Master Exams of the International Institute of Floral Design
At the turn of April and May, on the occasion of the annual Festival of Flowers and Art, the master exam of students of the International Institute of Floral Design was held at Książ Castle. This time, the title of the master florist was won by 13 people. Along the way, they had to demonstrate their knowledge and skills by performing five exam tasks. The topics of all exam papers referred to the history of the castle and the 20th anniversary of Poland's accession to the European Union. During the five days of the festival, tens of thousands of tourists could admire the exam papers, which constituted an additional exhibition.
In the Castle Ballroom, one could see the main works entitled "Książ as the heart of Europe", and in the adjacent chambers a wedding decoration - "History hidden in amber", bouquets tied in hand "A souvenir from the journey of Princess Daisy" and surprise works. Again, the students had to do a controlled surprise work, which consisted in each of them receiving an identical wooden beam in January, which was to be an element of the arrangement. At the same time, it could be processed in any way. This work was entitled "From Coal to Gold" and showed a very diverse approach to the subject. In some works, the beam was the main pin of the composition, in others it was processed and only complemented the floral arrangements.
An additional difficulty for the examinees was working in front of the audience. The last day of the exam was also the first day of the festival and therefore the performance of the hand tied bouquet and the surprise work took place with open tourist traffic. This gave judges the opportunity to assess their resistance to stress, their ability to concentrate and act under pressure. The championship title is not only the art of arranging flowers in comfortable conditions, but also the ability to cope with more demanding situations. The last task was also carried out in such conditions. At one point, a quarter of an hour before the start of the task, all participants received identical plant and technical material, as well as the topic and guidelines for the task. A moment to think and an hour to make a flower statuette to be presented at the gala celebrating the jubilee of Polish accession to the EU.
According to the assessment of the examination committee, which included Ferenc Kruzslicz, Ahti Lyra, Anna Wawrzyniak and Kamil Lutostanski, the quality of the works was very high. They did not hide their admiration for the advanced forms, techniques, and the general impression that the floral works of the examinees made in them, which ultimately also translated into high ratings of individual works.
Tourists could also play the role of judges and choose the participant whose works they liked the most. Within an hour, 500 votes were cast, from which the winner of the audience plebiscite – Martyna Kluczek-Wrzosek – emerged.
A considerable surprise was the distinction awarded to Aleksandra Flak, who was officially invited by Alison Bradley and Morgan Douglas Nuth to accept the title of Floral Fundamentals ambassador during the graduation ceremony. This is a prestigious position that opens the door to an international career for Ola.
We congratulate all new Master Floristry on successful exams and wish them beautiful floral projects and a lot of success on their further development path.
And those who would like to follow in their footsteps have such an opportunity, because recruitment for other groups at the Florist and Master Floristry levels is currently underway. The planned start of classes with new groups is expected in the autumn months of 2024.
New masters of floristry:
Aleksandra Flak, Martyna Kluczek – Wrzosek, Patrycja Kocur, Jolanta Ciesielska, Beata Sych, Katarzyna Pacewicz-Pyrek, Artur Pieprzycki, Katarzyna Ernst-Górska, Katarzyna Kacprzak, Agnieszka Pyda-Mędyk, Agnieszka Noskowicz, Sylwia Rak and Monika Kosycarz-Bacik.
The photos are made by Photographer Marcin Chruściel Fotografia.
