Europa Cup Havirov, Day 1, Thomas Grohbuhl

My first work of Symphony of Blooms represents the composer Dvořák. I decided to focus on his 9th Symphony, which tells his life story and feelings during the different periods. The Symphony is split into four different parts, like four different periods in his life. For me, it was important to transport these emotions into my work. Four different frames, with different textures and materials, to represent his emotions during his lifetime. The centre of my work presents his native country, where he was born and that he loved till he died. From there on, the different frames present different periods in his life, with the last frame reflecting the USA and the homesickness that Dvořák felt at this time for his beloved native country.

I got the inspiration for my work by listening to this Symphony; I was thinking about different images of his life story and  how I could transform these images into a floral composition. I got the idea to create different frames in which every frame stands on its own but still belong together, encompassed in one big golden frame that shows the public the complete life story of a human being, and therefore Dvořák.

You can find the form of my design in the emblem of the City of Havirov, with its straight lines. If you walk through Havirov, you can see this emblem on the façades of many houses. So I thought of the idea to create a floral design based on these  straight lines and ended up with my floral room. I thought about young people spending their free time in a cool, stylish club, chilling out. The Gerberas helped me, as I brought them together in a compressed form, to achieve more floral calm, which is something I can create with these flowers without them losing their personality.

I love lines and movement; therefore it was very important for me to showcase these important natural elements. Every flower and plant has its own characteristic and personality and needs its space to enhance its beauty. I love to bring these lines and movements into place, and pay the highest tribute to nature, which has already shown us  how it works.

For me, innovation can also be found in something modern or new; ergo it was important to me to define  a table setting in a new way. Normally you  find  flowers on or incorporated into a table design, but being surrounded by them is groundbreaking and unusual. For me, you get the feeling of being protected and surrounded by them.

For my bridal bouquet I used classy fabric and petig threads wrapped in yarn, in which the orchid flowers blend in. The orchid flowers are cut  and the end of the stem is sealed with latex milk. Afterwards they are conserved with Oasis ClearLife, wired and fixed between the petig threads with the help of the wire.

Who are you going to call first in case you win this competition

My Parents 

My bride is a young business woman  with both feet firmly on the ground and very open to innovation.. My bouquet reflects her elegant simplicity and determination.