FLOWER NESTS - Creative Edge April 2021
DESIGNS & TEXT BY HITOMI GILLIAM AIFD | PHOTOGRAPHY BY COLIN GILLIAM
“I have 2 reasons for designing and writing this particular article for this month.
First, its Earth month…Earth Day is April 22. It’s a month to bring more awareness about the Natural World and our planet Earth.
Second, to show flower design installed outdoors in a natural setting instead of in a commercial container. It enabled me to design in the spirit of nature.”
“FYI… Little bit of history about Earth Day… It was established in 1970 to start the modern environmental movement. Rachel Carson’s New York Times bestseller ‘Silent Spring’ in 1962 represented a watershed moment. Public awareness and concern for living organisms, the environment and the inextricable links between pollution and public health began to energize rising concerns which manifested itself with many environmental groups emerging. Earth Day became the day to celebrate the public consciousness about the state of our planet. By 1990 Earth Day became global. By 2000, 5000+ environmental groups took part. Today, over one billion individuals mobilize for action on Earth Day with over 190 countries engaged, it is the largest secular observance in the world.
The flowers that we love to design, can be the messenger to share the beauty of the natural world… What’s more exciting is to show flowers in a more natural setting, as an installation…. Instead of just designing in a typical decorative container. Let the design be seen in the context of nature…. Nature is our true inspiration, its law is the Principles of Design.
I decided to celebrate EARTH MONTH by designing installations in Nature…. It is also a perfect way to celebrate Spring by GETTING OUTSIDE!! I decided to create FLOWER NESTS. 3 different kinds of nests using methods and techniques inspired by birds using my usual selection of floristry materials. What will my nests look like??? I decided to 3 different shapes of nests, based on real bird nests using some of their techniques and methods. This required some research, which made the project even more fun!!
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FLower nest #1
‘Cup Nest’
“CUP Nests are the most familiar shape that we recognize, common to many species of birds like American Robin, Swallows and Warblers. It is usually built into cradling branches and has inner and outer cup layers. The outer layer of my cup nest is made from woven beargrass (technique used by weaver birds) woven over and through double layer of Oasis wire mesh. 2 bunches of beargrass were woven in, with some loose ends designed to flow gently outward and inward…. designer bird touch!! The inner cup layer is lined with tufted pampas grass pieces – the comfort layer for eggs, mother bird and chicks. Narcissus blooms were designed on the outside of the nest in Equisetum water tubes with midollino and aluminum wire wrapped with light green yarn as a functional decorative element. All the elements of Spring Celebration is evident in this installation in nature… A Flower Nest with Narcissus in a patch of skunk cabbage backlit as sun sets in the marshland on Bowen Island during golden hour.”
BOTANICALS Narcissus var., Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota), Tillandsia bulbiflora, Beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax), Variegated Lily Grass (Liriope muscari variegata), Horsetail (Equisetum hyemale), Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana)
SUPPLIES Oasis wire mesh (copper), UGlu dashes, Bindwire, Midollino, Aluminum wire, Yarn (lt. green), Floratape
FLOWER NEST #2
‘Pendant Nest’
“PENDANT nests are typically woven by Weaver birds, which are shaped in Teardrop form. Montezuma oropendola is a weaver bird which creates woven grass into these shapes. I chose to craft my pendant nest with multiple pieces of midollino tatami strips. The outer layer was built by weaving and connecting the strips together to shape the suspending nest. The inner layer is crafted with bullion wire spun pampas grass pieces in a coil method. Wire vine wrapped with yarn provides structural integrity and adds vining lines that embrace and support the shape of the nest. Tillandsia xerographica leaflets provide the playful surround motion around the cup to repeat the shaping. Jasmine vine provides the fresh embellishment along with Pieris, Hellebores and Daucus for decorative touch. The Jasmine and Plumosa vines were cauterized and have been hydrated overnight in a hydration box. The Hellebores, Pieris and Queen Anne’s Lace are in water-filled Equisetum tubes.
This nest was suspended from a wild stem of undergrowth Deciduous Huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium) nestled in amongst a high forest of Douglas Fir trees on the west end of Bowen Island.
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BOTANICALS Pieris Japonica, Hellebores niger, Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota), Jasmine Vine (Jasminum officinalis), Plumosa Fern (Aspidistra setaceus), Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana), Horsetail (Equisetum hyemale)
SUPPLIES Midollino tatami strips (Midollino, Bullion Wire, UGlu Dashes - Youtube video available), Wire Vine (Aluminum wire, #22 or #24ga. Wire, Flora tape-lt.green, Yarn-lt.green – Youtube video available)
Flower nest #3
‘Platform Nest’
“PLATFORM nests are the large ones typical to Eagle and Osprey, often perched atop trees or on natural large platforms. The outer layer is the bottom platform layer, made from pieces of sticks – it’s the foundational layer that supports the weight of big birds and eggs. The inner layer is typically made from finer, softer materials of comfort. In my interpretation of platform nest, I started with a large bowl covered with double layer of coated chicken wire extended with extra wide rim in the shape of a large nest. I began with covering the underside with chunky lichen branch pieces, weaving and bindwiring them to the chicken wire to build up the platform. After covering the whole underside, more lichen branch pieces mixed with douglas fir branches with foliage intact are bindwired to build up the side of the nest. Mosses and lichen are hot glued to fill in the gaps. Sections at a time, different grouping of materials get inserted to fill up the sides and top rim of the nest. This area showcases combination of intriguing botanical textures and colors in a natural attractive combination. Pincushion Protea, Bromeliad spikes and Tillandsia xerographica leaflets provides multiple focal emphasis area in this composition. These stems are inserted securely in through sticks and into the chicken wire. I did not include any water source since all the botanicals in this design will hold up well. The inner core is lined with comfort of Pampas grass, soft and downy.
I chose to locate this nest in between a huge rock and an old contorted dead tree which had lodged against it. As these platform nests are always located out in the open, it made sense to locate it in this chosen spot by the ocean. Locating this cool piece close to water allowed for filming with drone to see it from high up and to zero in on the location… a fun effect to present this composition in nature’s gallery!!
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BOTANICALS Pincushion Protea (Leucospermum cordifolium), Bromeliad sp., Brunia albiflora, Acacia baileyiana, Tillandsia xerographica, Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax), Lycopodium sp., Calocephalus sp., Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana), Dried Anthurium veitchii, Dried Hydrangea, Dried Protea, Moss, Lichen, Lichen branches
SUPPLIES Coated Chicken Wire, Bowl, Bindwire, Hot Glue, Oasis Floral Adhesive
