Saturday, September 16, 2006

To the Land of Oz (belatedly)



You have to imagine this wonderful centerpiece sitting on sparkly emerald green linen, with all the extra embellishments a table would need for an excellent dinner presentation.

I took the camera to work with me yesterday so that I could record this for you. It certainly does not approach seeing it as it was on the night of the gala, but it will give you some idea of the detail and hard work put into it.

Note the "tornado". You probably can't see it here, but the tornado had small models of livestock and farm implements attached to it - just as in real life a tornado picks up stuff and slings it hither and yon.

Note the stockinged legs and ruby red slippers emerging from the underside of the house....the small bits of broken green glass.....the house sitting slightly tipped up on the end.

The background in the work shop does not lend itself to seeing anything in its best light - but I hope you enjoy looking at the pics. The man who did this wonderful work is Mel Day, who owns Dogwood Tree Floral (a wedding and special event company) here in Raleigh, and I am privileged to work for him
and learn from him.

You'll note that all the flowers are shades of green. I know that a lot of people don't know that such a thing exists, but there are many varieties: roses, mums, cymbidium and dendrobium orchids, star of Bethlehem, trachellium and there are others as well.

I should remind you that this centerpiece was already 5 days old when I took the photos. It still looked as fresh as the day it was delivered to the gala. Whenever you order flowers from a reputable florist and they don't last at least 5 days - call them and complain. They should never be allowed to get away with using any flowers that are less than the peak of freshness!
Posted by Picasa If you didn't see the original post about this - go back to 9-14-06.

35 comments:

sage said...

You're talented, but maybe I should tell you that tornadoes was one of my first phobias--after watching the Wizard of Oz (on TV in Black and White), I had nightmares of the tornado afterwards for what seemed to be years! Today, I find them interesting and I don't think I've dreamed about them since I was probably seven or eight.

purplefugue said...

Omigosh...but this is truly gorgeous!!! Wonderful mix of flora and I love the tornado. Very creative.

*waves* here from Michele...hope you're having a good weekend.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Oh Judy, I think this is FABULOUS! And though I realize it must have been stunning in it's final presentation...it's pretty darn impressive here in these pictures!
I cannot imagine anything being more inventive and creative than this! So glad you were able to get these pictures of it. Did your boss take any pictures of the display that night? If he did maybe he would let you post those...
This is amnazing!

Susie said...

Beautiful! I love the feet peeking out.
I had no idea there were so many flowers in green!!

Anonymous said...

I love this one! How very fanciful it is!

Babette said...

Green is my friend! My little daughters are enjoying peeking over my shoulder at your winsome photos,Judy. Methinks Vicki would love this version of Oz, too! ;~)

Beverly said...

That is just too cool. I love the livestock in the tornado and the legs coming out from under the house. Good job.

Mahala said...

It never ceases to amaze me what people can do with a little imagination and loads of talent :)

Mahala said...

It never ceases to amaze me what people can do with a little imagination and loads of talent :)

Moon said...

The details of it all are incredible...what a wonderful peice! And it really does look fresh as can be...The idea was a great one as well...to bad it didn't win.

Anonymous said...

WOW!

Marie said...

That is SO cool!!!

Chancy said...

What a great centerpiece. What an imagination.

Raggedy said...

Wow!
Fantastic!
Great pictures.
Thanks for posting them.

Have a wonderful day!
*^_^
(=':'=) hugs
(")_ (")Š from da Cool Raggedy one

WordWhiz said...

This is absolutely AMAZING! It's more than amazing, but I can't think of a BIG enough word! WOW!!

Suburban Island said...

Wow, that is fabulous!

amarkonmywall said...

You have outdone yourself this week, Judy! First off, I'm hanging around the house waiting for the floral arrangement to be delivered. It is for me, right?

The cartoons are delightful but I like the fabric softener one best, of course.
And the changing lanes bumper sticker is the one most often seen on the Dan Ryan Xway here in Chicago.

And the link on loss and grief- good stuff.

If there was a prize for best weeklong blog content I would give it to you this week- beauty, humor, information, compassion. It's all here and I love it.

Thanks!

srp said...

Love the Oz centerpiece. I think a grown-up party needs it... since I'm not sure kids could really appreciate the detail and time that went into it.

The house fell on Nessarose.... sister to Elphaba, the witch of the west in WICKED! The stockings always made me think of Pippi Longstockings. :)

carmilevy said...

In a word, this is art. I hope that attendees take the time to appreciate the gifted creativity that went into creating this. I am absolutely breathless at the beauty (and your pix definitely DO capture it, Judy!)

BlondeBrony said...

WOW that is amazing.
Michele says hi!

brendalove@gmail.com said...

I think Judy Garland would have given her seal of approval. :-)

Ladies and gentlemen, all this and the lady finds time to BLOG too!

Maya's Granny said...

I'm trying to think what could possibly have been good enough to deny the prize to this and nothing comes to mind. It is wonderful.

Thumper said...

That is one of the coolest things I've ever seen!

Anonymous said...

Now, that is just too cool.

good morning from michele's meet and greet.

Anonymous said...

Wow that looks cool! Anyway hope you have a nice weekend and here from Michele!

Anonymous said...

wow, sculptural whimsy.

Unknown said...

that is so cool! Thanks for sharing

Anonymous said...

A wonderful centre-piece Judy.

Anonymous said...

That is amazing! Do you guys ever do work here in Charlotte?

Anonymous said...

Judy, one word: Just WOW!
ok, that was two words. That tornado was so original, I've never seen anything like it. And the humorous twist, with the witche's shoes underneath the door!
Very cool, I'm so glad you got pictures!

Anonymous said...

Judy, saw your comment at my own site. I have an event each fall I'd love to see this work at but alas it is a charity event so small budget for this sort of thing. Your work is amazing though. Michele says hi on this very long weekend of hers.

Pat said...

Lovely pictures Judy . I have some green nicotinia(?spelling?) the tobacco plant -which I'm fone of.

Shephard said...

Oh, I love this one!
What creativity!! I bet it looked beyond marvelous! Great idea.
~S

sonia a. mascaro said...

That is just amazing!

Anonymous said...

That is some beautifull work and the tornado, well, just fantastic and I would have thought it possible to represent something like the tornado in the story without making it look cheesy. Great work on this and this peice needed to be dragged into the woods somewhere and shot... with a camera that is! ;) Great work.

cheers,

Paul Sveda