Max 0, 1912. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



13 



HEBE'S ANOTHER MABTYB. 



Sends Designs for Criticism. 



The Eeview has received some photo- 

 graphs, one of which is reproduced here- 

 with, accompanied by the following let- 

 ter: 



I am sending you pictures of some of 

 the work I have put up. I shall be 

 glad to have you reproduce them in The 

 Review and criticise them, as you have 

 done with others — I want to know what 

 the trade thinks of my work and trust 

 that you will do justice to this oppor- 

 tunity. In reproducing I ask that you 

 leave the name in. 



Hilary E. Le Page. 



Criticism Necessarily Frank. 



I have been requested to make these 

 criticisms and, as criticism is neces- 

 sarily frank and perhaps brutal at 

 times, I hope that the maker of the de- 

 signs, who is positively unknown to me, 

 will at least accept my meaning in a 

 broad sense, considering the interest of 

 those of our trade at large who may 

 read what has been written and per- 

 haps find some benefit. Our desire is 

 only to improve our work by a clearer 

 understanding of art and, therefore, the 

 criticisms are, in the belief of the 

 writer, true, without exaggeration or 

 restraint. 



It would be hardly fair to the de- 

 signer of the work in the pictures sub- 

 mitted, or to the critic, to proceed with 

 criticism without a few words of ex- 

 planation on some of the simple and es- 

 sential lines of art. 



Designing is a space, and art is con- 

 cerned in breaking up that space to 

 create a pleasing eye picture of har- 

 mony in material tone and color. 



Your interest must be attracted to 

 some -object or high light, and all else 

 must be subservient to that principle. 

 Your arrangement must contain a de- 

 cided theory or tell a positive story and, 

 while the general lines must conform 

 and be proportionate to the whole, the 

 high light or attraction must center on 

 some locality and be distinct in detail 

 and assertion. 



The main form will first hold the 

 great interest, and so you must center 

 your opposition or high light interest on 

 the main body. 



Where two directions or objects are 

 contrary, the greatest interest will be 

 found at the greatest point of opposi- 

 tion, so at the greatest point of oppo- 

 sition you must place your greatest in- 

 terest or high light and there must re- 

 pose your richest material. You must 

 be always careful that you do not cre- 

 ate a point of interest and fail to qual- 

 ify it. 



Remember, we are to a great extent 

 copiers of nature. When we use mate- 

 rial in masses for form, our high light 

 or interest point must be in decided op- 

 position, yet all must harmonize in pro- 

 portion and color. 



Where you have two strongly con- 

 trasting factors a third, well chosen, 

 will harmonize them. 



Nature groups her subjects and in 

 the grouping of subjects you create 

 your opposing point of interest. 



So much for Art. 



We must always consider material. 

 Our aim is to produce, at a minimum of 

 cost in material, a maximum of beauty 

 in design. So we must be careful at 

 all times not to enrich at the expense 



down and find a bow of ribbon and a 

 number of ends. We have failed to 

 find a high light of sufficient interest, 

 for we find an almost equal attractive 

 value in each of the materials men- 

 tioned. True, there has been care in 

 grouping, but it has been painful in 

 its precision and without conventional 

 form to excuse it. Conventional lines 

 are to be avoided in such a piece as 

 this; they only have place in some of 

 the so-called set pieces. 



Sprays Offered for Gitidsm. 



of material, but rather by care in se- 

 lection and art in design. * ' Waste not ; 

 want not." 



The illustration contains two clusters. 

 The larger cluster tells the story of a 

 pair of cycas leaves, with a cluster of 

 carnations tied into place by a bow of 

 ribbon. The cycas take separate angles 

 and lead the eye to the cluster, but as 

 direction is the same, we continue on 



Had the maker lengthened a few of 

 his carnations and given a little of na- 

 ture's freedom in his arranging, he 

 would have broken the symmetrical use- 

 lessness of flower mass and would have 

 gained some opposition to his general 

 outline, and by showing the projection 

 of stems or the reversal of flowers at 

 the tying point he would have given 



