTANICAL COLOR SELECTION:

Extraction from the Fiber Art Vessel – from the band of the Red Violet… depth of color from dark to light, and navigating the paths that brings you to warm and cool tones, dusty and dirty.

Lavender Lilac - ‘Amnesia’ Rose – Mini Calla – Parrot Tulip 

This led to Reds (tints and tones and shades)  

Ranunculus – Hellebores – Gerbera pomponi – Hanging Amaranthus – Astrantia – Tillandsia

Contrasting Green when committing to showing the linearity of 

Calla stems and Parrot Tulip stems and foliage, and adding split dark Aspidistra  

To connect back to the band of blue green/burgundy layer of the Fiber Art Vessel

Fiber Art Vessel Cov2 (Tatami Method) – Colour Extraction

BOTANICAL LIST:  Carnation ‘Caramel’(Dianthus caryophyllus); Ranunculus asiaticus ‘Minerva’; Butterfly Ranunculus ‘Thesus’; Hanging Amaranthus (Amaranthus caudatus); Fantail Willow (Salix udensis ‘Sekka’); Asparagus setaceus

SUPPLY LIST: Midollino; Yarn; Bindwire; 4” Water Tubes (clear); 4” Glass Cube

COLOUR CHALLENGE:

Extracting the colour palette from the brown tones found in the Fiber Art Vessel begins with breaking down the 2 shades of brown to primary corresponding hues, Red and Orange.  These browns represented the muddy, dirty and dusty derivatives, the nuances that allow us to identify which hues we see in them. 

STRUCTURE:

CREATE THE ART FIRST… Fiber Art Vessel Cov2

I started with building my ART first.  The flowering is secondary… to be inspired by the ART.

When my mindset begins with the ART…. I am looking at flowers purely as an art medium to complete the intended story.  This then becomes FLOWERXART, a hybrid art using 2 different medium to come together into a composition.

I believe that the Fiber Art Vessel can from the beginning be and Art piece in itself.

Again, the Flowers make it come ALIVE.

The more skeletal, curvaceous nature of this yarn-covered midollino coiled structure, comes from using the tatami method of building with space between the layers.  This is achieved by adding the 2 twists with the bindwire to create that open, transparent weave.  It is a 3D Tatami-weave Midollino structure with added colour and texture element with the use of yarn as wrap.  The yarn makes the connecting seams disappear. 

The fun asymmetry in the vessel structure is manipulated as you build…. So much fun can be had working through the process.

The resulting shape can still be somewhat shape-able, it is not completely static.  This is a fun aspect as well…. e.g. it has ability to puff up or collapse down, lean more to right or left, especially if you prop it up with (in this case) fascinated willow branches to add extra support to hold its spot.  This is especially important if you are planning to put more weight in the flowering.

The neck of this vessel is very narrow, so it can only hold 2 – 4” clear water tubes as a water source.

At the bottom open end, a 4” clear glass cube filled with water was placed to accept the flowers into the design.

The open weave of this structure allows for stem insertion between the weave.

The placement of the Fasciated willow bound with bindwire, adds the grey catkins to the design.  The texture is flattering and the colour is perfection… they unite the 2 shades of brown yarn.

BOTANICAL COLOUR SELECTION:

The pure hues that I saw and extracted from the warm and cool brown tones were Orange & Red that connected to the toned down earthy derivatives. In all, these colors provide the soulful variations and capture the organic nuances of this colour inspiration.

In looking closely at the flower colours I selected…. Each and every flower has a direct relationship to the colour of this vessel.

Fasciated Willow - Ranunculus’Minerva’ – Butterfly Ranunculus – Hanging Amaranthus – Carnation

Lightly exposed green of Ranunculus, prompted use of light and airy Asparagus setaceus at the top as added texture and color.

Identifying the Green in the color harmony was always a point of contention for me, since it so often turned Monochromatic color harmony, and Analogous color harmony with flower colors, into Complementary color harmony. I chose for years to not include the green when it appears in stems and some foliage as a given nature of flowers.  This I see as the major flaw of the conventional color systems… it makes us name the harmony as if everything must fit into a box.

The method of flowering…

I was inspired to place every flower as if they were growing out of the shape of this vase… flowers literary rooting into the side of the vessel.  No manipulation of stems or faces of flowers were necessary… they just needed to look like they decided to grow out of the given surface taking roots, like weeds growing out of the crack in the sidewalk.

Design Blue flowers in Natural Brown Cov3 Structure – Colour Bridging

BOTANICAL LIST:  Anemone coronaria; Chrysanthemum ‘Doria’; Muscari armeniacum; Rose ‘Amnesia’; Hydrangea macrophylla; Tweedia caerulea; Equisetum hyemale; Monstera deliciosa (mini); Aspidistra elatior

SUPPLY LIST: Ready-made Wood Sculpture on stand (Homesense); Bamboo skewers; Carboard; Raffia; Midollino Extenders (Midollino, Aluminum wire, Raffia); 4” Water tubes (clear); Bindwire; Bongo ties; UGlu dashes

COLOUR CHALLENGE:

Bridging the natural brown colour of the structure, to integrate it with the flowers to feature the color, Blue. Wanted to use Grape Hyacinth in season now.

