Show Us Your Passion Winner John Regan, M.F.A, Ph.D.
Show Us Your Passion Winner John Regan, M.F.A, Ph.D.
John Regan, M.F.A., Ph.D.
Twisted Stem Floral, Crystal Lake IL
2023 marks my 45th year in the floral industry
Much of my volunteer efforts connected to social issues, centers on LGBTQ right and HIV/AIDS.
I’ve served on the boards of several different AIDS action groups in the Chicagoland area. Finding my community as a young man working in Chicago in the very early 80’s, I have seen the devastation AIDS brought to larger design community. Sadly having lost 43 friends to the epidemic, I’ve learned that life is short.
As a studio artist, I’ve seen that all effective art media (including floristry) deals with social issues. Artists look at their world and make art as a response to their experiences. We study art history to understand artists methods, techniques and life experiences. All of this applies to the floral artist.
When I have the opportunity to talk with developing designers, I ask them which florists they’ve studied that may have died before the year of their birth. Sadly this question often results in a blank stare or a shrug of the shoulders. Just as Fine Art painters study the masterpieces featured in museums to examine brush strokes, colors, chiaroscuro, the impact of scale on engagement by the audience, etc; all of this can apply to our temporal art form of flowers.
I describe my aesthetic as ‘Flemish-inspired artistic design with a modern twist’. I’ve especially studied the work attributed to the Jugendstil period circa. 1895-1905. These artists such as Gustav Klimt, Koloman Moser, Joseph Olbrich, and Josef Hoffman worked to establish the Wiener Werkstätte in Vienna.
Title: Standing Strong Amidst the Chaos.
Description: Being an artist requires focus and self-confidence. Working in a temporal medium such as flowers requires expedited creativity. Balancing the art alongside the chaos of client expectations and budget is a classic battle of self-doubt and working boldly. The scadoxus stem and pandanus leaf presented have a static vertical strength, while the twisted chaotic stems of curly willow hold the area just below. A single anthurium leaf brings visual weight to the base. Working as a studio florist is a daily battle within your brain of striving to constantly create new designs while keeping the self- doubt tamped down all while showcasing the splendor of flowers.
Show Us Your Passion Artists
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Felicia Verdade
Mother Earth
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Laurie Lemek
Color me Green: Reflect and Repurpose
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Sarah Ekberg
A Simple Gesture
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Leanne Mayerhofer Muenstermann
MEDUSA
‘Show Us Your Passion’ Design Contest
Description: Submit an image of a design that showcases a social issue you believe needs attention through floral art. This contest will showcase amazing floral focused art with a cause. The winner of contest will receive the progressive winning pot of money.
Rules:
o No minimum of entries per person.
o To enter contest please visit: BeTheColor.org/DesignContest
o Entry fee $25.00
o $15.00 of entry fee will be included in a progressive winning pot. Be The Color will start the winning progressive pot with $100.00
o Submit written description on how the design best reflects the social issue addressed.
o Cost of design will be provided by contestant.
o Be The Color will showcase the design and written description on FB and Instagram for 30 days starting on January 1, 2023.
o Please submit images of floral design and description to: Adam@BeTheColor.org
o Be The Color has right to utilize images and descriptions.
o Winner will be selected based on likes/shares on social media via original post.
o Winner will be announced January 31, 2023.
o Winner will have an interview with Be The Color shown on social media and Be The Color website.
o Original posts will be on Facebook and Instagram