Battle of the Flower Designers- March Madness Tournament 2010

[OB1]

I am honoured to have been asked to stand in as a judge for this final round of March Madness, on behalf of Carol Bice, while she enjoys her holiday in Spain.
Before I go into judge mode, I would like to express my appreciation to all of the designers who submitted such beautiful and inspirational designs for each of us, so that we can learn to become better designers.
Each arrangement acts as a reminder of the importance of bringing a pure mind to our craft, so that each of our designs should evoke emotions, and memories, and passion.
I have enjoyed the experience of learning from everyone involved, and hope to use this knowlege to become better at what I do.

So, thanks, all. It's been a blast!!!!
Now to the last phase.
Let the best man, or woman, win!
Later,
Joanne

 

[anytimeflowers]

I put mine up a couple days ago, but just did a link to the poll. So.......share how to embed already Eric! I know I can embed my youtube vids, but I guess I'll have to do some more investigating.

Thanks!
Linda

 

[RWK]

I will be ( with Adam's permission ) publishing my scores later on tonight..........However..........I can tell you that it will be very close......but I do have a few small critiques.

Adam - congratulations on stepping outside the box...............This was your first time creating such a design..........inexperience shows. The biggest mistake i see is minor ( the average consumer or even the trained consumer ( used to seeing floral art ) would not see this.........is the technique of binding. In the closeups, you can see some areas where the wire is loose slightly........the execution of the technique itself needs refinement. Also, the color of the bind wire ( you used the brown ) could be questioned. I stress could be only because Smithers makes only two colors of binding wire. perhaps another type of binding material could have been used.

Whereas Cathy's design is technically perfect...........even down to the anthuriums used in an upside down manner.........However, since the design is SUSPENDED........anyone viewing the design looking up at it would see the anthuriums facing as they should. She has taken and created a true design that could be viewed FROM ANY ANGLE.

Also........getting the weight distribution is criitcal so as to maintain a perfect visual alignment.


I want to congratulation everyone who participated in this........I have been PRIVELEDGED to have viewed some incredible design artistry and been HONORED to have been asked to provide critiques and evaluations. As the Britain's got talent female judge said about Susan Boyle's performance.........I could say the same about this.......It has been a complete priviledge to see the work you have done.

 

[CHR]

Adam and I got our wires crossed on the polling dates so I've updated them on the RF Blog page.

The public poll will close at midnight tomorrow (April 15) EDT (9 PM Pacific) so if you haven't voted, please do so in the next 36 hours or so.

Rick - thanks for the comments and thanks for taking the time to thoughtfully adjuducate the arrangements over the course of the last month. Sharing your expertise to help designers refine ideas and techniques has been a real-time lesson in competitive floral design.

 

[Eric S]

I put mine up a couple days ago, but just did a link to the poll. So.......share how to embed already Eric! I know I can embed my youtube vids, but I guess I'll have to do some more investigating.

Thanks!
Linda

Just move your mouse over bottom left and you will see you can share it on twitter and so forth. The last Icon gives you the code you need. Just copy and paste.

 

[OB1]

I recieved a PM from Adam requesting that I post my comments, and scoring directly, so here goes.

Obviously I must preface by saying that both designs are amazing, and both are inspirational, not only in their overall quality, but also because of their completely opposite approach to the same challenge. This is one of the reasons that judging is difficult...one peice may speak to you more than another...but in the end it must come down to the basic elements and principles of design, with a bit of room left over for the unexplainable.

So, Cathy, your arrangement is awesome! Not only are the placements of the flowers superb...getting the balance of the axis precisley correct is a feat many of us would have wrestled with unsuccessfully. I love the way each of your placements appear so effortless, with colour and form seamlessly winding through the center, and falling out the opposite side, only to become re-engaged to rise and fall again, in another area. Almost musical, rise....fall...rise...fall. Wow. I also love the grouping of materials; we learn how strength in numbers can visually balance against the strength of a single blossom. There is no doubt you are comfortable with the tropical products as you skillfully marry delicate orchids with the powerful protea, and somehow make the dance between an austere antherium and a graceful hanging heliconia seem like a natural occurance. You are one amazing designer, no doubt about that. The only weakness I find in this design is, perversly, also it's strength. And that is, to my eye, it is so perfect as to somehow be too perfect, if you know what I mean. I would love to see something ethereal added somewhere, ( like a 4 foot long length of plumosa, that just wouldn't behave) just to remind us that everything in life is vunerable. But that is personal, and hardly can be considered critisism.

