Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Here are the two secrets to assembling a well balanced hanging sculpture: First: Let gravity do the work. Do not fight it. And Secondly: Start from the bottom of your design and work your way up. Each piece has a balance point. Find that and connect it to the piece above
The BoutStix Floral Magnets “stick” is the backbone of the design, strengthening the narrow heart shape and adding support and balance.
A Posy made of Gypsophila flowers can look flat. I use a dried Hydrangea or Agapanthus flower head as a flower frog to puff it out
Gently bend and secure the Alstroemeria flower head into the twig design
For my design I wanted the wreath to look wind blown so I added a few loosely woven twigs into the weave. I also wanted to emphasize the autumn colours so I added a twirling copper wire into the weave
Acetate is the clear plastic mostly used for packaging design. It is thicker than cellophane and holds its shape much better.
Drape an acetate garland around the pumpkin, on the wires, to create a halo
Splitting the chopsticks or a wooden branch, such as a willow twig creates a natural (and glue-less!) clamp.
I glued wooden slats into a frame and then wove flax string to create the floral parasol
The cage spirals to form a basket that wrap around the plump ripe berries (or you can slip in a flower) to hang as connections between the twigs.
Even long nose pliers without grooves still damage soft aluminum wire. Pad the pliers with a plaster.
Cut leaves and petals and roll a spiral blossom
