The Vase at the Base:

When we first started selling artificial flower arrangements, we knew we wanted to use only the highest quality stems for our compositions. These are, naturally, the most expensive. We try to constrain the costs of our arrangements by placing them in containers that are relatively inexpensive but look good and complement the composition. There are many inexpensive glass, ceramic and metal vases available that look quite nice and that do not detract from the overall quality. It came as a surprise to learn that clients may develop attachments to specific vases and, in many instances, are not deterred by the cost. In fact, one of our first clients found a vase on line, asked us to order a couple of them and to develop arrangements that were compatible with these vases.

In most cases, we still aim to be cost effective in the vases we use when illustrating the arrangements posted on our site. However, in our previous blog posting, you read that we had a vase custom made for Beth’s composition designed for the Art in Bloom event. We have also noticed a design trend to group empty vases as decorative focal points. I am currently working on some designs that emphasize the vase. 

Lacking the dexterous prose style of Dicken’s, I now abruptly jump to the subject of this entry: vases can have a form and beauty independent of the floral arrangement they contain. In Japan, the makers of pottery vessels (among other disciplines) who have attained a high degree of artistry and who, thus, preserve the ancient traditions of their art form, are officially recognized by the state as “living national treasures” and receive a stipend to support their work. This is not an easily achieved status.

I was reminded of this aesthetic cultural concept this past spring when returning from a visit to my family in southern Wisconsin. Bob is from a small town north of Madison.  As he no longer has family there, apparently nostalgia beckoned and he decided to add an additional day to our trip home by abandoning the freeway and swinging through his hometown. His father owned property and two acres with buildings were sold, many years ago, to a young couple that wanted to start their own pottery business. We stopped in to see how their enterprise had developed.

Clay is composed mostly of silica that has been broken down over millions of years into tiny, tiny particles or flakes suspended in a liquid medium. It is what chemists call a colloid. (So is Jello.) The size of the flakes determines the properties of the clay. The potter we visited, Susan Anderson, explained the practice of kneading the clay before molding it so as to attain the desired texture. Actually, explained is too tame a word for her discourse. Susan waxed rhapsodically, describing her goal of working the clay until the metal flakes – feldspar, copper and zinc - were perfectly aligned to her satisfaction. As she said, she wanted to capture their repetition.  Mind you, she can’t see this property; it is a tactile exercise, maybe an intuitive one, much like a baker kneading bread until it is just right. (For another analogy, read chapter 94 of Moby Dick.)

With the clay expertly prepared, molding can begin. Susan takes her cues from nature, modeling forms based on leaves and plants. Her work is very compatible with the aesthetic of the Arts and Crafts movement, but with more modern sensibilities. Below is a small dish we purchased that is patterned after a leaf. Not only is the form exquisitely graceful, but the glaze has a depth and luminous patina to it that result from the application of six layers of glaze, each layer a different glaze and each glaze a proprietary recipe. This knowledge and experience results in a superior piece. It is an amazing piece.

This small, leaf shaped dish requires no less artistry
than the large, sculptural vase shown below. Of course,
the logistics are more challenging for a larger piece, but
the quality of the small dish is a comparable
testimony to the artist's skill.

Like the best artists, Susan is always pushing the envelope. Our little dish reveals her craftsmanship. There are no flaws to suggest a lack of commitment to her process. The smallest piece is valued no less than the largest. Then we saw the largest. Is it a vase? Is it a sculpture? Yes. To me it suggests a plant opening to the sunlight.

This amazing construct demonstrates the artist's mastery of her medium
as well as it testifies to her prolific imagination. The different colors result from the different minerals
of the many overlaying applications of glaze used.

