Perspective 2016: Far East Fusion

Asian Art & Floral Design
March 24 – May 15, 2016

J. Wayne Stark Galleries

Overview

Under the direction of the Bill McKinley (Benz Chair in Floral Design), the primary goal of the Far East Fusion project for the Student Floral Club was to push students outside their familiar floral design “box.”  This project allowed students to express themselves through the creation of a floral design tethered to a historical Asian art piece.

Process

Students were to choose one of the art pieces from the Benz School of Floral Design’s art collection and then create a companion floral design in response to the history and culture of that art piece.  Students began by researching their chosen Asian art piece and describing the reasons for their choice.  Then they progressed to attributing specific words to describe the art piece.  Next, students determined how those specific words could be depicted in a floral design.  There were no other restrictions placed on the student designs in terms of size, method of display or materials.

Results

The pathway for student to complete their designs often took some sharp turns and even a few detours.  It typically started slowly, with the kernel of an idea developing into a design concept that eventually became reality.  Construction methods, display concepts, and design styles all became part of the learning process, as well as intellectually being able to connect their design to the history and/or culture of the chosen Asian art piece.