My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Inspired by Nature

This was my November 2010 entry in the Fleur Creatif and Gregor Lersch International Competition

The theme was I like... and my entry was being Inspired by Nature

Inspired by Nature

Detail of Inspired by Nature design

Flax leaves are ripped with a kenzan and wrapped with copper wire and small blue beads to create a rope to weave into a delicate spider web.

A Phalaenopsis orchid plant and aerial roots, small husks of green Cape gooseberries and dried Hydrangea florets are glued to float on the web.

The web is then suspended in a dramatic Acacia tortilis branch.

Flax spider web

Fleur Creatif and Gregor Lersch Competition entry form and Competition Schedule

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Tutorials
Beaded wire
14 January 2011
Beaded wire

Thread thin wire with tiny beads
Ripping Flax
14 January 2011
Ripping Flax

Flax can be ripped into fibres creating long and versatile strips
Drying Hydrangeas: Fast, Flat or Natural
30 May 2012
Drying Hydrangeas: Fast, Flat or Natural

Use all three methods to dry hydrangeas to get three very different textures to use in design work.
"I found it this way" demonstration Floral art Structures: Twig Tangles
21 September 2016
"I found it this way" demonstration Floral art Structures: Twig Tangles

For my "I found it this way" Floral Art demonstration at The Capilano Flower Arranging club, I began all four of my designs with basic armatures made of Twig Tangles and we discussed the importance of a stable structure as a foundation to a structural design. The twig tangles create a basic armature for the designs to be suspended from. Each design is crafted that it almost looks like a foraged or ‘found” natural object
Acrylic Spiderweb
21 September 2016
Acrylic Spiderweb

For this design I made the inside connection bit on a 3D printer with the spikes made of acrylic tubes.
Spin a Single Strand Spanish Moss Spider Web
29 October 2014
Spin a Single Strand Spanish Moss Spider Web

Weave a barely there all natural spider web.
Drying Hydrangeas: Fast, Flat or Natural
30 May 2012
Drying Hydrangeas: Fast, Flat or Natural

Use all three methods to dry hydrangeas to get three very different textures to use in design work.
Related Designs
I found it this way: Spiderweb design
21 September 2016
I found it this way: Spiderweb design

This was the first design I did in my "I found it this way" floral art demonstration
Celebrate!
23 March 2016
Celebrate!

A closer look at my design at the 20th anniversary of Canada Blooms and The Toronto Flower Show
How to make an early Spring
24 February 2016
How to make an early Spring

Roll and set willow twigs into a spring
Favourite Flowers
Phormium
Phormium

Flax Christmas tree "cake" for the Floral Trends Design Group end of the year function. "On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me... two turtle doves"
Phalaenopsis
Phalaenopsis

Phalaenopsis orchid detail from my Harnessing the Wind design
Hydrangea
Hydrangea

Dried and fresh hydrangeas with sticks and bark