STRUCTURE:

The armature/construction is built on a ready-made wood sculpture on a stand, meant to be a home décor accent piece.  I am drawn to anything wood.  It affords me the ability to build upon it, to drill and add and attach to become a new structure with potential to flower it in the way you plan.

Step by step process to share here…

• Build a criss cross rigid assemblage of bamboo skewers to become the armature.  First, drill into the wood structure in several spots to thread in the skewers to become the attach point for the following skewers.

• Add in the circular cardboar ring covered with raffia wrap and place it an angle, attached to the bamboo skewer structure in 2 or 3 spots to secure.  It provides a good dimensional visual platform.

• Add in curved Raffia Tapestry sticks, by bindwiring them to the bamboo skewer structure to create attractive visual flow. You are building a functional organic sculpture.

• Bongo-tie 2 water tubes together at the neck, and straddle this over strategic spots in the structure. These will serve as the water source to all the flowers in this design.

• Even though Equisetums are considered the botanical selection…. they are used to create the initial vertical columnar space for flowering, as well as to connect the brown structure to the colorful botanical element within.  Equisetum with its grey-brown nodes are great color connector to living 

  flowers.

• The mini Monstera at the top and bottom of the vertical column set the parameter of this design.  They add depth, dimension and spatiality to this composition.

BOTANICAL COLOUR SELECTION:

To begin flowering, I begin with my feature blue flower, Muscari.

Blue Anemone towering above.

Blue Hydrangea grounding below/back.

Tweedia to complement the Muscari

Brown/beige mums as a cluster to visually connect with the natural color of the structure.

Below it, anchored with warmer, dusty red violet of ‘Amnesia’ Roses.

Split Aspidistra foliage mimics the shape and flow of the underlying wood sculpture.

Green is given a prominent role in this design to define the designed space.

Washi Paper Structure Cov4 – Color Extraction

BOTANICAL LIST:  Narcissus var.; Phalaenopsis var.; Parrot Tulips; Fritillaria uva-vulpis; Equisetum hyemale; Beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax)

SUPPLY LIST: 4 x 4” Wood Base; Glass rods; Oasis Floral Wire Mesh; Washi Mulberry Paper; Hot glue; UGlu dashes; Split Bamboo Strips; Yarn; Bullion Wire; 4” Water tubes (clear); Bindwire

COLOUR CHALLENGE:

Colour Extraction from the natural white Washi mulberry paper.  The lighting often determines the colors you might see and experience in this achromatic highly textural paper surface.  Different degree of shadows as light hits the surface, provides inspiration for color extraction.

White/Cream/Butter Yellow/Beige/Soft Peach

This surface can adapt to any color you put against it… with lighting, the color reflects to the background.

The light green linear flow created by the arching split bamboo strips, not only is good mechanics, but introduces another color.

STRUCTURE:

Holes were drilled vertically into a length of 4 x 4” Cedar fencing post (its green lumber… meaning not kiln-dried, so its really heavy), good for the base of the structure.

• 3 glass rods were inserted into this block of wood to support a rectangular bamboo grid across the top.

• It is bindwired securely to the glass rods.

• This rectangular grid will support a folded sheet of Oasis Wire mesh – the fold will straddle over the bamboo grid and is secured with bindwire.

• Into the wire mesh, hand-torn pieces of Washi paper are glued (hot or UGlu dashes) to the front and back side to entirely cover what looks like a paper cloud.

• Lengths of curving split bamboo strips criss-cross, bindwired to the structure to add extra strength and support to the papered structure.  They alternatively provide attach points and mechanics to support the botanicals which will be designed into the structure.

• 4” Water tubes (clear) provide water for the heavy drinking tulips.

• Equisetum water tubes provide water for the light drinkers like the short-stemmed Phalaenopsis blooms

BOTANICAL COLOUR SELECTION:

White – Cream – Butter Yellow – Beige – Soft Peach 

Complemented by linear green foliage

Narcissus – the frilly trumpet mimics the feel of the paper.

Peach-yellow Parrot Tulips were selected not only for the flower colour but for it beautiful stems. They are

Supported by the arching split bamboo strips.

Bundled Beargrass with the silver bullion wire wrapped tip, also add grace to complement the arching flow.

Punctuating the beauty of these combination… are character flowers, Phalaenopsis with its exquisite color in

The most gorgeous patterning.  They can be in water in Equisetum tubes, or simply Oasis glued to the

paper. The lasting quality of glued Phalaenopsis bloom range from 4-5 days with daily surface misting.

This design highlights COLOUR selected through extraction.

TEXTURE, LINE and FORM, in that order are the elements which make this design speak.