This creation was crafted with the same care as any other object in her studio. Susan gave me several photos she took as she developed the piece. As the composition is built up, it must periodically be given substantial time to dry so that the completed part is able to support the weight of additional clay as the form grows. The clay must also be very dry and contracted before it goes into the kiln if it is not to crack from the heat. Visible in a photo taken during the development phase are strips of fabric lining the margins of the flat, leaf-like structures. These keep the edges moist so they can be shaped and augmented while the bulk of the piece dries. Susan has made special shims to keep heavier parts of the construct from sagging as they dry.

Considerable work has already been done to
achieve the general structure, but, obviously,
much more refinement is required before
this piece is ready for the bisque firing.

Progress in refining the piece's appearance is obvious
here, but much work lies ahead. Note the fabric on the
edges of the leaf/petal/vane structures. This is used to keep
the edges moist while the heavier  parts air dry. Keeping
these edges wet allows Susan to curve, taper or augment them
as she chooses. Thus the piece evolves in its own unique
way.

When forming is completed and the clay is dry, it is fired in a kiln. This is called the bisque firing and produces a chemical reaction that binds the molecules and hardens the clay so it wont fall apart when it gets wet.  After the bisque firing and subsequent cooling, the piece is glazed. Susan has her own recipes for liquid glazes, which she applies with a brush. Thus, all her patterns are deliberate and nothing is random. Her pieces will have three to six thin coats of glaze applied. Each layer must dry before the next is applied. The glazes provide a vitreous seal and the metals in the glaze color the clay. When the glaze is thoroughly dry, the piece is fired again, at a higher temperature than the bisque firing, for 12 hours, and it remains in the kiln until cool. Then if it is removed without breaking, the process has been successfully completed and the world may be treated to the spectacle of something magnificent. (See above.) I believe her work attains heirloom status: her pieces will be kept in the same families over generations, much like Stickley furniture, for example.

Susan is showing her work at the Edina Art Fair, June 3,4 & 5 and at the Powderhorn Art Fair, August 6 & 7. She can be reached at grpottery@hotmail.com. I urge everyone to go out and support her and all the artists who have mastered and preserved these art forms that were once on the cutting edge of human technology. And if you should find a nice vase to take home, give me a call and let’s make arrangements.

A Day at the Museum

Once again it’s time for the Art in Bloom event at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. This is an opportunity for floral designers to interpret an Institute display using freshly cut flowers and greens. I participated to keep some currency working with fresh blooms. I did not get the impressionist seascape I hoped for, but was assigned, instead, the portrait of Clementine Karr by Henri Lehmann, a French painter I am not familiar with. The painting is in a relatively small oval frame. The subject is an upper class woman painted in 1845. Her face betrays no emotion but is characterized by large eyes with a penetrating gaze. It is my understanding that Lehmann wanted to portray strong, independent women and not the rosy-cheeked females with tiny lap dogs and who gaze lovingly at their lord and protector. The overall tone of the picture is dark; the background is unlit and Clementine wears a dark violet gown and has very dark hair. However, the paleness of her face and neck contrast vividly with these dark tones and a glimpse of shawl visible on her right is brilliant gold.

Here is the resolute Ms Karr: a formidable looking dame,
indeed.

This is my floral interpretation. While there
is a correspondence between the tonal
elements of the two compositions, the beauty
of the flowers cannot capture the severity
of her gaze.

My approach was based on these contrasting palettes. I also wanted to maintain the oval contour of her frame. To this end, I had a vase made especially for this project. It repeats the curvature of the frame’s base and allows an arch of willow branches to complete the oval form. The willow branches, in turn, support an array of eggplant colored calla lilies that reflect the dark, sleek style of Clementine’s coif. Her pale skin, chic for its time, is represented by a grouping of star of Bethlehem and hydrangea blossoms.  Dendrobium orchids provide the dark tones of her dress and gold cymbidium orchids provide the flash of color in her shawl.  While the arrangement is not a literal reproduction of the portrait, and could stand alone in its own right, I did want to achieve a spatial color correlation between Lehmann’s work and my own. The Art Institute has posted on line a previous floral interpretation of this piece that was much more abstract in form but adhered to the same color palette. Interestingly enough, that work also incorporated calla lilies. Callas and Clementine seem to go together.

