Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Prickly Oasis
- 8 February 2011
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In geography, an oasis is a remote area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source.
In Floral design Oasis is basically the same thing.
It is a small block of floral foam that we use as a water source for plant material.
But as a contemporary designer there is so much more you can do with Oasis. Over the coming month I will explore and use Oasis (focusing mostly on Rainbow Oasis) in my designs and add a few tutorials as I go along.
My Oasis design series include: Prickly Oasis, my take on using Oasis as a water source, A Work of Heart, using Oasis to weigh down an underwater garland Hanging Garden Oasis in powder form, One Singular Sensation, carving pebbles, Crossing Boundaries, using Oasis to conceal mechanics and A Rock by any other Name.. for Oasis rocks
See below for the design links
This is my second Oasis design in this series
Place three soaked blocks of ivory Rainbow Oasis with charcoal grey thorn details in three identical glass containers.
Place green wool on the top to soften the look of the Oasis. Place the Acasia thorns into and across the Oasis and finish the design with stems of lilies and lisianthus.
Top up with water as it evaporates or is absorbed by the stems.
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Tutorials
Mix and match Rainbow Oasis colours to create patterns
Each block of foam holds forty times its own weight in water. One brick holds two litres of water
Sometimes you want to keep flowers in tight bud for as long as possible to suit your design
Related Designs
Twig waterfall creates the boundary between the "under" and the "over" of the design. Tutorial: How to cover test tubes with Rainbow Oasis
Carving hearts out of Rainbow Oasis to create an under water design
It's not really what we call things that matter but what they are made of- in this design, it's made of all three types of Oasis and wool.
Three Lilies plaited to create a sensational, singular flower "growing" out of a Equisetum dome filled with Rainbow Oasis pebbles.