Design by Knight

Paideia School Alumni Parent Lecture Series Reception

Last year I helped my sister, Judi Knight, decorate for the Paideia Alumni Parent Lecture series reception held at the Paideia school. Judi headed up the decorating committee and enlisted my help. President Jimmy Carter was the guest lecturer and we wanted to keep the theme simple and elegant.
We used burlap for the table coverings and also wrapped the large potted palms with the burlap. The registration tables had burlap covered pots filled with, what else but, peanuts to hold the signage for checking into the event.

I created this centerpiece for the main food table. Working at a Carlstedt’s Wholesale Florist does have its advantages. I chose galax leaves and glued them onto the outside of a large glass vase and the individual rose heads were also glued on in a spiral pattern. The beautiful flowering branches towered over the table. I did a smaller test version of the arrangement a few days before the event to see how the glue would hold the galax leaves and how long the roses would look great out of water. After the event, the arrangement was difficult to cart home because of its size and weight but actually still looked great the next day.
Cathy Conway of “Avalon Catering” created the most inviting array of food. She says they always try to use natural materials with their food presentations and so our two styles went together very well.
President Jimmy Carter gave an amazing speech and I heard that Rosalynn grabbed a handful of peanuts after the event on the way out the door.
To see more photographs of this incredible event visit my Flickr account at:http://www.flickr.com/photos/lknightm/sets/72157623325015091/

The Art of Non Conformity Book Signing Tour

My sister, Judi Knight, had just gotten a conformation that her offer to host the unconventional book tour stop in Georgia for the book, The Art of Non-Conformity, written by Chris Guillebeau on his whirl wind tour through all fifty states stopping in one city per state, was excepted. She and her husband Duane have a fabulous space called The Urban Oasis which also serves as a Bed and Breakfast along with being the world headquarters for Judi’s new business “New Tricks” and my temporary living quarters. Judi was busy planning the event and getting the message out to her peeps through all of her social media outlets like facebook and twitter and she asked me if I would make a sign for the event. Now, Judi and I are alike in many ways one of them being if you are going to commit to do something, do it right, do it big, and make it “the best”.
I had gone on to Chris’s web site to see what he and his book were all about. I was so impressed with his message that I immediately signed up for his online post updates and while I was reading through the blogs on his site I came across a picture of Chris in a Tiger Cage reading his book with two tigers lounging near by.

I clicked into my Party Girl mode and saw a perfect backdrop composition. My little sign I agreed to make had just, in an instant, grown in size and scale.
I told Judi of my idea to create an 8′ x 8′ backdrop of Chris sitting in the Tiger cage reading his book and then cutting out his face so we could hang it at the event and everyone who came could put their head in the backdrop and have a photo taken of themselves being un-conventional. Judi loved the idea and off we went in Duane’s SUV to Sam Flax for two sheets of 4×8 foam core and paint. Unfortunately, we both underestimated the size of Duane’s vehicle and there was no way we were getting a 4×8 sheet in his car. Judi and I spent over an hour walking around Sam Flax looking for an alternative plan. We decided on purchasing a 10′ x 9′ piece of raw canvas which was on sale and could be easily tucked into the vehicle for the ride home. We would worry about how Duane would hang it later.
The book tour was scheduled on Thursday and I prepped the canvas on the Saturday before. I started with a nice thick coat of Gesso to prime the canvas and left it overnight to dry. I set my alarm for 5:00 am and in the pitch black of the morning, I hung the canvas from a 2nd story railing at the Urban Oasis and projected the images I wanted onto the canvas tracing them with pencil to create the composition and scale… and then went back to bed. I chose to recreate the backdrop to be the glass wall between the front entry and garden area of the Urban Oasis since that is where the book signing was being held. (Note: the wall is an old warehouse window which Judi had different textured glass panels installed in some and left some open so you can see through the the other side. Check it out at www.urbanoasisbandb.com) Instead of having the tigers laying around I found two images where they where upright and paying attention. Of course, I had to include Craig’s head peeking through one of the open panels. He is one of the three basset hounds that reside at the Urban Oasis. I started painting Sunday afternoon and when I got home from work until the wee hours of the night for four nights.
By Wednesday afternoon the painting was well on it’s way to being finished and we had to start thinking about how to hang it up so that it was not in the way but people could still get behind the canvas, easily, to stick their heads through for a photo. I was thinking 2×4′s and building a frame and a lot of other complicated contraptions when Judi talked to her friend Joe about our dilemma and Joe mentioned that being a photographer he had a pair of backdrop stands he could loan us. It turned out to be the perfect set up. The Canvas looked fabulous in the space.

I happened to be in the shower when Chris Guillebeau arrived early and I missed his reaction when he walked in and saw the canvas. Judi said he was amazed. The cool thing was that he brought an enlarged photograph of that very picture that inspired me to the book signing. We had over 120 people show up. It was a very diverse crowd and everybody had a great time and loved getting their photographs with the tigers and Craig. You can see other photos of the event at @danareeves she took the best photos ever of the #AONC Book Signing at the Urban Oasis http://ow.ly/322Qu.