Another angle on our subjects. This painting was not my first choice,
but now I am grateful for the opportunity to come to know
Clementine.

This is the vase designed by
Karen to help mirror the
eliptical shape of the frame.

I would be remiss if I did not thank Karen Brown, the ceramicist who designed and fabricated the vase. She worked overtime to get it done on schedule. You can check out her work at the Northrup King Building in north Minneapolis. Her on line address is kbceramics@comcast.net. We need to support our local artists. Thank you, Karen.

This composition cannot be called
austere in concept. Its beauty lies
in achieving balance in the
convoluted structure.

The Ikebana compositions in the Asian galleries
reveal much beauty with  economies of line.

This study in green resolves a coil of leaves into a single, clean
over-arching line that seems an umbrella for the
counter balancing daisies.

That man of mine

Flowers are a traditional gift men get for the women in their lives, whether for their sweetheart on Valentine’s Day or a special anniversary, or for Mom on Mother’s Day.  Now, in these modern times, florists are promoting the reversal of this practice and advocating that men may be the recipients of floral gifts. Of course, florists are motivated by the potential for increased business, but that is no reason to preclude examining this idea. 

The plants I usually see in offices are non-floral green plants. Ivy seems a popular choice whether faux or live. I have even seen cacti. They contribute a botanical element to their surroundings, which adds character and personality to the work place, but in a neutral way. That is, they don’t detract from the professional ambience. At the risk of generalizing, this seems to me decorum rooted in the male perspective. But if a man regularly meets with clients in his office, plants tacitly provide a warm, hospitable welcome. Why not make them colorful?

I came across an interesting treatise entitled “An Environmental Approach to Positive Emotions: Flowers”. It documents an attempt to measure the male’s response to flowers in his environment. I don’t know how many have ever read a scientific paper, but they go to great lengths to provide experimental support for their conclusions. To those for whom the subject is not interesting, they can make for tedious reading. I will keep my summary brief.

The paper begins with the thesis that flowers influence emotion in a positive way. A study group was selected and given a gift. There were 10 possible gifts, one of them being a bouquet of flowers (another was candy). The recipients’ facial responses were noted, specifically whether they smiled upon receipt of the gift. To analyze the results of an experiment, scientists need something to measure. In this case they quantified smiles: 1.) the Duchenne smile, the most intensely happy because it involves the most facial muscles, 2.) the zygomatic smile, which is restricted to the corners of the mouth; 3.) no smile at all. Only flowers elicited the Duchenne smile 100% of the time. This experiment used only females as subjects. This supports the traditional notion that women like to receive flowers.

A second experiment was performed that included men among the subjects. Bouquets were offered to individuals riding in an elevator. It was measured that those receiving flowers exhibited the Duschenne smile more than did those receiving another gift or no gift at all. It was also measured that recipients of flowers were more likely to move closer to the one who offered the bouquet, adopting a more social position by collapsing the dimensions of their perceived personal space. Finally, the recipient was more likely to initiate conversation than were those who did not receive flowers. These findings were as true of men as of women.

Here is a succulent garden that
contributes much visual
interest wherever it is placed. It is
compatible with most
decor ative themes.

This simple, but elegant,
 arrangement in The Japanese
style adds a tasteful element
to any room without
prettifying it.

So why not send a man flowers on his birthday? Or when he gets a promotion? Or when his wife has a baby? Florists have even developed criteria for the types of arrangements appropriate for the male recipient. The colors should be bright and the blossoms large, with clean lines (powerful?). Men don’t want soft pastels and they don’t want a kaleidoscope of tones with intricate textural details. You might try a succulent garden. Single orchids in a dish are also a good option.

