Lines in Design

The Elements and Principles of Design - form, space, texture, line, color and more! Today the focus is on line in design. In this Flower School How-To Video Leanne works with a fabulous assortment pink-hued flowers including pink anthuriums and aranda orchids to highlight the element of line in a modern pottery container. Enjoy!

Video Transcription 


Elements and principles of design. At Flower School, that's what we concentrate on. The form, the line, the spacing, the texture, the emphasis, the contrast, learn all about that in this video. The materials, starting with the anthurium, and I've taken them and dehydrated them just a little bit so that I could mold and manipulate, that way you can see it gives me a beautiful line that's going to go through diagonally, almost horizontal in the design. The Aranda Orchids for a pop of color. The mechanics, one of my favorite vessels from my personal collection, a little bit of floral netting. Don't need a lot, just sliding it in place. Make sure you can't see it, and then water premixed with flower food. 


First step is establishing that line. The beautiful anthurium, giving them a cut and then angling it through the floral netting so that it's supported, but getting it down into the water. Repeating that, again giving it a cut and angling. Thinking about sequencing. The littlest towards the tip, and then building in to the largest, closest to the center, just like you learned in Flower School. 


The Aranda Orchids creating another line and balancing, but letting them be a little bit more upright, so it doesn't angle out quite so far. You can see that color just anchors the eye and giving a nice base for the anthurium. For the emphasis, pink Mondial roses opened out, remove any damaged leaves, then give it a cut, removing the leaves, and then nestling it right down in, creating a visual base for the two lines and repeating that, of course, pulling your eye all the way through to the back. 


Now to add contrast, this is what makes the design pop, and makes it fun. Could be some strands of Lily grass curled a bit using the back of your knife, and then cut and tucked in beside the orchid, letting it trail a bit, adjusting. A little bit of the Knifeblade Acacia, stripping it down and molding it just a bit, and letting it come in with the anthurium, finding the perfect hole. Then for some vertical drama, some Red Twig Dogwood. It's starting to bloom out just a bit, and placing that right down in, and letting it come tall. 


The recipe, three anthurium, three of the pink Mondial Roses, then four of the Aranda Orchids, three strands of Lily grass, one stem cut apart of the Red Twig Dogwood, and one stem cut apart of the Knife Acacia. Makes a beautiful linear design. 


Floral design becomes a work of art when you focus on the elements and principles of design. You'll find more education and creative inspiration at our website, Flower School .com. It's your turn now. Think about your elements and principles. Think back to Flower School and all you learned. Gather flowers and create a work of art. Be sure to take a photograph, post it on social media, and hashtag Flower Design Institute. That way we all can see what you do, as you do something you love.

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    Quick Dip Individual Pack One Pint
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    Fresh Flower Food Individual Pack 10 ounce tub
  • Crowning Glory Individual Pack 32 ounce spray bottle
    Crowning Glory Individual Pack 32 ounce spray bottle