Bright, colorful flower

Balancing Act: Floral Equilibria

March 30–May 28, 2023
J. Wayne Stark Galleries | Memorial Student Center, MSC 1110

Presented by the Benz School of Floral Design

 

This project hosted by the Benz School of Floral Design, and the resulting exhibition, asked students to design floral, hanging mobiles using Hula Hoops and a Cirque du Soleil theme. Students could alter their mobiles and decorate them with various materials, such as fabric, paint or ribbon with floral materials at each level and points of balance being visually displayed.

This exhibition demonstrates how the principle of “balance” is an essential concept of any art form, including floral design. Balance gives a feeling of stability and security. It adds a sense of steadiness and confidence. Balance in floral design is influenced by many factors, such as color, size, texture, contrast, distance from the point of origin, etc. A skillful designer can create not only physical, actual balance, but also the oftentimes elusive visual, perceived balance; they should also be able to determine which components of a design are balancing each other…or not.

Inside the Exhibition

Interior view of gallery title wall, reading “Balancing Act: Floral Equilibria.” A large floral mobile hangs to the right of the title in colors of fuchsia, lime green, and yellow. Acrobat figurines hang from the mobile.
Floral, hanging mobile in colors of blues and greens with pom poms, hanging crystals, blue and yellow flowers and a fuchsia butterfly.
Three large hanging mobiles in a display corner of the galleries.
Suspended figurine holding a paper hand fan.
Watercolor and pen/graphite drawing on thick white/off white paper. Diamond, quilt design at the center running vertically is framed by roses in pink and red and ribbon in red and green. Flanking center images are blanket designs in shades of light pink, yellow and light green. These areas are also bordered with drawings of roses in pink and red and ribbon in red and green.
Floral, hanging mobile in colors of reds, oranges, yellows, and greens.