Heron in the Marshes: Themed Table decoration for Metro Atlanta Floral Association Meeting

The Metro Atlanta Floral Association held their monthly meeting at Carlstedt’s Atlanta, the wholesale floral company I am currently working for.  The topic of this months meeting was “Themed Tables”.  I was in charge of coordinating the table rental and set up for the meeting.  We ended up with six designers who volunteered to create a “Themed Table” of their choosing on a 60″ round table. There at least 30 or more floral shop owners and MAFA members attend the meeting.  I was one of the designers who volunteered to create a table.

We had Carte Blanche to choose any theme we could envision or create for our tables.  I chose a wetlands theme for several reasons.  The first reason was that I had just been down in Key Largo- boating, fishing and diving and enjoying the natural beauty of the ocean and wetlands with all the mangrove roots and trees and birds.  Nature at her finest.  The second reason was that I am just sick to death over the gushing oil flowing freely into the Gulf and wanted to draw attention to this man made disaster and voice my opinion that there should be no more drilling in the Gulf.  The third reason was that I am planning a trip to North Carolina for the July fourth weekend where my friends and I are planning to have a “Fripp Island” themed food fest and party and thought a life size Great White Heron sitting in a stump of Red Mangrove Roots would make a smashing center piece for our food table.

Now, I have been using paper mache to create marvelous sculptures, costume masks and centerpieces, life size horses and elephants, Chinese dragons and many other pieces that I used when decorating for parties and events when I owned my event planning company back in the early 1990′s, Party Girls of Tampa, but, I have not worked with paper mache in over 15 years.

Once I decided on my theme it required a trip to  Home Depot to check out the supplies I would need.  I walked down every Aisle looking for sparks of inspiration.  I finally came across a bundle of thick wire that was heavy duty but bendable with effort and I could still cut through the wire (with some difficulty) using regular wire clippers.  I also threw a roll of 1″ chicken wire in my cart along with a gallon container of Wallpaper paste and a couple cans of flat white spray paint.  I then took a trip to Michael’s Crafts to fetch some feathers and acrylic paints.  They carry the two types of feathers I like to use, a long straight white feather and some smaller wispy white feathers.  When I got home it was time to spread everything out and get started.

I actually started with my computer, first, by pulling up pictures of Great White Herons in different poses and coloring.  I also pulled up a lot of photographs of the Mangroves to see the different roots shapes.  I then unstrapped my giant roll of wire and started to shape my vision of what the Mangrove root stump should look like and what shape it should be.  There are many things you need to think about when designing a centerpiece for a 60″ round table that usually seats 8 people, ten in a pinch.  I wanted there to be a lot of negative space to see through as to not block the view across the table for someone sitting down to dinner..  My guide has always been if I put my elbow on the table and hold my arm and hand straight up what ever is sitting in the middle of the table should be no higher than the tips of my fingers or you won”t be able to see across the table.  I figured if I make the mangrove roots so they are down low with a small arrangement of flowers off to the side, I could have the bird higher than the line of sight which is also good for events that have high ceilings.

I started with the design and shape of the mangrove roots.  I had done a little sketch of what it should look like in my minds eye which I used as a guide.

Once I had the basic shape that I like which was taped together with some duct tape to hold the shape, I set it aside and started working on the Heron.  I started with his feet and fashioned one pair a great looking legs out of the wire, again using the duct tape and used it to attach his feet and toes.  I then took the chicken wire and started cutting and shaping until I had the birds basic shape down and I then squeezed and pulled it to be in proportion to the legs.  I then inserted his legs up far enough into the body that there would be a good support system and held it in place with the duct tape.

After I had the Great White Heron shaped and molded using the chicken wire and had the wire legs secured I started using the strips of paper mache and taking one strip at a time I would dip it through the wall paper paste which I thinned with water and then took all the excess paste off by running the strip of newspaper through two closed fingers. You wrap this around the bird and start to build your layers.

After building quite a few layers of the newspaper strip on the bird and mangrove stump it was time to add a little detail to the bird. I took a full sheet of newspaper and dipped it carefully in the paste and then shaped the piece into a birds wing with folds and creases. When I had the newspaper actually looking like wings, I added a few feathers to create a visual and textural impact.

The paper mache dries fairly quickly depending on the number of layers you have created. It is important to let the mache dry thoroughly before painting. After the Heron was dried I painted the whole thing white with a flat white craft spray paint and then used acrylic paint to add color and detail. I always spray a good coat of clear acrylic gloss the spray as a finishing coat that helps protect the piece and gives it a nice sheen.

I have since used the bird as a food table display for the party in North Carolina, As a table display for my line of felted wool product at a Lady Rouge Pop up bazaar and have had several calls form people who have seen the Heron asking to rent the bird for their parties.