Basic techniques for flower arrangement

Basic Techniques of Flower Arrangement

When creating flower arrangements, in addition to being skillful in conceptual conception, you must also master the theory of visualizing the theme, that is, using form, color, etc. The theory of conveying artistic conception through form and color is the basic principle of formal beauty, commonly known as the principle or rule of composition. It requires flower arrangement creation to follow the following principles.

Diversity and unity

This is the most basic principle of flower arrangement composition. ?Variety? refers to the diverse changes in the various components of flower arrangements, including the type, volume, posture, color, texture, height, quantity, meaning, etc. of flower materials; it also includes the shape, color, and size of containers, shelves, and accessories , patterns, texture, etc.; as well as the nature, light and shade, size, color, etc. of the display environment. These provide extremely changeable objective conditions for flower arrangement creation. Only with rich and diverse changes in the above aspects can the flower arrangement work be vivid, touching and full of vitality.

The "unity" in the composition refers to the extremely varied components in the flower arrangement work. Through selection, artistic processing, careful combination and insertion, they achieve harmony and unity, so that the various components interact with each other. Coordinate, complement each other, reflect each other, form an organic whole that is organized, echoing and rhythmic, forming a beautiful flower arrangement work. People who are new to flower arranging are prone to the problem of "greedy for too much and seeking perfection". They often insert all kinds of flowers into their works, fearing that they are not enough or not enough. Such works are loose and disorderly, colorful and chaotic. They only seek "diversity" and ignore "unity", so they cannot give people a sense of beauty. However, if on the contrary, we only pay attention to "unity" and lack of variety, the work will be dull, lack of vitality and tasteless. How to combine the two appropriately is a problem that flower arrangement authors need to solve. This should be considered from two aspects: First, we must seek unity in diversity. If the various components in the work are too diverse, we must reduce the shape changes, reduce the types or colors of flowers, and use combination, matching, echo, contrast, etc. method to harmonize and unify them. Secondly, seek diversity in unity. If there is a lack of variation in the various components of the work, it is necessary to increase the shape changes, increase the types or colors of flowers, and use methods such as combination, matching, echoing, and enhanced contrast to make it vivid and diverse.

Primary and Secondary

This is one of the main laws of artistic creation. Flower arrangement work is an organic whole, and each component is indispensable. However, the various components of flower arrangement works are not equally important in flower arrangement works. There are differences between master and slave, focus and general, core and periphery. Usually the composition of flowers is the most important; containers, shelves and accessories play a supporting role; a suitable display environment can make the theme and artistic conception of the flower arrangement work more perfectly expressed. The following takes the most basic three-branch composition in flower arrangement as an example to illustrate this. Generally, the first main branch has the largest volume, the most graceful posture, and the most vivid colors. It is the center of the composition, best reflects the theme and artistic conception of the work, is the basis for the shape of the work, and plays a leading role in the overall situation. The second main branch and the third main branch are successively smaller in size than the first main branch, assisting the first main branch in forming various basic composition forms. The above three are the main bodies of flower arrangement works. In order to make the composition more full and perfect, some flower branches and lining leaves (collectively called secondary branches) are often added. When composing a flower arrangement, the main body should be prominent and the master and slave should be clear, that is, the first main branch should be the center, and the height, left and right, front and back positions, postures and density of other main branches and slave branches should be arranged skillfully. Like the stars holding the moon, only excellent works with clear priorities and rich changes can be produced. For example, in the flower arrangement work "Top Gun", a branch of Strelitzia reginae is used vertically as the first main branch, and the back side is lined with sunflower leaves. This breaks the stiffness between the upright lines of the flower material and the intersection of the horizontal lines of the water plate, and creates a certain For a more concealing effect, the base of the front is decorated with slightly arched golden spider leaves, making the main body more upright and unrestrained, and the shape more plump and lively. The container is a large black water dish with a red background. In this way, the work is like a colorful crane, soaring in the wind in the red sky, straight into the sky, and its theme is perfectly expressed, just like a man with lofty ideals who is still struggling in his twilight years, indeed? The sky is still full?.

