Rittners School Of Floral Design
In Boston Presents....

Geometric Spherical Arrangement-3

Once you start playing with these things there is no telling where you can go and what you can do!!

In Geometrical Spherical Arrangement-1 and Geometrical Spherical Arrangement-2 we explored the use of pure spherical shape as an element to incorporate into contemporary floral art.

Of course this leads to the question, "If one sphere is fun.....couldn't two be better?"

The answer is obviously subjective, but from the design on the right I think you can see that with two geometric spheres we can really come up with an interesting effect.

At Rittners School of Floral Design---the future is now!

What You Will Need

As with the earlier two designs, this design requires very little content, is quite easy to make, and is a very large piece when completed. For someone who really enjoys contemporary styling, this arrangement also works very well!

Start off by filling your container with foam.

Add sheet moss around the bottom of the foam for decorative effect and to cover the mechanics.

Place a geometric sphere on top of the container and foam. This geometric sphere is actually woven branch material. They are available from wholesale sources in varying sizes.

To assure that the sphere will not simulate a bowling ball and roll off, it's necessary to anchor it in place!!

Take river cane and cut it into a variety of lengths. Insert them through the sphere deep into the foam in the container.

The vertical cane anchors the sphere in place. Take smaller sections of cane and tie into a matrix using raffia. This provides counterpoint and visual interest. (Additional picks of wood can be used if desired, to anchor the sphere with even more stability.)

A floral design needs some flowers! Place several stems of larkspur through the sphere into the foam base.

Add a single lily as a counterpoint. In this case we are going to place the lily flower into a water tube and wedge it into the top of the sphere.

We could of course stop here, but let's continue placing some additional flowers. Add another lily to a water tube. Take seven roses and place them into water tubes.

Place three roses around the lily (in the first sphere shown on the left).

Notice the nice diagonal aspect to this design. Two sections of bamboo are slightly angled to create two diagonals in the river cane matrix of the taller container. This is echoed by another diagonal line formed between the taller sphere in the upper left, and the lower sphere in the lower right. It leads the eye from the upper sections of the design, down to the surface of the table in a nice, satisfying kind of way.

To add greater interest and contrast, wrap some raffia in through the surface of the second (lower right hand) sphere.

Take some flower jewelry, and wrap it between and over the two spheres. This further integrates and unifies the two sections of the design.

The neat thing about this kind of designing is that it combines both simplicity and also complexity.

The overall framework is quite simple....a vertical component and two spheres.

However, when you start to really look closely at the composition, the complex matrix of the river cane, the incredible weave of branch materials in the spheres, and then the interplay of flowers, raffia, and flower jewelry you can appreciate the more detailed aspects of the piece.

Because of its sculptural quality, this design works well in contemporary settings, though it could be used anywhere a viewer may desire it.

It would work well in an entry area, or in a large narrow window.

It could be placed on a pedestal or sideboard in a special corner or nook or cranny in a home.

It may be adapted to a contemporary church, chapel or synagogue.

Using the same spheres, and river cane, and perhaps varying the color of the container:

We hope that you really enjoyed this brief floral design lesson. At Rittners Floral School in Boston we provide floral design instruction that includes a wide range of different styles and techniques. Please come and take one of our hands-on workshop programs!!