Thursday, April 30, 2009

My 4 hours of being an adult

I attended a lecture at Longwood last night. I was away from home without any children to hang from my body from 6-10pm. It was a new record. I felt rather naked without somebody tugging on me going "mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy" the entire evening.
So I enjoyed being able to think without interruption and I would have enjoyed speaking in complete sentences had I been presented with any opportunity for conversation, but I wasn't.
The lecture was about the process of joining the AIFD. And I left the lecture not entirely convinced that the prestige would be worth the cost.... but it sounds nice to have an acronym to list after your name, right? Well the second half of the lecture was a critique of a bunch of arrangements based on the AIFD entry exam criteria. I did not love any of them. The need to be different and "creative" seemed to trump any desire to be easy on the eyes. The presenter kept referring with scorn to "designing for the masses" and "Martha Stewart style". This elitism among artists can occasionally get under my skin. I tweeted away, disagreeing with him with the only voice I felt I could safely use. And lots of people there disagreed with him out loud and it was okay because they'd established the point of art being ambiguous. But I enjoyed being able to listen and have complete, uninterrupted thoughts and I felt pretty affirmed that I could do this, and possibly excel at it. I just need to try it.
The crucifix bouquet.... given fabulous grades even though I can't think of a bride that would be willing to use it. What good is a bouquet with no one to hold it?
An all green arrangement. Some people hated the monocromatic-ness of it. That didn't bother me so much as the "stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni-ness" of it.
Official title: The anti-Martha arrangement. They inserted a 20guage wire in a reed and bent it into what they called a "pleasing random" pattern. I thought it looked like it was mad at me. Not really what a floral arrangement should be communicating.


Ta-da! And entire post without my kids in it. An anomoly, for now.

9 comments:

Brittany said...

I agree, that bottom one does look like it's mad! And all the jagged harsh lines of it? Art? I guess, but to me, flower arrangements are supposed to be welcoming and warm. Oh well, that's why I'm not an artist! Glad you got some time out!

hairyshoefairy said...

Looks a bit strange but at least it meant you were getting out without kids. :D That's exciting. And even though it does look strange I think you can figure out how to make it work for you.

Matt Kass And Kason said...

Well, that looks fun!! Yeah I got the e mail from her yesterday!!! Haha you are so funny. Are you liking your new school time?? I think it looks like a lot of fun!

Ashley said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ashley said...

Well, I happen to like good old Martha, especially her flower arrangements. I do like the bouquet in the first picture. At least you had some time away from the kids to recharge.

Krystal said...

It's always nice to get some time for yourself. What a beautiful way to do it!!!

Amanda said...

What a fun thing to do. I know how odd it feels to go anywhere without at least one little person calling, begging, or demanding your attention. I hope you enjoyed your time out.
Also, it's funny that you have started doing this because just before you mentioned you were going to start school again, I had called my mother in law (she works at Modern Display in the floral department) and I asked her if I could volunteer with her and try to learn something about floral arranging. Since I don't have much time this summer to actually attend school and Jason's education is so involved right now we though this would be a viable option for us. It would seem that great minds think alike!
Good luck with it all

--jeff * said...

i'd never really thought of what the art-floral arrangement world was like; i very much enjoyed your "one-foot-in-normalcy" commentary.

keep us updated (and entertained)

Martha said...

I'm so glad you got out and had some time for Em! Yay for you. I quite agree that the arrangements are not pleasing to the eye. I wouldn't take any of those home with me, but then again, I'm fairly traditional when it comes to art. I love colors that are gentle, giving a cozy feeling that uplifts and inspires. :)

Whatever you end of actually doing, I'm sure you'll love it and most of all, it'll be great to have time for Em!!

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