Adam, you have an amazing mind...I'd like to crawl in there and poke around a bit. I absolutely love the whole concept you chose...the juxtaposition of organic wood vs. hardened steel. Man vs. nature. Somehow the warmth of the wood, and the icy cold of the metal blend beautifully to create a tension not often found in floral artistry. It did seem that this style of design is somewhat new to you, and it showed in the tiniest of ways. The binding wire around the steel...as much as I love the organic vs. steel, I think it may have worked better if it was executed more precicely. The grouping of the flowers could have been a bit stronger, so that over all, the flowers could sing more like a "choir", and less like a "collection of arias". The texture though...I feel like I could lay down on that bed of viburnum berry and pincushion protea, and wrap a scharf of amaranthus around me to keep warm. That ability to blend texture is a gift, and you have it in spades. I think the weight is a bit off towards the top of the arrangement, with the sole parrott tulip, but the raining amaranthus....oh yeah. I honestly walked through and around this little paradise a million times, and loved every minute. Thanks.

And to both of you, if you ever quit your day jobs, could you please come to my place and make a few videos of my stuff?
I laughed so hard, I had to start over again!. And honestly, I had tears too, when I saw a family working together, for one goal.
Beautiful stuff all around.

Congrats, and sincere thanks to you both.

For me it scores
Adam Master J...59 points
Cathy CHR.........62 points

Joanne Plummer, AIFD, CAFA

 

[RWK]

Scores..............

CHR

Originality - 5
Focal Area - 5
Harmony/Unity - 5
Organization of materials - 5
Scale/Proportion - 5
Physical Balance - 5
Mechanics - 5
Visual Balance - 5
Texture - 5
Form - 5
Line/Rythym - 5
Repetition - 5
Wow Factor - 5
Color - 5
Design basics - 5​

Master J

Originality - 5
Focal Area - 5
Harmony/Unity - 5
Organization of materials - 5
Scale/Proportion - 5
Physical Balance - 5
Mechanics - 4
Visual Balance - 4
Texture - 5
Form - 5
Line/Rythym - 4
Repetition - 5
Wow Factor - 5
Color - 5
Design basics - 4​

 

[CHR]

Wow, Joanne - You should be teaching a commentary class. That was the most eloquent adjudication I've ever read. Really.

Rick - Thanks for all your hard work on trying to assess three dimensional designs on two dimensional screens. It's not easy and you've added all those educational tips that make designers learn and grow.

Carol - When you get back I hope you'll read this. You are a true educator and your thoughtful comments to all the competitors have helped immeasurably.

Adam - Congratulations on stepping into the floral art world! Those customers of the gallery across the street most likely have the financial resources to make your business grow. A showing there with their art and your interpretive flowers could definitely be a winner. My one strong suggestion to you would be that in serious competitions - national titles and the World Cup - all flowers must have a water resource (except in bridal bouquets). If you look at the raw props from dutch-creations.nl you'll see every designer used cleverly hidden or adorned floral foam or water tubes. I've judged with classically trained designers who hand out zeros to any competitor not having water sources for each materials - even at the local level. Water sources require more technical skills, but ensures the design lasts longer than a few fleeting hours.

*Applause to all.*

We had 8 bold designers stand up to be counted this year. We blogged, tweeted, emailed and posted like crazy on FaceBook - all to share the good news that florists are more than by-the-numbers robots and that we can dynamically create rich visual experiences for consumers.

Hopefully, that number of 8 will grow exponentially next time.

 

[RWK]

That's a good point Cathy................I too have seen judges/evaluators mark low for lack of water source........particularly in judging the AIFD student competitions.

 

[Eric S]

all flowers must have a water resource (except in bridal bouquets). If you look at the raw props from dutch-creations.nl you'll see every designer used cleverly hidden or adorned floral foam or water tubes. I've judged with classically trained designers who hand out zeros to any competitor not having water sources for each materials - even at the local level. Water sources require more technical skills, but ensures the design lasts longer than a few fleeting hours.

Linh was mentioning this as well.

Regardless I'm requesting a recount!!! :wink


Just kidding.