Presenting

36 March | 2021 F or any fl oral designer, experiencing the joy of inspiration and creativity is so invaluable right now, particularly during these socially distant times. It's no wonder that more than 120 fl oral afi cionados eagerly fl ocked to the inaugural "Elements of Inspiration" virtual workshop series created by fl oral design icons and instructors Hitomi Gilliam, AIFD, CFD, and Gregor Lersch. Held Nov. 14-28, 2020, the fi rst workshops, titled "WoodTalks," centered around taking inspiration from a single natural element, such as wood, in both the fall and winter seasons, and incorporating that element, in its many forms, into fl oral design. Participants drew inspiration from both natural wood, in the form of bark, branches, tree roots, logs, etc., as well as "man-made" wood, such as plywood, wood fi ber, chips, pegs and even wood dust. Gilliam and Lersch gave three lectures and demonstrations via split-screen on YouTube, enabled by the tech-savvy moderator Colin Gilliam, during which participants could view Gilliam's and Lersch's seasonal interpretations and ask questions. Gilliam and Lersch then challenged the participants to design their own fall- and winter-themed pieces, which could be critiqued during two review sessions. Not only was this a rare chance for fl oral designers to have their work reviewed, one on one, by these two fl oral masters, but for attendees like Dawn Yeardsley, who resides in England, the workshop's virtual format provided a way to "meet" Gilliam (based in Vancouver, B.C., Canada) and Lersch (based in Germany) in a way that hadn't been possible before. "I never thought I would ever get the opportunity to meet Gregor, but thanks to Zoom, there he was, in his studio, talking to me and others about design and life," she exclaims. "I found Hitomi through YouTube, and she just wows me all the time." Restoring a instructor/student relationship in real time was benefi cial for Gilliam and Lersch, as well. "It was like being in the classroom again," shares Gilliam, who mentioned often throughout the series how much both she and Lersch missed interacting with the students. "As instructors, we felt fulfi lled to have the opportunity to provide useful feedback, which is a huge part of the classroom experience. We were also able to reach more students, and our commentaries were easier to hear and view than in a real-time class." e seeds for "Elements of Inspiration" were sowed during Gilliam's "Trend Summit" conferences in 2018 and 2020, during which Gilliam and Lersch began a regular dialog. By March 2020, all educational workshops, conferences and travel were canceled for both fl oral masters due to COVID-19. is sparked an idea by Lersch for him and Gilliam to do a virtual demonstration together based around wood for fall 2020. "Our thinking and styles of teaching are diff erent, but they're also similar, and we have been very compatible previously," Gilliam notes. She says the word "wood" was tossed around by both her and Lersch in every combination possible until "we came up with 'WoodTalks.'" " e idea was to create with wood as the theme ingredient addressing the upcoming fall and winter seasons," Gilliam explains. inspired by nature Grounded in Creativity Natural elements, like wood, spark a new virtual workshop series curated by Hitomi Gilliam, AIFD, CFD, and Gregor Lersch By Kat Castagnoli, AIFD, CFD, CCF ©Colin Gilliam Hitomi Gilliam, AIFD, CFD Gregor Lersch Design

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