HI, I’M ELLEN AND WELCOME TO MY BLOG

My Bouquets to Art piece took inspiration from “Penelope” (seated in the background), queen of Ithaca, created by American sculptor Franklin Simmons. Penelope was the faithful and devoted wife of Odysseus, having waited over twenty years for Odysseus’ return from the Trojan War. She is often depicted in a seated, contemplative pose, with crossed knees, reflecting her long chastity in Odysseus’ absence. My piece depicts her immediately after Odysseus’ return ~ the joyful exuberance of his return and the blissful release from years of waiting.

All the blooms were in water tubes, and jasmine vines are heavy water drinkers, so I was back almost every morning at the DeYoung refreshing the piece and adding water to over 50 water tubes. Penelope was a lot of fun to work on, but high maintenance. Some women, and men, are just that way .

I had an amazingly fun experience creating a table-scape for a corporate celebratory dinner last week at the Claremont Country Club in Oakland. What’s not to love about decorating for a king’s table? There’s something very regal and feast-like about sitting at a long table that’s the focal point of an entire room ~ I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to create a beautiful landscape of blooms!

I’m thrilled to be a part of the 29th annual Bouquets to Art at the de Young Museum in San Francisco March 19-23. Over 125 floral designs will be displayed, each interpreting or taking inspiration from works of art at the Museum. This will be my second year participating in the event, and I’ll be taking inspiration from “Penelope”, queen of Ithaca, created by American sculptor Franklin Simmons. The statue is inspired by the myth of Odysseus, and portrays Penelope as the faithful and devoted wife.

My design for the 2012 exhibit was based on a modern painting ~ very different from the piece I’ll be interpreting this year. I’m not sure what the design will be just yet, but ~ first things first ~ I need to bone up on my Greek mythology!

In Jewish law, when a boy turns 13, he becomes responsible for his actions, or a Bar Mitzvah ~ literally a “son of the commandments”. I had the pleasure of designing the floral arrangements for Erik’s Bar Mitzvah last weekend ~ it was an honor and delight since Erik’s mother, Sophie, is a friend and work colleague of my husband. Sophie has a wonderful eye, so it was a great collaborative process figuring out the color scheme, lighting, linens and overall look!

The ceremony took place at Congregation Beth Sholom in San Francisco, a wonderful piece of architecture from Stanley Saitowitz, who just so happens to have been one of my professors at UC Berkeley back in the day when I studied architecture (oy ~ that was a lifetime ago…). Friends and family continued the celebration with an evening cruise on the Hornblower Spirit, graced with a moonlit bon voyage from the San Francisco skyline. Beautiful.

Mazel Tov, Erik!