I had a male client who provided me a unique challenge. He had seen our brochure and was taken with a vase I had used for an arrangement in a formal setting of dark wood and leather chairs. He wanted the same vase for his office, but with a different arrangement that was compatible with his office’s more modern design and with the natural light that flooded through its southern exposure. Further, he wanted the arrangement to express his love of the outdoors. And he wanted the composition, with its green vase, to be compatible with a picture of a woodland scene dominated by a blue lake. The challenge was to harmonize the colors of the vase and picture and to denote his attachment to the natural environment. My point is—here was a man who knew he wanted flowers in his office and knew just what sort of arrangement was compatible with his personality. Here was a man comfortable with himself.

This composition is one
of a pair designed to
embellish a room with
traditional masculine
overtones: walnut
panelling and book
shelves, leather upholstered
furniture... in all, a
very formal look.

The same vase as the one to the left
was used as part of an entirely
different composition. The use of wild
flowers and dried elements produces
a less formal arrangement. The blues in the
picture and the floral display combine
to produce a vignette that the client valued.

I suspect most men think it effeminate to display floral arrangements. They have pictures of their family on display. They exhibit sporting trophies with pride. Why not acknowledge their aesthetic character? Identifying flowers with a lack of virility is, I think, a distinctly cultural prejudice. Flower Design has a Facebook friend in Japan who is a florist and I discussed this with him. He said in Japan, it is perfectly acceptable for a man to give flowers to another man on a celebratory occasion. There is no stigma attached to this demonstration of friendship. After all, he pointed out, this is the land of the Samurai.

Today’s high quality artificial flowers will make a lasting gift without incurring significant maintenance costs and they will add a new dimension to your interior design.

So, are there women reading this who have given men flowers? Were they a romantic gift or a thoughtful gesture?

It's show time

As I mentioned I would in last week’s posting, I participated in an exhibit sponsored by the Minnesota State Horticultural Society at The Minneapolis Home and Garden Show this weekend. The theme of this year’s show was “I’ve Got the Music in Me” and the arrangements were to be interpretations of song titles.  The song I chose to illustrate was Lennon and McCartney’s “Blackbird”. There is also a composition on my web site called “Blackbird”.  However, these two arrangements could not be more dissimilar. The composition for the Home Show had to be made of fresh, cut flowers. The arrangement on our web site is almost entirely artificial.

This is a collage of the Blackbird arrangement
on our web site.  The flowers are artificial. Only
the calla lilies were retained as the composition
morphed into the arrangement shown at the
Convention Center.

 Because there are no truly black flowers, both arrangements consist of varieties that are dark purple, blue and red. At the base of the web site composition are calla lilies the color of eggplant. Rising out of these are a bramble of leaves and branches that create an environment for the black birds in this scenario. At the top are three “bat lilies”, which are included for their interesting shape and deep color. The funky vase is entangled in vine that reinforces the woodsy theme. In this panorama are two blackbirds. These creatures are formed from dried grass (the one element that is not artificial) that has been twisted and wired into a shape that suggests the appearance of a bird in a folk art sort of way.

The composition for the Home Show suggests a single, large blackbird nested in a jet- black vase. This interpretation emerged after many experimental trials. As noted, there are no black flowers, so I had to use the darkest tones available. Of course, when I went to select my blossoms, the flowers that I intended to use were not available from my usual source. There were no callas of a sufficiently dark tone. Neither the mums nor the ti leaves were as deeply colored as were those I used in a practice run the week before. Let me point out that this is not a problem with permanent botanicals. Because the inventory is not perishable, availability is not such an iffy proposition.

This is the arrangement I exhibited
at the Home and Garden Show. For a
more detailed view, go to our Facebook page.
I hope you can give us a "Like" while
you're there.

