Floral Art & Design at the Slow Flowers Summit
Our Speakers elevate local flowers with their beautiful aesthetic
The 2021 Slow Flowers Summit brought local flowers, sustainable design, a seasonal aesthetic and amazing creatives who inspired our audience with their sensitivity to place and time. Here are their designs – from the Slow Flowers Summit stage at Filoli Historic House & Garden.
Max Gill, Max Gill Design (Berkeley, California)
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All of the botanicals featured in Max Gill’s demonstration originated from the gardens at at our host venue, Filoli Historic House & Garden. Max was drawn to the vegetable displays for cardoon, artichoke and herbal elements. He contributed clematis vines from his own garden in Berkeley. (c) Missy Palacol Photograph
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Max selected a large etched metal urn for his display. Mechanics include a vintage pin frog and chicken wire (c) Jenny M. Diaz Photograph
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Max calls himself a “Monochromatist,” which is reflected in his serene botanical palette (c) Jenny M. Diaz Photography
Susan McLeary, Ann Arbor, Michigan
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Susan McLeary’s vibrant hanging installation set the stage and created a beautiful backdrop at the Slow Flowers Summit (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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Marigolds, yarrow and citrus (left); Susan McLeary teaching sustainable techniques (right) (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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Details of Susan’s suspended three-dimensional floral sculptures (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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Sue taught us her “green” mechanics, including this sustainable “burrito” with foliages wrapped with chickenwire (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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Susan McLeary presented her keynote: “The Creative Journey: Finding Your Artistic Voice, Truth and Expression” — demonstrating one of her favorite design “hacks” to stimulate creativity (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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Inspired palette and shape, by Susan McLeary (c) Missy Palacol Photography
Teresa Sabankaya, Bonny Doon Garden Co., Santa Cruz, California
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Our local host, Teresa Sabankaya, of Bonny Doon Garden Co., demonstrated her popular “message” posies and invited guests to make their own posies (c) Jenny M. Diaz Photography
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Teresa’s posy incorporates flowers with meaning, as featured in The Posy Book (2019), which she signed for Slow Flowers Summit guests after her presentation (c) Jenny M. Diaz Photography
Sustainable Farming x Floral Design, with Kellee Matsushita-Tseng of UC Santa Cruz and Second Generation Seeds; Emily Saeger (Filoli Horticulture alumnae) and Molly Culver of Molly Oliver Flowers
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Our fabulous panel, from left: Emily Saeger, Molly Culver and moderator Kellee Matsushita-Tseng (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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Kellee discusses her botanical selections while designing (and moderating the panel!) (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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Kellee Matsushita-Tseng’s floral arrangement incorporating all local and California-grown botanicals, mostly harvested from the flower beds at Filoli Historic House & Garden (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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Emily Saeger, Filoli alumna and Masters in Landscape Architecture candidate at University of Washington (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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Emily’s floral arrangement features a California native, wild and dried botanical palette (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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Molly Culver of Brooklyn-based Molly Oliver Culver (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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Molly Culver’s seasonal arrangement in a vintage container selected from a Filoli vase collection (c) Missy Palacol Photography
Pilar Zuniga, Gorgeous and Green (Oakland, California)
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Pilar Zuniga spoke on the topic of “Branding the Sustainable Floral Business,” followed by one of her signature designs (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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Pilar’s lush, local and seasonal arrangement (c) Missy Palacol Photography
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