Week 5 - Table Garden Centerpiece - Line, Form
Line
A visual path that leads the eye through the design and establishes the structural framework of the design. Line is an ELEMENT of floral design and it carries the PRINCIPLE of rhythm ![]()
through the design. There are two types of lines: Static and Dynamic.
Static Lines
A static line can be either vertical ( | ) or horizontal ( — ) and are at rest. These lines are not falling, leaning, or showing any potential for movement, so visually gives you the impression of rest. These static lines can give stability to an otherwise chaotic design. If you have a design you think is too dynamic, try adding a static line of some form to balance the look.
Dynamic Lines
A dynamic line as a line that is not horizontal or vertical. This can be curved, zigzagged, slanted, diagonal; basically anything that is not static. Dynamic lines infuse the idea of movement into your flower arrangement because these lines are not at rest.
There are different degrees of dynamic lines in floral design as well. The softly curved edge of a leaf definitely gives you a different impression than a tangle of curly willow.
Line - Form - Shape
While line creates a path for the eye to travel through the floral arrangement it also creates the ELEMENT of form. ![]()
FORM is three dimensional wheras SHAPE is two dimensional. For example a peony has a cup FORM and a circle SHAPE. When identifying flowers for recipes I use shapes and texture to define them but FORM adds the three dimensional aspect.
There are two types of FORM: CLOSED AND OPEN
CLOSED Form Designs
CLOSED form flower designs can best be described as “dense” because these forms lack negative space. That is to say, the floral materials used to create the designs are tightly packed allowing little to no room for light to pass through, thus it is one seemingly continuous piece and consistent shape throughout. Most of this arrangements form is dense but there are some OPEN areas where light travels through.
Most Bouquets are comprised of CLOSED FORM but in a more Vegetative or Garden Style the exterior becomes more OPEN allowing light to pass through.
OPEN Form Designs
Open form flower designs are light and airy. Light passes through them because they have more negative space. Often the geometric shape is implied and not defined. We will primarily be creating OPEN Form Designs in this curriculum. Observe the oval shape implied in this design and how much light passes through it.
In this Open Form the implied shape is a triangle. Or as we will be discussing two triangles.
Talk about the different shapes of design and then focus on the triangle in this lesson.