The darkest blossoms I could find were some beautifully dark red roses and some dahlias of a comparable tone. I didn’t want to use dahlias because they have a very short shelf life as a cut flower, but these looked fresh and I didn’t have a lot of choice. I treated them over night in a rehydrating solution that florists use to extend the shelf life of cut flowers, and hoped for the best. So the body of my blackbird was covered with a mantle of these two blooms. The tail is comprised of a fan of ti leaves. The ti plant is a member of the same family as asparagus and comes from the tropical isles of the Pacific Ocean. It comes in a variety of colors and sometimes the red leaves are so intensely colored they almost appear black. Of course, not this week, but I was lacking alternatives and used what was available. To give the tail greater complexity, I included stems of a kind of leafless frond. The wings were also made of ti leaves.

Another angle of our Home and Garden Show Blackbird.
Even if you don't see a bird, the lilies, roses and
dahlias contribute to a pleasing composition.

I was fortunate enough to find darker calla lilies at a local florist. These were used to comprise the bird’s head. To elevate them above the body, I used a length of black bamboo. Into the end of this I inserted a tube that served as a small vase, holding the lilies in a reservoir of water. Of course, the entire bird is really an abstraction requiring some imagination to visualize. The head, especially, is just a simple topiary; it is a head because it is at the end of a neck. To my eye, the flare of calla blossoms  suggests an energy, or motion, that animates the composition. Perhaps that interpretation is just artistic license. Feel free to disagree.

Overall, the composition held up pretty well for the three days it was on display. Unfortunately, there were not many exhibitors. This year was the event’s debut and I hope it grows in popularity. It is an opportunity for anyone to try their hand at flower arranging and to share their work with the public. The arrangement next to mine was submitted by a nine-year-old girl. I’m sorry I didn’t get to meet her. 

Let’s keep it clean

The discussion of quality grades among artificial flowers may have seemed interminable, but I felt a need to describe the advances that have occurred in the manufacture of artificial flowers, especially in the last decade, so as to overcome the negative connotation associated with them. I frequently say to customers, “these are not your mother’s artificial flowers”. They are vastly superior to those we knew as children. Of course, even the best currently available are not a perfect substitute for living plants, but as their appearance becomes ever more realistic, they become beautiful objects unto themselves.

If I examine a single stem, I am very critical in appraising its quality. However, when a number of stems are composed as an arrangement, I am more likely to respond to the artistry of the composition – its form and colors and proportions. Then, if the appearance of the blossoms comprising the composition is very close to real, the arrangement is even more pleasing. That is why high quality artificial flowers have become an integral element of interior design today.

In addition to their visual attributes, artificial stems do not incur the costs of upkeep and replacement associated with live plants. This is a great advantage and everyone in the industry touts the cost efficiency of using faux blooms: they last for years and years. And they do…with proper care. They are like any other item in the home or office: the carpet needs to be vacuumed, the furniture needs dusting, windows need to be washed, and the artificial flower arrangements need to be cleaned. However, the intricacies and delicacy of a faux floral arrangement seem to preclude an easy approach to this task. If you search on line, you will find that a great many people have expressed a plethora of approaches to this chore.  I did some experimenting with the most popular of these suggestions and will pass along what I have learned.

The on line suggestions are sometimes contradictory, but all agree that heat should never be applied to faux blossoms because it will soften the glue that holds the flower together. Implicit in most methods is the need to attend to your arrangements frequently and not let dust accumulate. This means removing dust once a week. After this point, opinions diverge. Many postings recommend a quick going over with a feather duster. (I didn’t even know anyone still made feather dusters.) Others suggest using a hair dryer on a cool setting to blow dust away. Someone even proposed using a can of compressed air, but the naysayers maintain this is too forceful for delicate arrangements. Whichever method you try, do it outside to avoid simply relocating the dust in your home. As an alternative, you may try using a hand held vacuum. First, stretch a piece of nylon stocking over the end to prevent sucking components of the arrangement into the vacuum.

