The 27th Annual Bouquets to Art features 150 floral arrangements by prominent Bay Area designers and garden clubs, to interpret and complement the museum’s permanent collection. Bouquets to Art is the largest fundraiser held to benefit the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, and one of the country’s premier floral events.
Soulflower Floral Design is thrilled to return as an exhibitor for our third year in row! It is always an honor and an artful challenge to participate in the week-long exhibition. This year, we were given a favorite piece of artwork to interpret and base our creation: Henry Moore’s Reclining Figure, No. 9. According to the de Young, Moore was profoundly influenced by the reclining figure depicted in a Toltec-Maya Chac Mool sculpture and that became the primary motif for his subsequent work. Moore believed that his compositions provided new ways of relating to the landscape, stating, “Sculpture is a mixture of the human figure and landscape, a metaphor of the relationship of humanity with the earth.”
For our Bouquets to Art piece, we chose to do a vertical interpretation and embrace the organic, modern and undulating feel of Moore’s sculpture. Bridging between the masculine and feminine qualities and the inherent relationship between humanity and nature, we brought together several natural elements, textures and colors such as succulents, moss, balsa wood flowers and unique foliage. With sustainability in mind, chose materials that are the longest-lasting cut flowers as well as many elements that can be replanted and reused. Here are a few images from our day installing the piece.
We joked on-site that it was like the ‘Top Chef’ of Floral Design because we have such limited time inside the museum and strict guidelines as to what you can use inside the museum. The conservator sheriffs are on patrol, not kidding! to inspect every item that enters the museum to protect against pests that may come in on wood, feathers, various fabrics and other materials. We were asked to special treat our balsa wood flowers made from tapioca root prior to entering the museum. Here we are relieved to have found the perfect placement near our piece, but within enough distance should there be an earthquake, it would not damage Moore’s beautiful bronze.
Ta-da! Our completed Bouquets to Art piece
Special thanks to SF Brides Magazine for sharing our piece on their blog! For more information about the exhibit, go to the Bouquets to Art website.
We hope that you will have a chance to enjoy this amazing exhibition before Saturday evening or again in 2012!
