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October 10, 1912. 



The Florists^ Review 



9 



THE ART OF FLOWER 

 s»^ ARRANGEMENT ^ 



iNTsoDucma the series. 



What Is Art? 



There is at the present time a great 

 (leal of discussion on the "art" of 

 jfloral arrangements. We hear and read 

 many varied opinions on the subject 

 and believe that a little free and open 

 talk and some practical demonstrations 

 of the theory of design making will 

 be of material assistance to many of 

 those in the trade who are making a 

 real effort to master the principles of 

 floral arrangement and become masters 

 of their craft. 



Let us first of all try to analyze the 

 subject and bring "art" to the under- 

 standing of all of us; let us simplify, 

 so that shorn of its technicalities we 

 may see and recognize art when we 

 meet it. 



What is art? 



Art is the making of a .pleasing final 

 of design. , • 



So we must ask ong. more question: 

 What is design, or deigning? 



Design may be defined as space, and 

 art in designing is concerned with the 

 breaking up of spa^e into pleasing 

 parts, that vary in nlaterial, tone and 



color. 



._^ 



The Review takes pleasure in announcing that it 

 has arranged with Fred C. W, Brown, whose 

 lecture with the stereopticon was the big hit of 

 the Chicago convention, for a series of illustrated 

 articles on design making. The second article 

 will appear next week. 



- 



There is a prevailing impression that 

 one must be educated to an apprecia- 

 tion, to an understanding of art. Then 

 let us further define our subject. 



Art is simplicity, balanced propor- 

 tion, and harmony of coloring. 



The school of art will teach you a 

 scientific method of producing a pleas- 

 ing eye picture, but to possess the fac- 

 ulty of appreciation of art it is not 

 necessary to study its theories. 



Art is simplicity, therefore it does 

 not tax the mind. 



Art is balanced proportion, there- 

 fore it is pleasing to the eye. 



That which is artistic is harmonious. 

 Therefore art is soothing to our senses. 



Simplicity. 



Our first illustration is of a wreath. 

 I have chosen the wreath because of its 

 simplicity. Art is simplicity. We have 

 covered our design with a massed^ ef- 

 fect, using carnations, and have re- 

 tained the original design in its most 



simple form, by adhering as closely as 

 possible to the symmetrical lines of its 

 accurate proportion. 



It is necessary to enrich this design, 

 so we must add to our foundation, as 

 the plain wreath is not sufficiently at- 

 tractive. To gain a greater attraction 

 we must have opposition, for opposi- 

 tion creates attraction. 



It is necessary that we clearly un- 

 derstand this principle, so in the second 

 illustration you will see our opposition 

 in the form of ribbon ends. 



The Point of Opposition. 



Now, if you will stop for a moment, 

 and reason, you will realize that at 

 .the point of greatest opposition you 

 will find the greatest interest. So we 

 find our point of greatest opposition 

 at the meeting place of the ribbon 

 ends and the main body of the wreath. 

 Therefore, this being the center of in- 

 terest, we have placed here our inter- 

 esting subject of ribbon bow. 



We created this point of interest and 

 have qualified it, so our finished wreath 

 tells the story of a wreath of carna- 

 tions with a bow of ribbon attached. 



The story is simple and surely does 

 not need explanation, argument or 

 persuasion to convey its meaning. 



The Plain Wreath of Carnations. 



Tlie Same Wn-atli Provided with a Center of AttracUon. 



Illustrating: the Simple Methods by Which Artistic Results Are Secured in Arransios Flcwers. 



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