Still life with artichokes

Binge watching Full Bloom inspires today’s blip. A sort of ‘Great American Floristry’ version of Bake Off and screened on channel 4, each week the contestants are challenged to create floral masterpieces (or monstrosities, depending on your viewpoint). As always with such contests, the backstories and relationships become as important as the competition, but it’s interesting to see what they come up with. 

One episode sees them challenged to create Baroque-style arrangements - extravagant still lifes (lives?) featuring flowers, fruit, vegetables, feathers, shells….. basically almost anything to hand! And so today I decide to have a go! 

Very soon, the dining room’s a mess; furniture is moved around, pewter vessels plundered from the dresser, various flowers strewn about, alongside twisted hazel, courgettes, artichokes and fruit. I try a range of combinations, trying to get the best eclectic composition. Rejecting a pewter candlestick, I add a Bhutanese cup, a dusty orange pomander made some 40 years ago, seed heads and finally a skua feather all the way from Unst. 

I’ve said before that photographing still life really isn’t easy, but I do my best, taking many shots and moving objects before I decide enough is enough. This one - with editing - will have to do. 

And then, of course, comes the tidying up …… 

Some examples of these weird and wonderful Baroque extravagances can be found in here: https://www.ranker.com/list/famous-still-life-works-from-the-baroque-period-and-movement/reference

Thank you all once again for all your kind comments yesterday. I do appreciate the support of this wonderful community.