Georgia O’Keeffe and a Colorful Bouquet

Georia O'Keeffe inspired bouquet

 

Georgia O’Keeffe was inspired by what she saw in nature – over here at Starbright, we’re inspired by her perception and the images she shared.

The painting above is Ms. O’Keeffe’s Music, Pink and Blue No. 2. This abstract expression of music has an informal balance that gently flows across the canvas to create a soothing rhythm. The pattern, created by repeating circular lines and colors creates the impression of layers. Even the color harmonies mimic music.  The deep pools of concentrated color create a base (or bass!) for the sweeping mid-values to stand out against. The orange and white splashes, which are only partially visible in the above image, add focus – like lyrics, they sit slightly towards the foreground of the painting and give the eye something to pivot around.

Armed with inspiration, it’s easy to interpret O’Keeffe’s interpretation back into the natural.  The medium – flowers.

The bouquet in the above image was composed of the following flowers:

 

flowers

1/ Ranunculus : These bright orange flowers have crepe-paper thin petals. We’re reminded of the layered feel of the pattern in Music. The bright color is creating bright points of focus in these arrangements. Ranunculus come in a brilliant variety of colors. Giving a ranunculus says “I am dazzled by your charms”.

2/ Calla Lily : These undeniably elegant flowers mimic the central shape in Music. The washed pink color also reminds us of the calming shades of pink in the painting. These flowers represent abundance and beauty. 

3/ Sweet Pea : These richly colored, sweet-smelling flowers come in a variety of colors and represent blissful pleasure. The flowers themselves are about one inch big and resemble butterflies with folded wings. We chose a purple shade.

4/ Rose : This rose variety has a color gradation effect in its petals – the outer petals are light pink and get darker near the center.  According to The Language of Flowers, a pink rose represents perfect happiness. 

5/ Cornflower : These brilliant blue flowers are often called bachelor’s buttons.  The name comes from an old folk tradition that claims if worn by a young man in love the flower can divine the feelings of his beloved.  Because of this tradition, the cornflower has come to represent hope in love.  We’re going to use these in the groom’s boutonniere. 

6/ Hypericum Berries : These smooth peach colored berries add another texture to our arrangement.  We especially like how clean they look against all the ruffled petals. 

7/ Thistle : Ok, these are a little out there for the inspiration, but the rich blue/purple color and spiky prickles add great color and texture.  The thistle is also a Scottish symbol of noble character – which we think is pretty fitting for a wedding.  

The inspiration can be seen throughout the bridal parties pieces.  Below is the groom’s and groomsmen’s boutonnieres.

Georgia O'Keefe inspired Boutineers

We had a lot of fun making these colorful pieces!

Congratulations and best wishes to the happy couple!

 

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Starbright Floral Design began as a husband and wife team who had a passion for hard work and floral artistry.  Over twenty years later, we continue to stand by these founding principles. Looking for flowers in New York City? visit our Event Gallery for inspiration. Or see our daily selection at Starbrightnyc.com

 

 

Flowers: The Feel-Good Medicine Series. Part One: Color

Many theories have been put forth trying to explain the relationship (the cause and effect) between flowers and the blissful emotions they generate.  Today we begin a blog series that will take us on a journey through the therapeutic world of flowers in search of the answer to the question.  Why do flowers make us feel good?

Seeing flowers in every color is an uplifting experience!

COLOR:

The first theory of why flowers make us feel so good is rooted in the psychological effects of color.  Several ancient cultures (the Chinese, the Egyptians) believed they could heal ailments using color.  This is known as Chromo-therapy.  Still used in today’s holistic medicine, color has been shown to have  an impact on one’s mood…

Blue brings calmness and serenity.  There seems to be a mental association between night and the color blue.  Several municipalities have even seized on the theory and installed blue street lighting.  In 2000 Glasgow installed blue lighting to improve its landscape.  It was later reported that the crime rate was reduced in areas that had blue lighting!  In a similar effort to reduce agressive driving, Tokyo installed 152 blue lights on a stretch of highway in 2001.

Pink is associated with love and romance.  There is even a shade of pink called Drunk Tank Pink.  Click on this link to read all about this shade of pink!

Green is the color that symbolizes nature and the natural world.  Researchers have found that green can invoke feelings of good fortune, health and tranquility.

Red is a  bright, warm color that evokes strong emotions.  Red is often associated with love, warmth and comfort.  Red is also considered a strong, even angry color, that creates intense feelings, even excitement.  Consider the many ways that the color red is used in a phrase or colloquialism: red-neck, red-hot, red-handed, paint-the-town-red, seeing-red, the-red-eye.

Every color imaginable is represented by one flower or another. Although it is clear from study after study that color has an effect on people’s moods, these effects are not always positive.  What is certain is that any flower in any color will have a positive effect on those who receive and enjoy them.  It might be a bit of a leap to say that flowers of one particular color have a more positive  effect than flowers of another color.

The moral of the story?  Send someone flowers! If you know their favorite color, then that is great! If not, all the colors are beautiful and you can send those.  Flowers do make people happy and the bright vivid colors bring us joy and happiness.  They lift us up, the help our spirits rise and most of all they make us smile. Send someone flowers today and sit back and wait for the phone to ring.  The enthusiasm that comes through the telephone line will astound you!  What other research do you really need in order to prove  the point?  That loud over-the-top, super-giddy “thank youuuuuuuuuu!” is research enough!

No matter the reason, no matter the occasion, no matter the moment, all of us at Starbright Floral Design are standing by waiting to hear from you  and ready to help lift someone’s day.  We are the feel-good experts!  Helping people smile all over the world every day.  Starbright Floral Design (that is us) is  located in the heart of New York City (in the historic flower district) and because of our ties to hospitality in our great city we have been dubbed “The Official Florist of the City that Never Sleeps”.

You can visit our second floor loft at 150 West 28th Street (Studio 201), you can call us at 800.520.8999 or you can learn all about who we are by going to our website at www.starflor.com.  No matter where or how you reach out to us… We would love to be of service.

Happy Days to All!

The Official Florist.

Starbright Floral Design

www.starflor.com

To place an order on-line, visit the e-commerce portal of our site at: www.starbrightnyc.com

You can also find Starbright on Facebook by CLICKING HERE.

 

 

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