More Great Work from "Beginning to Bloom"

Another group of budding florists joined us here at Stoneblossom for another round of "Beginning to Bloom" through RI School of Design Continuing Ed - and a creative and talented bunch they were!

Check out the detail above from the arrangement below. Beets with their tops trimmed provided not only the element of surprise - but unique color and a "wow - what's that?".

The homework challenge was to go foraging - and then select a container to fit the pickins OR pick a container that inspires and then off to the backyard, vacant lot or woods! Fruit vegetables or other natural ingredients could be added but purchasing flowers was off limits!

Difficult to see in the photo of this antique basket below, but wonderful bottles and other containers created a collage within.

Fall display in chocolate, black and ecru...

This fun large display was created on a platter atop a table frame. Sumac and pomegranates added the important pop of focal color.

We all loved this winner above in the most creative category. Just fabulous! Click on it to better appreciate the ingredients.

Check out the unique hand-painted fish by the designer in this one. It was arranged in a driftwood-lined glass container with sand at the base. A mini seaside painting with tiny slatted beach fence detail finished this unique piece.

A study in succulents with kale...

This elegant winner was voted most saleable. Again - enlarge to take in all of the wonderful components beautifully used.

This was the overall fave! The huge (and heavy) hollow stump was found at a screeching halt along a roadside - then rolled down the hill! It's just chock full of luscious ingredients, not the least of which was the skate fish egg casing draping in the foreground.

Porcelina berries pick up the blue/green here in a magical way.

John Orton and Dennis Delsignore are the class instructors. Here's part of the creative gang during the critique by John.

Here are our winners for the homework challenge.

Great job!
Beginning to Bloom is the introductory course in the Floral Artistry Institute. It's taught by Stoneblossom staff through RISD CE. It's a series of 6 classes ending with a certificate of completion.

Space is still available for another Beginning to Bloom that will be offered in January. There are still a few spots left for the Wonderful Wedding Florals class as well. View the offerings online by clicking here

RISD Floral Artistry Institute at Stoneblossom - First Class!

We had a terrific group for our first class of the RISD Floral Institute - which we are teaching right here at Stoneblossom!
Students came from as far away as New Hampshire and Cape Cod to take part - and they were a talented bunch indeed!
"Beginning to Bloom" is the prerequisite basic class in the exciting series. Participants who complete the program get a certificate from RISD.


Here they are - hard at work designing tall arrangements with mostly fresh cut material from instructor John Orton's gardens. They did a great job working on the challenging high pieces (and had fun getting them into their cars after class!).


Here are some fab creations from their homework assignment. They were given a brick of oasis and asked to go foraging in their yard, gardens, fields, vacant lots... No purchasing of material was allowed. They could select a container that inspired them and then go picking - or go picking and them select a container that worked with what they found!

Here are a few of their wonderful creations:

The piece above features a handle created with berries and Japanese lanterns and a lush garden array.
Sue Daley used a wrought iron garden chair filled with seedum, hydrangea and loads of ivy.


Love the addition of a horseshoe crab in this wonderful display above - which also incorporated found objects from the beach such as oyster shells.

Kelly Sousa's husband had made this birdhouse which she embellished with some wonderful components: Solomon's seal, hydrangea, ferns, ivy and pokeberry. Love the birds nest at the bottom and the tiny feather. The nest was particularly special, lined with hair the birds had collected from her shedding pup!

Simple and elegant above - full and lush below...

Both of these designers used garden tomatoes. The chartreuse teapot was fun!

A twiggy obelisk centers the design above.

Below: Inspired by a broken piece of antique pottery, the artist worked her magic around it!

A pair of simple, elegant displays...

A free flowing design was the perfect match for the lovely urn above.

The white pumpkin below was delicately etched, and an LED light inside gave a warm glow...

The designs were judged in three categories: most creative, most saleable and overall favorite. Here's the design that one Best in Show by Marissa Koggan:

Below is the talented Winner's Circle with their creations!

From left to right is: Kelley Sousa, Susan Daley, Wendy Bagley, Marguerite Crocker, Marissa Koggan, Meg Fitzelle and Mayara Paim.

All of our students did an excellent job. We look forward to working with you throughout the program!

Note that additional sessions of this basic class have been added. Click here to check out the RISD catalogue and be on the lookout for their new winter catalogue due out soon!

BREAKING NEWS!!!: The Floral Artistry Institute now open for registration!

Months in planning, STONEBLOSSOM is thrilled to announce our collaboration with RISD Continuing Education presenting: THE FLORAL ARTISTRY INSTITUTE!!!

The catalogues are hot off the press and we are just so excited to offer a comprehensive floral design program unique in the New England area! Workshops will be taught from our busy East Greenwich design studio - with plenty of hands on experience.
Registration is now open and we know these classes will fill up quickly so don't delay!!!

Whether you enroll in the full sequence of Floral Artistry Institute classes - or take individual ones for personal enrichment, you're sure to gain a foundation in floral design elements and techniques while pursuing your passion for flowers.

A Letter of Recognition is awarded to students who complete all six courses with satisfactory standing.

The Institute gets underway this Fall with Introduction to Floral Artistry: Beginning to Bloom with John Orton. It's a series of hands-on introductory workshops on selecting, processing and caring for flowers, as well as design mechanics and construction techniques.

Also offered is Wonderful Wedding Florals with Naomi Garcia. Participants get an overview of designing flowers and other decorative elements for weddings. Bouquet construction is covered at length, as are all elements of wedding decor. Not to be missed! Naomi is Stoneblossom's bouquet stylist. Learn from the best in the biz!!!

Sure to be wildly popular, Deck the Halls: Designing for the Holidays is taught by "Mr Christmas" himself - Dennis Delsignore! Explore new possibilities for your holiday decor as well as creating your own seasonal design to take home with this terrific single-session extravaganza!

In subsequent semesters, you'll learn about professional business practices, event planning and advanced floral artistry techniques. During a floral artistry externship, you may gain practical experience while aiding in the the preparations and execution of an actual Stoneblossom-designed event!

REGISTER PROMPTLY!
We anticipate these exciting workshops will fill up fast so don't miss out!
Click on this link: www.risd.edu/ce for the low-down and we hope to see you all in the Fall!!!