Art in Bloom at the MFA
Beautiful arrangement by Ellen Whitney and Joan Campbell! Below are the dates of exhibit and the description of what they used….
MFA Art in Bloom
Saturday, April 30 – Monday, May 2 (sneak peek for members on Friday starting at 5)
More information — special programs that weekend, parking etc —
Arranger – Ellen Whitney
Assistant – Joan Campbell
Our Object – Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer
It’s the Degas sculpture right in the middle of the Impressionist gallery
We were so lucky to get it!
The arrangement expresses —
The supple and graceful, yet determined, defiant stance of the dancer.
The vertical and long, but solidly grounded and weighty form.
Her balletic lift, yet weight of her unhappiness.
Design elements include —
A primarily monochromatic palette (in our case, green) like the sculpture with touches of bronze (container color), pink (ballet and youth) and purple (shadows and the sculpture’s deeper shades).
A single Cordyline leaf provide a straight, tall central axis like the dancer’s defiant stance.
The weighty vase and wide, low concentration of plant material reinforce the grounded stance.
Frothy materials like Agonis and Waxflower echo the tulle of her skirt.
Rolled aspidistra reflect her bow and the curves at her torso.
The wax flower mimics the strong “V” at the base of her bodice.
The hypericum berry is a nod to her small buttons.
The bells of ireland and curly willow both have the strongly vertical yet subtly curving shape of the young dancer.
A pair of large purple Cordyline leaves reflect her out-thrust foot.