The super fun process of fl oral arranging. JP/Dita Ajani
Creating beautiful floral designs has become a creative hobby for some – something to enjoy in their spare time while creating personalized gifts for loved ones.
Floral arranging has gained more and more devotees in recent years, attracting women of all ages and professions, from housewives, business executives and even university students.
They embrace floral arranging as an addictive pastime that is not only fun and relaxing, but also a creative endeavour that could someday turn into a profitable business venture.
The flowers also serve as personalized gifts for friends and relatives for many special events, from birthdays, anniversaries and “get well” wishes, to dinner and housewarming party decorations.
“I felt happy when my friends told me they loved my floral creation for their new home,” said Yanti, a mechanical and electrical contractor who has been making floral arrangements since early last year.
The same goes with Rima, 24, a pre-school teacher who displays many unique arrangements at her home.
“My mom loves flowers so much she has even put flowers in a vase every day since I was little. Now I’m glad I can make her smile wider with my creations.”
The director of Intuition Floral Art Studio, Andy Djati Utomo, said the beauty of floral arranging lies in the fact that anyone can create a lovely work of art in a short period of time.
Courtesy of Intuition Floral Art Studio
“Floral arranging is a channel for anyone to express their sense of art. But unlike painting, pottery or woodcarving, floral arranging uses perishable materials such as fresh cut flowers and foliage that only last for days,” he says.
Floral arranging is never boring, with a person’s artistic sense being developed every time a new floral design is created.
“The more you make new pieces, the more creative and skilful you become,” says Andy.
It also means one does not have to possess any specific talent to enjoy the hobby.
“Just like any other hobbies, such as cooking and sewing, you only need 1 percent of talent and 99 percent of hard work to create amazing floral arrangements,” says Andy.
But the most important way to enjoy the hobby is a willingness to maintain the skill you acquire.
“Floral arranging involves 70 percent of skills and 30 percent of basic knowledge. So this hobby will become more and more exciting as you do it regularly,” says Andy, who always encourages his students — beginners or skilled ones — to spend at least fifteen minutes to two hours a week to create new floral arrangements.
JP/Dita Ajani
Floral arranging is like driving a car, he says, something that requires skills that need to be sustained all the time.
“Floral arranging is not a one-time hobby. You need to keep the skill in tact with frequent practice or it will slowly drop within two weeks to a month.”
Another key factor is to set aside time, energy and money to shop for fresh materials for the arrangements — unless you have your own flower garden in your backyard.
The tricky preparation process, however, is worth it once you are ready to make a floral arrangement — the time when the fun begins.
“At this point, you have to combine your own sense of art with your motor skills when you cut the flowers and place them on the floral foam,” Andy says.
“Your body’s senses are also trained to experience and combine the many different colors, aromas and textures of the materials you are using. That is the thrilling part of floral arranging!”
In the process, you are stimulated to formulate a certain, original floral design inside your head, giving a valuable feeling of self-satisfaction once you have successfully finished the arrangement.
“Floral arranging is definitely delightful because flowers are naturally gorgeous. So, being able to create something pleasing to the eyes with these colorful beauties brings wonderful sensations inside me,” says Verna, a 27-year-old marketing executive.
In order to fully experience the exciting floral-arranging process, one has to use fresh materials — from cut flowers, cut foliage, fruits, vegetables and different seeds and herbs such as cinnamon to tree bark and branches, which are often used in cutting-edge creations.
Andy advised beginners to always use fresh materials.
“The goal is simple. You can’t make artificial floral arrangements if you don’t know how to create floral designs out of fresh materials,” he says.
“I often see artificial floral designs in which the flowers are arranged in such absurd ways, such as bending the flower stems 90 degrees downward, which is impossible if you are using fresh ones. Although artificial, any good floral designs should still look natural.”
He pointed out that some who did not use fresh materials and first learned to create arrangements with artificial flowers tended to have negative habits such as “abusing” the fresh cut flowers.
Courtesy of Intuition Floral Art Studio
“I once saw a student who deliberately forced the flower into a vase until the stem cracked. She forgot that fresh flower stems are not made out of steel wire.”
He suggested that it was wise to begin learning the hobby by using fresh flowers, allowing one to learn how to properly treat the delicate beauties.
Fresh flowers are known to evoke visual, tactile, aromatic and sometimes even flavourful pleasures — some flowers are edible and serve as natural therapeutic remedies.
“Floral arranging is great to reduce stress. Whenever I have a problem, it helps me clear my mind and find an answer to my problem,” Rima says.
For Verna, floral arranging will stick as her newfound hobby.
“This hobby also teaches me patience and how to be gentle with natural living things such as flowers. It also keeps my life balanced amid my hectic work schedule.”
Yanti plans to open a flower shop with her friends soon, her dream since she graduated from university.
“Just imagine that, I can make money by doing something I love as a hobby.”