In spite of your best efforts, dirt may still accumulate that will not be removed by the above methods; your once beautiful arrangement will look cheap and tacky. At this point, a more concentrated effort must be made. The most labor intensive method is to wipe each petal and leaf, individually, with a solvent that will remove the dirt. Suggestions for this approach include using water and vinegar, water and alcohol, water and dish soap. There is a consensus that an inconspicuous leaf or petal should first be tested to make sure your solvent doesn’t damage the material being cleaned. This is an agonizingly tedious approach. Alternative proposals include taking the arrangement outside and gently spraying it with a hose or placing it in the bathtub and giving it a gentle shower (with cool water).  A caveat here is not to let water accumulate and stand in the vase. A more aggressive method entails swishing the stems in a weak solution of dish washing liquid and water, then immersing in clear water to rinse, blotting gently and allowing to air dry.

It should be noted that there is a school of thought opposed to the idea of ever getting your permanent botanicals wet. There is a method that does not involve water. Into a large paper bag add about a cup of rice, salt, corn meal, baking soda – take your pick. Lower three or four stems, blossom ends down, into the bag, but don’t let them touch the bottom. Squeeze the top of the bag shut around the stem ends that should be protruding at the top. Now shake vigorously for about a minute. Remove blossoms from the bag and shake clean. This procedure gently scours the blossoms and renews their original luster.

The simplest method of all for cleaning artificial flowers is to use a product made expressly for the purpose. There are several brands on the market that are equally effective. To use, move your arrangement away from walls and furnishings, spray to moisten all surfaces in the arrangement and allow to stand and dry for a few minutes. That's all. Repeat this every three to four months. (When Flower Design delivers an order, we provide a complimentary can of cleaner.)

This orchid was stored, uncovered, in my
basement for a year. I treated it with a
commercial cleaner and it is pristine
enough to be used in an arrangement.

This hydrangea was stored with the orchid to the left. I immersed it in soapy water, rinsed it in clear water, blotted gently with a paper towel and let air dry. It is in mint
condition with nothing to betray its sordid past.

It should be noted that to clean by immersing in soapy water or to employ the dry cleaning method, the arrangement must be taken apart, as only several stems at a time can be processed. Then the arrangement must be reconstructed, which can be an arduous procedure. If you do not wish to use the commercial cleaner, and you do not wish to make this your tedious chore, Flower Design will provide the service of cleaning your arrangement.

This elaborate arrangement could be easily cleaned with
a commercial spray at home. Flower Design offers the service of
cleaning it with the alternative method of your choice.

On another note, The Minnesota State Horticultural Society is sponsoring an exhibition at the Home and Garden Show in the Minneapolis Convention Center, Room 103, later this week. It will be a display of fresh arrangements offering interpretations of songs. I will have a display there, just to keep in practice  with fresh flowers. Please come by and see my take on Lennon and McCartney's "Blackbird".    

As Good As It Gets

Having progressed through the ranks, we are now going to examine the highest quality artificial flowers on the market today. Ten years ago, the technology for making these reproductions did not exist. They not only recreate the appearance of plants to a high degree of botanical accuracy, their surfaces have a tactile quality that feels natural. Therefore, “natural touch/new generation” was the term first coined for this new, high-grade variety of artificial blooms by the folks at Hibiscus Florals, who were early adopters of this product line.

The beautiful Casablanca Lily with
stamens laden with pollen.

This is an artificial Casablanca Lily.
It realistically reproduces the aspects
of the real lily, even the
translucency of the petals.

Only blossoms with the natural touch characteristics and which include a high degree of botanical accuracy, are classed as grade 6. These artificials are not usually made of fabric, but of molded plastics. (I don’t think we need to get into the chemistry of synthetic polymers.) The specimen I have chosen to examine is a Casablanca lily. We will be comparing a false blossom to a real one. This lily has six slightly reflexed, irregularly twisted petals. The edges are somewhat ruffled and a thick midrib provides the petal’s supporting core. Hairs and small nodules on the inner surface of the petals (nectar guides) are reference points to allow bees to orient themselves at the blossom’s interior. It has six pistils and the photo  shows them heavily laden with pollen. The leaves are blade-like with prominent lengthwise veins. The photo of the real lily shows what a beautiful blossom it is.

