American Floral Art School
American Floral Art School
634 South Wabash Ave, Suite 210| Chicago, IL| 60605|
(312)922-9328
The School Curriculum
CURRENT SCHEDULE
Complete courses in professional floral designing concentrated into three, two, and one week classes.
January 12 - 30 (three weeks--$1,125.00) August 10 - 28 (three weeks--$1,125.00)
March 2 - 13 (two weeks--$900.00) September 14 - Oct. 2 (three weeks--$1,125.00)
March 29 30 (advanced wedding workshop, two days--$300.00) October 12 - 23(two weeks--$900.00)
June 8 - 26 (three weeks--$1,125.00)
July 20 - 31 (two weeks--$900.00)
August 3 -7 (one week, 'Living with Flowers' - $450.00)
THREE WEEK, TWO WEEK AND ONE WEEK CLASSES IN PROFESSIONAL FLORAL DESIGN.
Classes are Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Courses can be taken a week at a time. Pay one week at a time (per approval).
Tuition--3 weeks, $1,125.00; 2 weeks, $900.00; 1 week, $450.00. Advanced Wedding Workshop, $300.00.
Classes for absolute Beginners or for thosebeginning Designers who have had some training already.
Tuition includes all flowers, foliages, supplies and textbooks.
Hotel Information--See 1st Study Link.
Detailed Information on School and Chicago--See 2nd Study Link.
Differences between 3-week, 2-week, and 1-week classes--See 3rd Study Link.
Overview :
Three weeks of intensified training, Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. 112.5 clock hours. 350+ page textbook- "Commercial & Creative Floral Design" by James Moretz AIFD, Bachelor of Science. in Floriculture / Business Administration.
Valuable information on flower shop management, buying, mark-up, sales promotion and keeping quality of flowers is covered, but the emphasis is always upon practical flower design.
After watching the teacher demonstrate each design, with a complete explanation of every detail, students make the same design, or a variation of it, at their work table. Each student gets valuable practice in making all types of practical floral work-from the smallest hair decoration, to the most elaborate wedding bouquets and casket sprays- always working with fresh flowers and foliages.
The two teachers are ready to guide and assist. The highly successful methods of instruction at the American Floral Art School stress the principles of basic design underlying all floral work. It is not just a series of lessons on how to make different floral items. For instance, the instruction on funeral wreaths also applies to novelty Christmas wreaths; a double-end casket spray and some large centerpieces have the same basic construction; a hair decoration, a prayer book design and a certain type of bridal bouquet have the same basic design.
Practical Fundamentals of Artistic Design :
Five types of floral designs; 4 shapes of flowers, foliages, and other design materials; 4 ways to arrange stems; how to properly combine different sizes, shapes, and colors of flowers and other plant materials; mixing materials vs. the diagonal line; the fashion, art terminology, and psychology of color for florists; proper proportion and scale; balance-formal and informal, visual and physical; basic principles of composition; harmony of elements; correct emphasis of components; suitability to background; good taste; customer's viewpoint; quality vs quantity; and artistry at a profit.
General Instruction :
Use of all standard commercial flowers and foliages in season; identification and botanical nomenclature; new and unusual flowers and foliages; exotics; dried botanicals; care of flowers; tinting; mechanics of correct wiring; 4 basic ways of designing (mechanics); floral display, lighting; pricing, mark-up, profits; selling; customer complaints; wire services; trimming plants.
Sympathy Designs :
All types of funeral work which are of a major importance to most flower shops. Traditional and new types of sprays, wreaths, crosses, hearts, pillows; other set pieces and symbols; casket sprays; casket decorations and controlled settings; blankets; garlands; water and dry mechanics of sympathy designs; Advent wreath; and "please omit" and "in lieu of" funeral problems.
Gift / Holiday Line Arrangements :
Mechanics of anchoring flowers; foams and other mechanics; container identification; special mechanics for glass containers; basket and vase arrangements of all types for gifts, holidays, grand openings, funerals, and hospitals; all basic geometrical patterns; vase of roses; all-foliage arrangements; fruit and vegetable designs; novelties for special occasions; new convention, parallelism, formal-linear, vegetative, landscape; history of floral design; language of flowers; centerpieces of all types.
"Silk" and Dried Arrangements :
The special art, mechanics and techniques of using artificial flowers and foliages; containers; buying; displaying and selling; suitable patterns, are discussed in class.
Fashion Flowers :
Corsages and hairpieces distributed throughout the course; various orchids identified and used in fashion flowers; wiring flowers and foliages; wiring star-shaped flowers; feathering; novelties; glamellias and other composite flowers; wristlets; prom nosegays and boutonnieres; novelties.
Wedding Design :
All fundamental types of bouquets; water vs. wired and taped bouquets; hand-tied bouquets; arm bouquets; composite bouquets of flowers and foliages; novelties; toss bouquets; flower girl designs; all-foliage designs; co-ordinating weddings by color, flower or shape; wedding procedures-promotion, selling, and servicing weddings; pricing wedding work; additional wedding sales; the unity candle.
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