Monday, December 27, 2010

Sacramento Weekend Farmer's Market

It's been a really long time since I had the chance outside of class to do some arranging on my own, and I've got to say that I really needed it.  My confidence has been low and it really helped to sit down in the comfort of my own home and just enjoy the process.  I traveled up to Sacramento to the X Street farmer's market and grabbed some purple amaranthus, green and purple-tinged hydrangea, white dahlias, and calendula flowers (which looked like a flat marigold to me, and the Internet tells me that it is indeed a type of marigold!).  I got a badly-needed visit with my God-sister, made her a quick arrangement, had lunch, shivered on the way back with the AC on full blast for the flowers, and commenced the arranging.
In my last (and final!?) flower class, I really grappled with enjoying anything that I made.  I also realized that I really shy away from arrangements with any type of, well, height.  Whenever I tried making taller or wider arrangements, the end result looked unfinished and like it was full of holes.  To say the least, I felt like crap every time I left class.  I decided to try to start fresh on my own, get some flowers that jumped out at me (and oh, the hydrangeas always do), and have a day of enjoyable arranging.  I decided to work on small, grouped pieces.  I'm comfortable with smaller arrangements, and heck, I can get really confident at these and work up from there.
I borrowed mason jars from my Mom and used a cube vase I had from past weekend arranging.  I'm happy to say that I enjoyed myself.  I'm working back up my confidence, and hopefully my skills.

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And here are some single views.

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I'm in love with the dahlia in this one.

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The amaranthus to the right is bugging me, but for the sake of progress, here we go!

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The following is my favorite.  I really like the combination of dahlias with the amaranthus and hydrangea.  It's a combination that I'll have to remember.

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I'm sorry, I can't help it.

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All in all, it was a lovely day.  $21 dollars spent for flowers--I got 5 small arrangments, plus the 1 that I made Micaela out of it.  I'd say that's pretty good.  It was all worth it to have a good flower experience that was calming and enjoyable.  Here's to enjoyable practice, practice, practice.

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