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A lady of decided character
Sep. 30th, 2013 10:08 am This weekend the SF Public Library had their annual book sale (mostly donations). $3 for hardbacks, $2 for paperbacks, $1 for "media", which turned out to include music scores. Now I have to figure out where to shelves three shopping bags of books and one of CDs. Needless to say, there were impulse buys. One was Church Flower Arranging with Sheila MacQueen. A few quotations:
"The churches themselves pose the problems. Perhaps they have rich and beautiful stained-glass windows which are a decoration hard to compete with ... There are churches with corners that are dark and badly lit, with stone pitches that are too deep, or with altar-backs ornately patterned with mosaic or silk against which it is difficult to make even the boldest flower stand out."
"But unfortunately many [altars] are floodlit from the back to show up a quite beautiful altar back or reredos and this has a disastrous effect on the flowers. I remember one altar most beautifully carved and lit from below on which the figures showed up dramatically but alas, for the arrangers, flowers placed in front of it were utterly lost and the effect was ruined."
"The [altar] screen is often a good place for small tins of spring flowers, and little hanging baskets look delightful if you can find a suitable place for them. Don't hammer in nails or even drawing-pins unless you are quite certain the particular piece of wood is of no importance." [There are pieces of wood of "no importance" behind the altar? I'm thinking the architect would disagree.]
"HARVEST FESTIVAL. This is perhaps the most difficult of the church festivals as far as the decorations are concerned. ... Getting marrows and potatoes to look really decorative is often quite a task ....
A slightly unusual decoration ... is a pair of made-up corn stooks ... They were approximately 5 m (15 ft high) and built on to a frame of wire netting. The corn was bundled neatly and fixed to the netting with a storng wire ... and a thick plait of raffia was bound around the waist. To finish it off, plumes of pampas grass were placed around the edge, again commencing at the top. A light spray of gold completed the stook. It was then stood upright in a block of wood like a Christmas tree, with fruit and vegetables banked up against the base. The whole effect was quite staggering." [Quite. Note to Americans: remember that the British "corn" is American "wheat". I always thought "Ruth amid the alien corn" was hilarious until I found this out.
"Bible markers. These should be used for decoration only during the Flower Festival and, with the approval of the parson, a small note can be left for Readers asking them not to move the markers. Markers ... must be fixed with a small length of masking tape at the top or the bottom. (Sellotape or similar strong adhesive tape is too powerful and one can spoil a leather or paper surface when dismantling things."
There are many little asides about consulting the minister, generally flavored with irritation at a necessary nuisance. I think you could get an entire novel out of a busybody church flower arranger and her conflicts with the vicar. Trollope certainly could have.
"The churches themselves pose the problems. Perhaps they have rich and beautiful stained-glass windows which are a decoration hard to compete with ... There are churches with corners that are dark and badly lit, with stone pitches that are too deep, or with altar-backs ornately patterned with mosaic or silk against which it is difficult to make even the boldest flower stand out."
"But unfortunately many [altars] are floodlit from the back to show up a quite beautiful altar back or reredos and this has a disastrous effect on the flowers. I remember one altar most beautifully carved and lit from below on which the figures showed up dramatically but alas, for the arrangers, flowers placed in front of it were utterly lost and the effect was ruined."
"The [altar] screen is often a good place for small tins of spring flowers, and little hanging baskets look delightful if you can find a suitable place for them. Don't hammer in nails or even drawing-pins unless you are quite certain the particular piece of wood is of no importance." [There are pieces of wood of "no importance" behind the altar? I'm thinking the architect would disagree.]
"HARVEST FESTIVAL. This is perhaps the most difficult of the church festivals as far as the decorations are concerned. ... Getting marrows and potatoes to look really decorative is often quite a task ....
A slightly unusual decoration ... is a pair of made-up corn stooks ... They were approximately 5 m (15 ft high) and built on to a frame of wire netting. The corn was bundled neatly and fixed to the netting with a storng wire ... and a thick plait of raffia was bound around the waist. To finish it off, plumes of pampas grass were placed around the edge, again commencing at the top. A light spray of gold completed the stook. It was then stood upright in a block of wood like a Christmas tree, with fruit and vegetables banked up against the base. The whole effect was quite staggering." [Quite. Note to Americans: remember that the British "corn" is American "wheat". I always thought "Ruth amid the alien corn" was hilarious until I found this out.
"Bible markers. These should be used for decoration only during the Flower Festival and, with the approval of the parson, a small note can be left for Readers asking them not to move the markers. Markers ... must be fixed with a small length of masking tape at the top or the bottom. (Sellotape or similar strong adhesive tape is too powerful and one can spoil a leather or paper surface when dismantling things."
There are many little asides about consulting the minister, generally flavored with irritation at a necessary nuisance. I think you could get an entire novel out of a busybody church flower arranger and her conflicts with the vicar. Trollope certainly could have.