Containers, shelves and accessories, etc., mainly play the role of setting off the main body, but they are by no means insignificant in flower arrangements, and sometimes even play a prominent role as the finishing touch. For example, in the flower arrangement work "Ancient Rhythm", three curved pine branches form a staggered, dynamic, and powerful shape. They are lined with several sparse and orderly pink chrysanthemums of different sizes and postures, forming a very dynamic composition. ; Near the mouth of the bottle, add a few sprigs of camellia, whose dark green and shiny leaves make the chrysanthemum in the center of the vision more delicate and colorful, full of youthful vitality; the container is a large cloisonné vase with blue gold rim, placed on a low On the table, there is a shape of a guqin next to it; on the back of the work, there are the words "Guqin falls into vulgar rhymes and Jiuyuan has good music", which highlights the theme. This makes the whole work rich in rhythm, majestic and elegant, supreme and glorious, and reveals a high-spirited youthful vitality, which reminds people of the long history and profoundness of ancient Chinese civilization. At the same time, the ancient trees bloom with spring buds, symbolizing the ancient Chinese civilization. A new trend is emerging, surging forward, and galloping forward. In this work, the container, several shelves and accessories (guqin shape and calligraphy) each play an indispensable and irreplaceable role. The large cloisonné vase with blue and gold edges is magnificent, solemn and powerful, making the work full of honor and splendor; the text highlights the theme and becomes a good background for the work, forming a simple and elegant artistic atmosphere; the shape of the guqin is also indispensable in expressing the theme. The missing parts are cause and effect and related to the text; the short table props up the large vase, making the whole work more grand and grand, with ancient form and new meaning; at the same time, the placed guqin seems to be playing bursts of excitement The long music tells people the glorious chapter of ancient Chinese culture. Here, the composition of flowers is the center, and the containers, shelves, and accessories are integrated into one, all contributing to the expression and deepening of the theme, so that the theme and artistic conception can be vividly depicted and brought into play.

In ceremonial flower arrangements, the priorities should also be clear. The shape of the flowers is always in a dominant position in the work, and other items such as containers, decorations, accessories, etc. are in a subordinate position. The shape of the work best expresses the theme and serves the needs of the application. In flower modeling, the visual center is the key decorative part. In terms of color composition, the visual center is the position of the main color, which is often the light color in a large area of ??dark colors; or the dark color in a large area of ??light colors; or the contrasting color in a large area of ??harmonious colors. The guest color should assist the main color and should not overwhelm the guest color.

Momentum and balance

Momentum and balance are the unity of opposites, and they are opposite and complementary. The basic composition form of Chinese flower arrangement art is asymmetrical composition. Its morphological characteristic is that the number, shape, type and color of the flowers in the container are often not exactly the same, and the center of gravity of the composition is biased to one side. . Due to changes in the pitch, gaze, height, straightness, density, size, depth, sag, relaxation and other changes of the flowers, a certain momentum is generated. That is the so-called "three-dimensional due to emotion", that is, the body creates potential, and the shape creates potential. That is to say, according to the conception, the shape is determined. If there is a shape, there will be a certain momentum. Only with momentum can the work be full of vitality. Momentum is one of the sources of vividness and touchingness of the work. For example, in the aforementioned work "Ancient Rhythm", the three main branches open and close, rise and fall, and the momentum echoes, which shows the skill. We must be bold in taking advantage of the situation, dare to break through the equilibrium, dare to find another way and seek a new balance. Otherwise, if you are timid and follow suit, you will only be able to produce mediocre works. Of course, this does not mean that the bigger the momentum, the better. The momentum must be within a range that can achieve equilibrium. The main factor that affects momentum and balance and the sense of stability of a work is the sense of weight. The sense of weight of each component of the work is expressed through their color, volume, shape, texture, etc. People feel that the color is rich or dark, the shape is thick, and the volume is large, and the weight is large; the quantity is small, the texture is smooth, and the texture is thin and soft, and the weight is small. When creating flower arrangements, in order to maintain the sense of stability and balance of the work, the focus of the feeling should be placed on the lower part of the work, so that the upper part is light and the lower part is heavy, the upper part is dispersed and the lower part is concentrated, and the upper part is not large. The so-called "light on the top and heavy on the bottom" means placing flowers with a small sense of weight on the periphery of the work; placing flowers with a sense of weight at the base of the work. ?Scattered at the top and gathered at the bottom?, that is, the flowers on the periphery of the work are distributed more sparsely; the flowers in the middle and base of the work are denser. "Small on top, big on bottom", that is, place smaller, more finely divided, and lighter-colored flowers around the work; place larger, more colorful flowers at the base of the work, etc.

In ceremonial flower arrangements, the compositions are mostly regular and symmetrical geometric shapes, and there seems to be no problem of momentum and balance. This is not the case.

