learning to create movement
Eighteen days into floral design. That’s all. Eighteen days since I decided to stop simply admiring flowers and learning how to make art with them.
Eighteen days of bringing stems home, trimming them on my dining room table, moving them around, taking them out, putting them back in, stepping away, coming back, asking myself questions.
Eighteen days of learning to look a little bit closer.
With every arrangement, I am learning to see a little differently. I’m beginning to understand that movement doesn’t always come from adding more—it can come from giving each stem the freedom to go where it wants to go.
Today I wanted to let my flowers move.
I wanted my ranunculus to move and wander through the arrangement. I wanted the sea lavender to soften the empty spaces and add little moments for the eye to discover. And I wanted the olive branches to reach a little higher, giving the whole design somewhere to breathe.
For the first time, I found myself thinking less about how many flowers I have and more about what each flower is doing.
I think that’s a big shift for me.
I also learned that mechanics can change everything. I spent some time trying to hide them instead of trusting the flowers to hide them for me. Next time, I’ll build my mechanics with my final shape in mind—not just figure them out once the flowers are already in the vase.
I’m learning that floral design is not just about choosing beautiful flowers. It’s about giving them the room to be beautiful.
Knowing when to let one reach.
Knowing when to let one fall.
Knowing when to leave a little space in between.
Knowing when to add and knowing maybe when to take away.
Today, I didn’t need more flowers. I needed more space.
I am finally understanding why.