It has been a marvelous week at the studio, and on our travels to and fro’ the de Young Museum. We have completed our 6th year of design participation at the 29th annual, Bouquets to Art. This annual floral jubilee is organized by the volunteer members of the San Francisco Auxiliary of the Fine Arts Museums, with many, MANY tireless, patient, kind, and encouraging hands and voices of the curators, and staff members at the de Young museum. Through the years, this annual event has raised over $5 million in support of conservation projects, education programs, and special exhibitions at the de Young and Legion of Honor museums. To be reminded of the details of this event: A “selection day” is held each year in early January. On this day, we designers determine our top five pieces we like to interpret, echo, and evoke with flowers and botanicals, and other materials, such as metal, glass, mesh screens, wire, and more. Then, right after Valentine’s Day, our assignment arrives in our mail boxes, and away we go with our production and design process. This year, I was assigned a 12 panel aquatint and soft ground etching by Julie Mehretu, entitled Auguries, 2010. As noted in its formal description, it is, “inspired by the natural character of the city as a place in flux, where Julie Mehretu builds webs of information throughout her painted and printed work. Her process of layered mark-making is exemplified in the map-like, gridded structure of this twelve-panel print. Its composition encourages block-by-block or panel-by-panel observation, approximating the way a city is experienced, one little bit at a time.”

We were honored to have interpreted such a wonderful and favorite museum piece, and we had a lot of fun, with our white ginestra (broom flower), many salvaged metal parts from M. Maselli & Sons, Mitsumata sticks, and chicken wire. Special thanks, and it’s a blessedly long list: my co, executive designer, Raymond C; museum magicians, Leslie H., Debra E., Colleen T; each and every staff member at the de Young who go above and beyond with their help to us all; Bouquet ladies, Lisa H, and Alex L., and their associates; the kind people we met on Friday at our “Meet the Florist” session; my family and friends who dropped by this session.

Last but not least, my most loving thanks, to the Bouquets’ ring leader of 29 years, Barbara H.

With joy, Kate