First of all, the arrangement of flowers in the shape also follows the principles of light at the top and heavy at the bottom, scattered at the top and gathered at the bottom, small at the top and large at the bottom, so as to maintain the stability of the work, and the center of gravity is also placed in the lower part of the work. In fact, I feel that the center of gravity is in the lower part of the work, and its momentum is downward. It is also a momentum, but it is the most stable momentum. Secondly, uneven color composition and distribution of shades will also cause a shift in weight, creating a certain momentum. Especially if the color composition adopts the method of mixing different colors in a patchy manner (that is, using several colors in the work to compose the composition), the combination of different colors and different shades of color blocks will form a sense of weight that is heavier or lighter, resulting in different dynamics. . Thirdly, ceremonial flower arrangements also have asymmetrical compositions, such as crescent, L-shape, diagonal, S-shape, etc. Naturally, there is an obvious problem of momentum balance.

Changes and Rhythm

Each component in the flower arrangement work has rich and diverse changes, which has been introduced in the section "Diversity and Unity". Rich changes are one of the sources of vivid and touching works, so when people create flower arrangements, they strive to make various changes in each component of the work. However, it should be noted that just rich changes does not necessarily make the work vivid and touching. If it is not handled well, it can easily lead to fragmentation of the picture, confusion and disorder. Careful matching, organization and artistic processing can make the height, movement and stillness, density, virtuality and reality, light and dark, depth , size and many other changing factors, to form an organized, orderly, rhythmic and beautiful composition, which can arouse people's excitement, make people never tire of it, and have endless aftertaste. It can be seen that rhythm is a regular change, just like the alternation of four seasons, the reciprocation of day and night, and the cycle of plants from germination, growth, flowering, fruiting to death. It is also like the beating of the human heart. The sense of rhythm gives people a harmonious and natural feeling. of beauty. However, the lack of changing rhythm, just like the normal beating of the human heart, just waiting for time and intensity to keep beating will make people feel monotonous. Therefore, only a rhythm that is full of changes is fascinating, vivid and moving. This requires us to carefully lay out the various components of the flower arrangement in the form of continuous changes, interval changes, alternating changes, gradual changes and other changes in the creation of flower arrangements, so that the composition of the work can be ups and downs, uneven and dense. The gathering and dispersing are appropriate, and the virtual and actual light and darkness complement each other. Just like a composer creating music, the many changing factors in flower arrangement works are like notes of different heights and lengths. Only through the composer's painstaking creation and injecting the composer's strong emotions can a beautiful piece of music be composed, sometimes vigorous and vigorous, sometimes gentle and euphemistic. , sometimes open and bold, sometimes quiet and intermittent, with changeable and charming melodies, pluck the heartstrings of the listener, just like having wings of reverie, soaring in the vast world of beautiful artistic conception.

The key to applying the rules of composition to the practice of flower arrangement creation is to adjust the contradictions such as diversity and unity, primary and secondary, momentum and balance, contrast and harmony, change and rhythm. Among them, diversity, subject, momentum, contrast and change are the main aspects of contradiction and the source of vivid and touching flower arrangement works. However, it should not be excessive. Once it exceeds the appropriate range, it will destroy the orderly beauty of unity, balance, harmony and rhythm, leading to the failure of the work. A successful flower arrangement must be the product of the harmonious unity of two sets of opposites in the principle of composition. Therefore, when composing flower arrangements, when the aspects of diversity, subject, momentum, contrast and change are too strong, it is necessary to use artistic techniques such as echo, foil, connection, concealment, tailoring, addition and deletion to emphasize its unity and auxiliary body. , balance, harmony and rhythm; on the contrary, it is necessary to strengthen aspects such as diversity, subject, momentum, contrast and change to form a beautiful composition that is both vivid and coordinated. It can be seen that proficiency in the principles of composition is the basic skill that must be possessed in learning flower arrangement. If you must ponder it deeply for a long time, apply it repeatedly in practice, and gradually master its essence, your flower arrangement level will definitely improve significantly. On this basis, we must also learn to use it flexibly, so as to know the law without being bound by the law, and reach a state where it is impossible for people to do it, but it is not impossible, and it is impossible to follow the law, and it is the ultimate law. The method mentioned here is the principle of composition. Skillfully and flexibly applying the principles of composition may seem impossible on the surface, but in fact, it conforms to the standards of the law and reaches the level of proficiency and perfection. Only in this way can you create superior works with ease and ascend to the highest palace of formal beauty.

In the artistic composition of flower arrangements, special attention needs to be paid to the fact that the shape must conform to the natural growth habits and postures of plants. Such as the graceful erectness of iris, the sparse and horizontal shadows of plum blossoms, the swaying and drooping of weeping willows, etc. This is their natural grace.

On the contrary, if the plum blossoms are forced to sway and droop, the weeping willows are straight and straight, and the iris shadows are slanted in the composition, it will give people an artificial and artificial feeling, lose the natural beauty, and cause the failure of the work. ;