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Floral art talent blossoms

Posted on June 5, 2009, 10:10am and updated on June 8, 2009 at 1:37 pm

Floral art

Anne Ashby proudly shows an unfinished floral art fabrication piece.

When Allendale dairyfarmer Anne Ashby branched into floral art, she never dreamed that her hobby could grow into an all consuming passion.

Now an internationally recognised judge of floral art, Mrs Ashby has reached the pinnacle of success and has won a swag of prestigious competitions.

She is just back from snaring the top prize in a large floral art competition at Bendigo.

Describing it as being in her blood, she said her passion for floral art was sparked as a young child.

“My mother showed cut flowers,” said Mrs Ashby, who explained as a child she entered cut flowers in the children’s section at shows across the region.

But she said her interest in showing flowers “went by the wayside” with her busy life and the arrival of her children.

“I said to myself ‘right, when my children finally leave the house, then I am going to do my own thing’,” Mrs Ashby said.

She finally began dabbling into floral art in 2003.

The avid gardener joined the Mount Gambier Floral Art Club, but it was not until she travelled to a workshop in Keith her talents bloomed.

She was asked by the Keith club — which held a workshop — to do a basic modern design.

Although hesitant and lacking a little confidence, Mrs Ashby recalled: “I said ‘okay, I will have a go at it’.”

The judges were so impressed with her raw talent, they asked Anne whether she would consider becoming a judge.

“I thought it was a way of learning new techniques, so I said yes,” she said.

She then embarked on a two year floral art judging course and is now accredited as an international and Australian judge.

Mrs Ashby had to sit a two hour exam and attend bi-monthly workshops in Adelaide to gain her qualifications as a judge.

Walking into a small shed at the back of her house, it become clear floral art is a passion that continues to consume her spare time.

The shed inside is scattered with floral art supplies which is a window of her creativity and flair.

One of the biggest wins of her floral art career has been a recent success at the national Chrysanthemum and Floral Art Show at Bendigo, where she took out the open section and the overall champion.

She described the level of competitiveness at these shows as fierce.

“Years ago the flowers use to come from people’s garden. But now it is a bit like showing cattle, unless you’ve got perfect flowers, the judges won’t look at you,” Mrs Ashby said.

Mrs Asbhy said people need to have a creative flair and a good understanding of colours to succeed at competitions.

“You need to have colour rhythm and balance — people need to understand colour,” she said.

Mrs Ashby will demonstrate at a meeting of the Mount Gambier Floral Art Club on June 9.

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