One Third, Two Thirds, Odd Numbers and the Triangle

Today I spent two hours in the West Queen Studio of my friend Morgan Moylan taking a flower arranging class. Morgan has spent twenty years studying all things floral. Her husband Mike really made Morgan’s passion come alive when he built her a room for her to not just do her own flower arranging in, but one that was large enough for her to teach classes.

I remember when Mike and Morgan put the addition on their house that included a number of garage bays that were beautifully paneled in old wood.   Mike found a old hardware store in some place like upstate New York and got a truck to go and collect all the store fittings so he could build out Morgan’s studio with walls of old drawers and glass fronted cabinets and shelves.

Gathered in this glorious space today were friends who had bought a seat in the class at the Durham Academy Auction. The levels of expertise of the students varied at the start, but with a small tutorial from Morgan you would never have known who was a novice and who was not when we all had created a moss covered pocketbook arrangement.

Morgan explained the basic rules; flowers should be one-third the height of the container or two-thirds, either way the arrangement is broken into thirds, all showy flowers should be in odd numbers and try and make a triangle in the lines your eye sees. Now I am sure I got some of this information incorrect, but I still liked my finished product nonetheless.

The flower arranging rules are a lot like the eating rules. One third of your plate should be protein and the other two thirds should be vegetables. The healthy eating guide is a triangle and for me the odd number thing is only one odd number – 1. That is never eat more than one of anything, because the first one tastes the best and anything after that is unnecessary.

It is amazing how almost everything I do somehow reminds me of food. The good thing about the flower arranging class is that it has no calories at all, as long as you skip the wine.

I highly recommend a visit to Hillsboro to take a class from Morgan. I guarantee you will go away with something beautiful your family will think you bought on the way home. Here is Morgan’s website to learn more about her and her classes –

http://www.westqueenstudio.com/