With the new year comes a return to Raku Dining and the wonderful opportunity to provide arrangements for the restaurant. I wanted to kick off the year in an unconventional way and do a little experimenting with a material that I had been thinking about for a while. Wire mesh! Using the mesh I created a number of structures that could essentially function as containers and I planned to use other materials that required little or no water. I devised an arrangement working primarily with lines worked through the mesh to create something filled with movement and dynamism. A second arrangement saw me use the mesh as a very modern take on the idea of a basket capturing the small radiant lines of agapanthus heads in natural green and some in gold, creating something small but striking that caught the eye but didn't obstruct the view. My final arrangement for the week utilised the mesh as a column which almost dissapeared into the general lighting of the restaurant allowing me to work with some dried coloured material in striking red and gold. In the context of the restaurant it was very satisfying to look at though perhaps would not have worked as well in a different location. Overall I was very happy with what I was able to achieve.
In the second week back I was a little bit stumped as to what to do. I did want to continue the theme of using the wire mesh but also not get too bogged down with it. I decided to make one new mesh structure and only use a small piece of mesh in a second arrangement with the work in the private dining room taking a different direction. This allowed me to use a new pottery container that I had made just days before for the tall arrangement. It's always nice to see two different creative outlets coming together in harmonious union. In the private dining room I was able to take advantage of the opportunity to use some very special bamboo that I had been able to source while I was on holiday over the festive season. Again I was very pleased with the results I was able to achieve. I hope you enjoy them too.
