Crescent Design Form

Video Transcription 

Welcome to the Flower School .com video library. I'm Leanne Kesler, director of the Floral Design Institute. And today I want to share with you the techniques for creating the on-trend crescent form design. 

Key to creating this design is your base mechanics. I like to work with floral foam. It needs to be above the edge of the container so that you can get your side insertion. When you anchor it in place with your tape, make sure that you don't cover the sides. You'll notice I've angled so that it just comes across, but it leaves the right and left totally open for stems. 

First step is to create the form, this is where it helps to know your materials. Working with wooly brush, it actually has a bit of natural curvature, and you can accentuate that by just rolling it in your hands, kind of manipulating and molding so that you get a nice curve begun. Then giving it a cut, determining how big you want it to be and adjusting. I think I'm going to bring it down right about there, remove the lower, and then placing it in angled outward. Repeating that on the opposite side. This one has a natural curve already there. Giving it a break, placing it, then going back. This piece, if I remove the center, look at that great curve. I can add that to enhance, creating even more curvature, exaggerating. This one has the same thing. Taking the end, placing it to expand upon the curvilinear design. 

Snapdragons also are perfect for this type of design. They're phototropic and geotropic, which means they're going to continue to try to grow upwards. So if I place it at an angle, the tip will continue to curve in that same direction. It already has a bit of a line begun. Then I can enhance, looking at each stem determining which way they go. This one is already coming in a bit. So placing it right over here and repeating. Continue that adding in snapdragon lines to enhance the crescent form. 

With the crescent, it's important to leave the center open so that you can see those lines, but of course you need a focal emphasis. So bringing in the sunflowers, looking at them, which one fits the best. Giving it a cut then placing it down the very base to help break the line of the container. Then, repeating that with a second one, letting it terrace over the top. Then, pulling your eye on back with a third. Little bit shorter coming in behind drawing the eye from front to back on a horizontal line within the design. 

With the form established with the lines, the focal emphasis. Now it's time to add contrast, reinforce what we've already done. Kangaroo paws, the color and the texture, so grand. You can do smaller bits. You can see they'll add a little bit of curving to the design. Just tucking it in, coming out to the sides a little more exaggerating that curved line. Coming to the opposite side, repeating. Then going back and adding to the center. Maybe a bit of the orange spray rose for some brightness, dropping it down low, very tight, repeating. You can see it starts to cover the mechanics, draws the eye inward. Craspedia, Billy balls, also fabulous for texture and basing. Just continue on looking at your stems, determining how to break or cut to enhance the curved lines you've established. 

As you finish your design, look at it from all sides. Double check. Did you break the line of the container? Are all your mechanics covered? As I turn mine, you'll notice I have a hole right over here. My mechanics are not totally concealed and it doesn't look finished. So adding a little bit more of the kangaroo paw over onto that side. Then turning again, double checking, maybe adding one more of the caspedia. Making sure that all my mechanics are concealed and then bringing it back around to the front. You can see the crescent form. It's pretty fabulous. The recipe, I know you always want the recipe. I use three stems of the wooly bush, six stems of snapdragons, three sunflowers. Then I started filling in. Six of the craspedia, one of the larger stems of kangaroo paw, and then two stems of the orange spray roses. It makes it a beautiful design, no matter which way you look. 

Fun to see how floral design is coming full circle. Forms that were considered out of date are now on- trend. The crescent is just one example. You'll find more creative inspiration at the website, Flower School .com. If you have questions, you can reach us there or pick up the telephone and give us a call at (503) 223-8089. Now it's your turn. Create a crescent, take a photograph, post it on social media and be sure to tag Floral Design Institute. That way we all can see what you do as you do something you love.