Cromarty East Church focus of RNLI flower tribute
A Cromarty flower display is paying tribute to 200 years of the RNLI.
The first week in June will see many colourful artforms come together in the Black Isle town, with a week-long flower arrangement display, as well as botanical and wildlife illustration.
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The display is being held in East Church, Church Street, Cromarty from Saturday, June 1 to Sunday June 9, from 11am to 4pm daily.
Organiser behind the colourful floral displays is Evelyn Wilson, who was recently appointed as Northern Tour Secretary for the Scottish Association of Flower Arrangers (SAFAS). She developed her enthusiasm for floral art from her mother who also was an avid flower arranger.
Recently been appointed Northern Tour Secretary for the Scottish Association of Flower Arrangers (SAFAS) Evelyn is tasked with co-ordinating Floral Art demonstrations for all clubs north of Aberdeen.
She developed her enthusiasm for floral art from her mother who was an avid flower arranger encouraged to learn the skills in the era of the famous Constance Spry.
Evelyn recalls carry all the flowers to demonstrations to help her mother and, age 12, she attended flower arranging classes in Arbroath. She gained City & Guilds qualifications and studied at Creative Flower School in Myerscough, Preston for her Advanced qualification following which she taught the art for 10 years. On returning to Scotland she became a member of the Ross-Shire Flower Club and is their current chairman.
The display has a nautical theme to mark the 200th anniversary of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) with over 2000 blooms being used to interpret this theme and over 40 individual creations on show.
What is flower arranging?
Flower arranging is the art of creating beautiful arrangements that convey meaning and emotion with flowers, leaves, ornaments, etc. Like any art, it requires the technical mastery of a sensitive creative who is able to combine the elements they are working with in a special way.
A number of techniques are used to achieve the creations including choosing the right proportions between the sizes of all the elements used to create a design, such as flowers, foliage, the container, and the accessories.
Scale and harmony of the exhibit are also important and getting the rhythm and flow of the display balanced ensures that it is pleasing to the eye and that the interpretation of the theme is easy to envisage.
Scientific accuracy with visual appeal the botanical and wildlife illustrations on show are the work of 15 students who study with Cromarty botanic artist, Julie Price, and include work by Julie herself. Botanical Illustration is a genre of art that endeavours to faithfully depict and represent the form, colour, character and detail of a plant, identifiable to species or cultivar level. The best botanical illustration successfully combines scientific accuracy with visual appeal. It must portray a plant with the precision and level of detail for it to be recognised and distinguished, from another species.
Originally, botanical illustration was a scientific method of recording the characteristics of plants in a highly detailed and accurate manner. As they scoured the world for new species, botanists would take an illustrator with them to faithfully record each plant so it could be logged for posterity. Botanical artists train not only in painting techniques but also in botany in order to bring science to the illustration.
Julie Price is a botanical artist who trained initially at Plumpton College in Sussex. She exhibited at the Society of Botanical Artists exhibition in 2000, was awarded an RHS medal at the Royal Horticultural Society’s annual exhibition 2004, attended a course with the English Gardening School at Chelsea Physic Garden and was awarded the prestigious Diploma in Botanical Watercolour Painting (with credit) in 2012.
Julie was invited to join Amicus Botanicus, a society for the alumni of The Chelsea School of Botanical Art in 2018.
She runs classes at her home in Cromarty, and elsewhere in Scotland, covering a wide spectrum of experience and ability. Some students focus on detail while others concentrate on colour and Julie encourages them all to show their individual style.
Some of the illustrations on show will be available to purchase.
A peaceful and historic venue for the beautiful artworks Art & Flowers offers a varied and interesting display for all visitors but in addition the venue, Cromarty East Church, provides a peaceful and historic location for the beautiful artwork on display.
The church is in the charge of the Historic Churches Scotland and was the inspiration behind setting up the trust in 1996. The trust preserves places of worship of outstanding national importance which are no longer used for religious purposes, safeguarding them for current and future generations.
Decay and damp threatened the survival of the church but its plight came to the attention of the nation in 2006 when it was a finalist of the BBC ‘Restoration Village’ series.
In 2007 the Heritage Lottery awarded a major grant towards the £1.3million restoration project and Historic Scotland and The Highland Council were also major funders.
Art Flowers is on from Saturday, June 1 and runs until Sunday, June 9. It is open daily from 11am to 4pm in Cromarty East Church on Church Street. Admission is by donation of £1 minimum with all monies raised benefiting local organisations.
