Dunedin Floral Art Society

Post-Lockdown Inspirations from Dunedin Floral Art Society

At the end of June six of our members travelled to Gore to attend the two workshops the Southern Regions Area had organised for their annual Floral Fun day. Both workshops had their themes inspired by Francine Thomas’ tutorials during Lockdown. The first, ‘Circled Web’, was tutored by Raewyn Hartley and the second, ‘A Contemporary Urn’, by Diane Storer.

The afternoon session was a very informative ‘ Show and Tell’ run by five different members from our Area, showing a variety of useful techniques and structures. They also spoke about the benefits of studying for the FASNZ Units. A competition, ‘Bare and Beautiful’, was judged by popular vote with Judy Fulton (Dunedin) gaining 1st place and Jan Smith (Dunedin) 2nd in the Novice/Intermediate section.

During the winter months, the Dunedin group always exchange their usual Monday night meetings for a full day of workshops in July and August.

For the July meeting the morning session was an imposé class titled ‘Yellow Dash’, with materials gathered by our committee. Members could use as many pieces as they desired resulting in some very interesting designs. In the afternoon a workshop, ‘ Floral Hoops’, was taken by Deborah Bell. This was based on Gislinde Folkerts’ workshop at our Area AGM at Bannockburn three days before Lockdown.

The winter workshop in August started with eight members competing in the Joan Leslie Floor Design, which was a cascade design with the title ‘Go with the Flow’. It is always interesting to see the various interpretations of a title, with some wonderful designs being created. The winner was Lynne Hayward, with Jan Smith second and Shirley Shaw and Judy Fulton third equal.

2020 Lockdown inspired our afternoon workshop when the creative talents of many New Zealand children showed us what amazing things can be done with a mere egg carton. The idea was to have some fun with a relaxed non-competitive challenge. All parts of the carton were used to make some amazing creations.

The cancellation of the FASNZ Conference gave us another idea for a get-together. We held an ‘In-Lieu of Conference’ dinner party in early August at Deborah Bell’s house. We wore our planned French themed outfits and provided food to suit the theme: boeuf bourguignon, chicken chasseur, quiche, garlic bread sticks, tarte tatin, profiteroles, macaroons, cheeses and of course wines! All went to create a very jovial atmosphere and a fantastic night. What more could one want to celebrate!