Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Artificial Flowers

Branches of white pear blossoms
made of painted metal by Carmen Almon
for Deeda Blair's New York City apartment.
Photo by Julia Netta for T Magazine.
As a preschooler, one of my favorite songs was Bobby Darin's "Artificial Flowers" which was a hit in 1960 despite coming from the unsuccessful Broadway show "Tenderloin" which is set in the red-light district of Manhattan in the 1890s.  I did not know anything about that, although I did get that the lyrics were about a poor orphan who froze to death making artificial flowers.  But it was a time when lyrics could be understood and they painted an impression that I could comprehend, even as a young child.  And I loved the up-beat, jazzy, big band accompaniment.  You will understand if you watch Bobby Darin's YouTube video performance here.
A pineapple plant made by Carmen Almon
set in an antique brass container
in a detail from a photo by Carolyne Roehm.
CarolyneRoehm.com
Despite growing up with gardens and houses filled with containers of cut flowers, ever since that song I have had an interest in artificial flowers as a permanent element in decoration.  Of course, the chances of this going completely wrong are positively stinking-ly overripe with possibilities, and I have always encouraged my clients not to depend on floral arrangements, either real or artificial, to carry a room.  So you will understand my recent joy in seeing a pair of pineapple plants made by Carmen Almon that were decorating the Bird Room in Chisholm House, the lovely-though-work-in-progress Charleston home of Carolyne Roehm.

A detail of Carmen Almon's
pineapple plant.
Photo by Carolyne Roehm
CarolyneRoehm.com
Pineapple plants are very expensive to buy yet very easy to grow.  But they grow fast so it would almost take a plantation to keep a supply of potted plants in this stage of growth.  And, of course, Carmen Almon's works are not replicas of nature but her own artistic impression.  She mostly uses 17th and 18th century botanical books as her guide rather than actual plants or photographs.
A basket of prunus branches by Carmen Almon
in the Fifth Avenue apartment of Howard Slatkin.
Photo by Jeff Hirsh for NYSD.
I really began to take note of Carmen Almon's work with the publication of  Howard Slatkin's Fifth Avenue apartment; he must have a couple of dozen of her works.  She was the first employee he hired when he opened his Manhattan business in the early 1990s, according to a T Magazine article in 2013.

Carmen Almon's clematis trained on a form
is joined by additional works in pots
in Howard Slatkin's apartment.
Photo by Jeff Hirsh for NYSD.
Carmen Almon was a botanical watercolorist 25 years ago when style icon Deeda Blair asked her to restore some 1960s tole pieces that she collected.  When Mrs. Blair moved to New York City in 2005, she commissioned the white pear blossom branches seen in the first image in this post of The Devoted Classicist.  "It's the same Bradford pear I had in Washington," she was quoted in an article by Jean Bond Rafferty for a NY TIMES article published 08/25/2013.  "I became obsessed photographing flower clusters and branches and sending them back and forth to Almon.  The branches were dark wood, covered in lichen and moss."

Carmen Almon in her Bordeaux apartment
photographed by Fabrice Fouillet for
T magazine, August 21, 2013.
Almon, 63, born in Guatemala to a Spanish mother and an American diplomat father, attended several art schools in Europe.  Her second husband, a sculptor, taught her how to solder in the late 1990s.  Using brass and copper tubes, she cuts copper sheeting with several kinds of nail scissors and employs an assortment of vises and pliers to create the petals and leaves.  Working on each art piece over a period of three months or so, she applies layers of color with washes of enamel and oil paint thinned with turpentine.  A bug is often added to complete the composition.

A Saturn peach with a Callithea butterfly by Carmen Almon.
carmen-almon.com
A 2012 charity auction to benefit the New York Botanic Garden offered a floral sprig donated by Almon which was valued at $850.  A show at New York City's Chinese Porcelain Company in October, 2013, had prices ranging from $3,500 for a nectarine blossom sprig to $40,000 for very large pieces.

An almond tree by Carmen Almon.
carmen-almon.com
More may be read about Carmen Almon in an article in the January, 2006, issue of HOUSE & GARDEN.  In addition to Howard Slatkin's FIFTH AVENUE STYLE: A DESIGNER'S NEW YORK APARTMENT, more examples of her work may be seen used as part of the décor in room settings in CHARLOTTE MOSS: A FLAIR FOR LIVING and in CHARLOTTE MOSS DECORATES: THE ART OF CREATING ELEGANT AND INSPIRED ROOMS.

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15 comments:

  1. delightful - no other word for it. But you are so right that so often artificial flowers can be SO wrong. Thanks for the youtube link, I wasn't familiar with the song.

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    Replies
    1. A.D., while there's really no substitute for fresh flower, these tole creations are themselves works of art. I am not forward-thinking in terms of computer technology -- my friends cannot believe that I taught myself how to set up this blog and keep it going -- so I am really glad the video link worked. Thank you for commenting, Stefan.

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  2. Carmen's work is glorious and mesmerizing to me. I also first noticed her art in Howard's book, Fifth Avenue Style. Thank you for the feature John!

    Xoxo
    Karena
    The Arts by Karena

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    Replies
    1. K.A., it is always great to see an inspiring work of artistic craftsmanship, is it not? Thanks for your comment.

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  3. I love her work...much like Vladimir Kanevsky - though his incorporate copper with porcelains. I would love a camellia tree! Just a ranch on a table top says a million words...

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    Replies
    1. T.S., we have all seen tole plants in pots, but these are really special, aren't they? Thank you for commenting.

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    2. Ugh...branch not ranch! Sorry...

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    3. We knew what you meant. I cannot edit comments, even my own. But you are greatly appreciated.

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  4. Nice interior decoration and interior furnishing!

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  5. The almond tree is quietly glorious. I love it. A friend in DC sent me photos of her work last year but had forgotten. I'm glad to see it again and be reminded how artistry is still alive and well.

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    Replies
    1. B., I tend to like big arrangements of branches, possibly because they are available. But a little sprig or tiny plant in a pot can be appreciated too. Thank you for commenting.

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  6. Thank you, as always. Could we put in a wish for a future post on the work Mrs. Blair has done with great decorators over the past 50 years? Her homes are in a class of their own.

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    Replies
    1. A.R., yes, it just so happens a post on Mrs. Blair is in the works. There are a couple ahead of it, but keep an eye out around the middle of August or so.

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    2. OH! Did it happen? Did I miss it? Oh please while she is still alive?

      My favorites....Mrs.....Blair.....Mrs. Evangeline Bruce!!
      Oh please!! These two!!!???

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