Here is the Casablanca Lily from the reverse angle.
It shows the stem attachment to the blossom and some
leaf structure.

This is the artificial lily. The stem attachment
is still a snap on mechanism, but it is done with great
precision and, in this case, closely resembles
the real lily. The manufacture of the leaves shows
as much care as the crafting of the blossom.

The artificial lily faithfully reproduces all these features. The color and shape are exact. The six stamens are authentic, as is the single tri-lobed pistil. Just as much care has been taken to get the leaves right -- the color, shape, veining and feel are spot on.  The reverse angle shows the mechanism for attaching blossom to stem is basically the same as with the lower grades. However, this artificial stem is so true to life and the connection is so neatly done, it does not detract from the artfulness of this specimen’s composition.

The only faux blooms graded a six must be real touch. This does not guarantee that all real touch flowers are grade six. The botanical accuracy and care in assembly must also be taken into account. There also seem to be different materials used to achieve the real touch effect and word on the web is that some materials don’t hold up as well as others. There are many on-line sources for real touch flowers and I am still researching to learn which sources offer the best product. There is a wide range in pricing, but, so far, experience confirms you get what you pay for. That means top quality artificial flowers can cost at least as much as fresh stems, and maybe a little more. They are still a better value, because they can last for years if properly cared for. Next week I will discuss how to take care of this floral investment.

Just about as good as it gets

This beautifully crafted Anemone
would be a lovely component of
any arrangement. It faithfully captures
the essence of the living bloom.

Now we examine an example which I believe typifies quality grade number 5.  I have chosen a stem of purple Poppy Anemone to analyze. While our previous examples were made of polyester fabric that was probably pre-dyed before the petals were cut, it is obvious that much more care went into the fabrication of this specimen. The first impression is that we are looking at real petals. (A botanist would say that this flower does not have petals -- that, technically, they are called tepals. There is a difference between tepals and petals, and the Anemone has tepals. I won’t expound on the scientific distinction, but will discuss this, and future examples, in common usage terms.)

The petals look real for a number of reasons. First, we don’t see evidence of the material from which they are made. There are no frayed edges. There is no coarse weave. The fabric used to make these petals was probably silk, rayon or a blend of such quality fabrics. There may even be some polymer coating. Second, the shape and contours of the petals seem natural. Each has its own irregularities in outline and surface warp. Third, the colors are nuanced. These petals were made from white fabric and hand painted. Finally, the play of light off the surface of the petals contributes to luminosity, unlike the saturated hues of the lesser quality examples.

The side view shows the leaves and stem in detail. Here, again, the textures and shapes appear real, but the botanical accuracy is questionable. The calyx-like leaves immediately beneath the blossom do not belong there, according to my research. The whorl of small leaves further down the stem is authentic. The stem, itself, displays a realistic texture: a decided improvement over the obviously plastic stems of the lower grades.

A side view of the anemone.
The stem and leaf whorl look
authentic. I question the
accuracy of the calyx-like element
at the base of the blossom.

Our anemone has its flaws. In profile, we see there has been little improvement upon our earliest examples in connecting the blossom to the stem. This crude mechanism does the job and is effectively hidden when silk stems are assembled in an arrangement. It creates problems when the blossom must stand on its own or is an outlier in the arrangement. Still, it is a very clean, discreet attachment. Also, when we see the blossom face on, the light reflected off the black center is unnatural and reveals the synthetic nature of this component.

Still, this is a beautiful specimen. Maybe it should only be graded a 4.8 and our previous example graded a 4.2, so there may not be an entire degree of differentiation between them. This grading system will be a little subjective at times and, certainly, the quality of all artificial stems are not going to conveniently correspond to whole number values on the continuum of this scale. Use it as a guide when evaluating faux botanicals.

Next week will complete our overview, with an examination of  the highest quality stems available.