Chapter 10 Types of Floral Design 259
Chinese Designs
Like Japanese designs, Chinese designs
refl ect a love of nature and may use few materials.
However, the Chinese arrangements emphasize
natural features, rather than the stylized designs
of ikebana. Designs often feature plant materials
that are currently in season, arranged in a way that
refl ects their positions in nature. The arrangements
are balanced, but often asymmetrical, Figure 10-12.
Chinese designs are essentially line designs,
but the lines are rarely static. Instead, they
provide a sense a movement. The fl owers in an
arrangement are often one color or a few closely
related colors. Strongly contrasting colors are
rarely used, although the container may contrast
sharply with the fl ower colors.
European Design Styles
As explained earlier in this chapter, European
design styles generally fall on the mass side of the
line-mass continuum, but many variations have
developed over the years. The following sections
describe a few of the styles that are still used today.
Della Robbia
Floral designs made mostly or entirely from
fruits and vegetables are called della Robbia
designs, named after a family of Italian sculptors
in the Italian Renaissance of the 15th and 16th
centuries. A key feature of their sculptures and relief
work is the use of fruit and fl oral motifs. This term
can apply to all types of designs, from fl owers to
wear and carry to centerpieces, garlands, and event
fl oral designs. Della Robbia designs are usually
symmetrical and uncluttered, and often mix fresh
plant material with dried materials. Fall and winter
fl oral designs often contain fruit, live or artifi cial,
due to their seasonal themes, Figure 10-13.
Flemish
The Flemish design style is infl uenced by the
Flemish and Dutch painters of the Renaissance
period in Europe. Arrangements in this style are
typically large and contain many different types
of fl owers in bright, vibrant colors and interesting
textures. Fruits, vegetables, and other accessories
are often included, Figure 10-14. Accessories are
usually natural items such as shells or stones.
Z.H.CHEN/Shutterstock.com
Figure 10-12. A piece inspired by a Chinese design
emphasizes nature in its true form, without stylization.
Malgorzata Kistryn/Shutterstock.com; StacieStauffSmith Photos/Shutterstock.com
Figure 10-13. A relief sculpture inspired by the della Robbia
family of the 15th century. Note the prominence of the fruit.
The della Robbia fl oral design style contains many of the
same elements.