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Art Principles in Flower Arrangement 
                                   Emma C. Schipper 
T WAS a real treat to have had 
   the opportunity of attending the 
Judging School in Chicago on Oct. 
26 and 27, given under the auspices 
of The Garden Club of Illinois, 
Inc. 
  This meeting was highlighted by 
the introduction of such well known 
Lzarden club personalities as Mrs. 
I. Wesley Frost, president of the 
National Council of State Garden 
ltubs and Mrs. Jerome W. Coombs, 
chairman of Judging School Ac- 
crediting, who was called upon to 
tell us something about the require- 
nents of credits necessary for ob- 
taining a National Judging Certifi- 
cate. "Read Pages 7 to 11 and 85 
to 87 in the HANDBOOK OF 
FI.OWER     SHOW     JUDGING," 
she repeated several times during 
her closing remarks. 
         Art Principles 
  It was the second lecturer of the 
(lay. Dr. Dudley Crafts Watson, 
FExtension Lecturer of the Art In- 
,titute of Chicago, in whom the 
\iliwaukee flower arrangement ad- 
,licts who attended this session had 
an especial interest. Dr. Watson 
was formerly director of the Mil- 
waukee Art Institute and founder 
uir instigator of the Art Institute 
(;arden Club. His talk on "Judg- 
Min  Artistic Classes in  Flower 
Shows," included the application of 
fundamental art principles by use 
,if charts. 
            The Charts 
  (harts No. 1 and No. 2, sketched 
here, are attempted copies of the 
,ines drawn by Dr. Watson, with 
the exception of the center line 
which was added to better eluci- 
(late the two kinds of balance in- 
terpreted in them. No. 1 is sym- 
metrical, 4iowing a regular ar- 
rangement of lines and forms on 
either side of the center line, which 
is known as the axis. "Bi-sym- 
inetry," Dr. Watson said, "has no 
phlce in flower arrangement. It is 
;I mechanical kind of thing, monot- 
            CHART I 
onous and uninteresting Bi-sym- 
metry is utterly necessary in a 
military program. It is the power 
of military force. It does not be- 
long to the fine arts." 
  Chart No. 2 is an asymmetrical 
arrangement of lines and forms 
arranged in such a way as to give 
infinite variety, and at the same 
time creates balance, rhythm  and 
unity. "Forms should be echoed," 
said Dr. \Vatson referring to the 
chart, which tneans, in other words. 
there should be repetition. Note the 
gradation in size of the forms, the 
main movement upward and out- 
ward, giving a sense of growth, and 
also the lines at the top and bottom 
which are in contrast. 
  Importance of Correct Scale 
  Dr. Watson greatly stressed the 
importance of keeping flower ar- 
rangements in scale or in proportion 
to their backgrounds. "Sparse line 
arrangements," he said, "no matter 
how beautiful, are utterly lost in 
a very large room or hall. Arrange- 
inents to be placed against a wall 
should have an interesting silhou- 
ette. and the spacing should not be 
symmetrical. Background spaces or 
voids are just as important as the 
flowers themselves. Too often the 
beauty of stems is lost by too much 
massing of flowers at the base ,f 
            CHART 2 
an arrangement. Let there be holes 
in y o u r arrangement." Spaces, 
voids or holes Dr. Watson com- 
pared to the rests or pauses in 
music. 
  Regarding the judging of flower 
shows Dr. Watson believes that a 
judge should tell the one who fails 
why. "Never in thb world give a 
prize to an entry which is not im- 
inediately beautiful, creative, origi- 
nal and charming." 
  As a way toward deliberately 
creating fun and humor for a table 
decoration we were told to go sur- 
realistic, or as far as we liked in 
making a perfectly ridiculous or 
"nutsy" arrangement. "Use t h e 
toaster in the middle of your cen- 
terpiece or stick utensils into the 
arrangement. U t t e r I y irrelevant 
things are tolerated in a surrealistic 
arrangement. The surrealist's theory 
is that logic always leads to de- 
pressions and world wars, 'Let's 
have none of that,' they say." 
  "Color" was the last subject to 
lie discussed by Dr. Watson and 
this concluded the program, after 
which we all assembled around the 
punch bowl for a little chat and 
refreshment. Everyone s e e m e d 
agreed and satisfied that the lec- 
tures were both educational and 
inspirational.