Botanical Shoes and Purses at the Dunthorpe Garden Tour
In celebration of the Riverdale School District's 125th anniversary, the Dunthorpe Garden Tour was organized on May 4th. Co-chair Holly invited me to showcase some botanical shoes and purses at the event, an opportunity that I very much appreciated.
My friend Joni photographed the shoes and purses at my studio. Thank you Joni!
Design with Françoise in Baltimore!
Monday & Tuesday, August 12 & 13, 2013, 9AM to 4PM each day
hosted by Victoria Clausen
of Romance of Flowers, located in Reisterstown, suburb of Baltimore
Class size limited to 5 students! Create and keep your designs.
Lunch Noon to 1PM: there is a restaurant nearby or bring your own
Monday, August 12 – Sculptural Beginnings
For Françoise, the Woodlands sprouted from a childhood memory that took a life of its own. Using foliage, bark, berries, seedpods, twigs, mushrooms, herbs and some flowers, we’ll explore how to make woodland bouquets as well as centerpieces. We’ll discuss color, texture, form, ideas and techniques.
photos: Nicole Wickens and Joni Photo
Botanical Shoes and Purses for ‘Art & Soles’
Yesterday I posted pictures of the silk botanical shoes as well as images of the work of other artists at the 'Art & Sole' show this month at the Columbia Center for the Arts in Hood River.
A huge thank you to my friend Joni who came to the studio last Thursday to photograph the botanical shoes and purses that I made for the opning night last Friday.
‘Art & Soles’
This month The Columbia Center for the Arts in Hood River presents a wonderful show 'Art & Soles'.
13 artists partcipated: Abigail Merikel, Judith Harvey, Melody Robichaud, Micki Shampang-Voorhies, Françoise Weeks, Mark Nielsson, Cathleen Rehfeld, Shawn Daughton, Judy White, Dawn Elle, Mike Friton, Charan Sacher, Damon Clegg.
Last summer I was contacted by Dawn Elle, the curator at the Gallery; she invited me to participate in the show with the botanical shoes. I was so honored by the request but told her that it would not be feasible, as the botanical shoes, made with fresh materials (without a water source) only would look nice for a few days. But Dawn didn't take no for an answer and asked if I could provide fresh botanical shoes for opening night and also make some with silk flowers. Silk flowers…. it never had crossed my mind to work with them. But after some research I found a nice selection of silk flowers and texture and once again decided to get out of my comfort zone and explore something new. Besides the obvious that the materials don't wilt, I discovered that the silk flower petals and leaves also stretch a bit – a perfect quality as shoes do not have flat surfaces….
So here are some examples of the silk botanical shoes as well as many marvelous pieces from several of the other artists. Tomorrow I will do a post of some 'real botanical shoes and purses' that I also made for the opening night.
Shawn Daughton, who made jewelry with the shoe theme took many pictures at the show. Thank you Shawn!
Renée & Michael
Wedding date: January 27, 2013
Venue: Swedenborgian in San Francisco
Photographer: Summer McCorkle
When Renée contacted me and asked if I would ship a woodland bouquet, along with corsages and boutonniers to San Francisco, it took me a while to agree to make and ship the bouquet overnight: so much could go wrong: from dealing with icy roads and delayed flights to rough hands handling the package or what if the package got lost? I am very glad that I chose to go ahead. My husband did a fabulous job packaging it all and everything arrived intact. As you can read below, Renée was thrilled.
Progressive Blogpost with the Chapel Designers
Today I am posting pictures of a few favorite bouquets as part of a progressive post with the Chapel Designers. At the bottom of this post you will find a link to the bouquet posts of many other Chapel Designers. Enjoy!
photo: Jamie Bosworth
hand-tied bouquet with peonies, sweetpeas and alchimella
Kalanchoes
As kalanchoes are succulents, the flowers hold up super well out of water and they are a great accent in corsages, boutonniers and flower crowns. They look very similar to bouvardia, but come in a much wider color spectrum. This delicate flower also creates a perfect accent in centerpieces.
photo: Becca Dryer
