January Presentation with Alan Masters

Certified Floral Designer Alan Masters. Mr. Masters, presented “A Compendium of Caliginous Curiosities!” This consisted of Steampunk inspired floral arrangements, with gadgets, gears, and clockwork! We learned how to re-purpose many things we'd have considered junk to work in our floral arrangements. "Never throw anything away!" Thank you Alan Masters for this wonderful presentation and a great time! 

Steampunk is Victorian meets Western meets Futuristic Sci-fi! 

Here is Alan Masters all dressed up in a Steampunk themed outfit! Very classy!

Here are two Victorian pieces

"Do you know what this flower is called?!?!" ....the Moodflower! When you take the yellow petals off of the Sunflower, the sun goes away and your left with the vibrant Moonflower! Hehehe

Getting to work on this arrangement!

Great pose from a classy man!

Here Alan explains the sunflower adds the particular brown color to the arrangement that you cannot find in any other natural flower.

Just beautiful!

You can use the wedding bouquet holder and fill it with flowers then simply stick that in a vase! Good thinking!

Here is the vase where he put the flower filled bouquet holder.

You can create an illusion of a sunflower sticking completely through the arrangement by cutting it in two pieces and placing each piece on opposite sides! They still get water and people will wonder how you did it!

Another great pose!

Here he explains it's okay this day and age to let some of the mechanics of the arrangement show. The water picks with the blue Delphiniums are attached with wire to the Birch tree branches on the outside of the vase! New and interesting look to this gorgeous arrangement! 

Here is the completed piece!

Unfortunately I can't remember what the leaf is called but the brown boat shape is a leaf! He put faux succulents with some clockwork trinkets for the Steampunk look! 

Faux succulents look a lot like the real succulents so it would be hard for anyone to notice without touching them! Cool!

Here Alan explained you can get a big leaf and roll the edges and keep the roll in place by sticking a piece of Birch tree through the leaf and rolled part. 

Here is the finished look with a cool old bike piece as a Steampunk flair! 

Here is the Western influence side of Steampunk! This arrangement could be viewed on either side! They both look amazing!

Here is the other beautiful side!

Here, Alan, with the help of Kim Jones (she'll be February's presenter!), make a Composite Flower. This is a technique used to make a flower look bigger than it is! In the center of the circular cardboard piece, he uses an adhesive to glue the rose in the center then strips another rose of its petals. One by one, the petals are then glued to the cardboard piece close to the center rose. Brilliant! 

Here is a close up of him gluing the petals next to the center rose!

I wish I had an arrow to point it out, the composite rose is at the bottom of the tall arrangement! Alan said you can place it at the bottom, or the top for that extra flair!

Here's a better pic! So cool!

Here is a close up of the ball on top. The metal surrounding the ball is actually the white plastic wrap to hold the plants together when first purchased. He spray painted it silver and glued them together to make that cool metallic look! No one would know had he not told us! Awesome idea! Good way to recycle!

Here is a closeup of the bottom of the arrangement

This piece was made of a speaker stand and a bicycle wheel with the lily grass glued around the edges! Soo cool!

Here is the finished product! To me it looks like a cool hula girl lampshade! Awesome and unique arrangement!

And last but not least, our amazing presenter, Alan Masters! Thank you so much for your time, beautiful and creative arrangements, and your wonderful innovative ideas!