End of the year celebrations

Islamabad : The Floral Art Society (Magnolia Chapter) organized a special meeting before the winter break, to celebrate great achievements by some of its members, with the added attraction of a workshop on the topic of, “New Trends and Techniques in Floral Art,” which was conducted by Aisha Zahid, an ace floral artist and an international judge.

The meeting started with the recitation of the Quran by Hina Kamran, followed by secretary Farah Khursheed announcing and congratulating the winners of the IFFAD competition held in November, with president, Wiqarunnisa Boolani in the lead by winning five prizes; Aisha Zahid, winning the prestigious award of “Best in Show.” Asma Ansari, Nahida Raza and Faiezah Shahid were also among the winners. Another feather in Magnolia’s cap is the passing of the prestigious Judges Course held in February, by the world renowned floral arranger and and international judge, Marios Vallionos. Wiqarunnisa Boolani, Ghazala Abdullah, Nahida Raza and Nusrat Bilal are certified judges now - a great achievement!

Wiqarunnisa Boolani also spoke briefly and congratulated all the winners and the newly acknowledged judges. The show chairperson, Hina Kamran then called on Aisha Zahid to start the demonstration, thanking her for sharing her expertise with fellow members. Aisha explained that simplicity is the latest trend in floral art showing five simple techniques - a dried fan palm to create a sculptural effect; rolling an aspidistra leaf; knotting with ponytail palm and fan palm; decorating a prop with paper rings and using lace on paper foam boards, then members were provided leaves, so that they could practice the newly learnt techniques. It was an interesting learning experience, highly appreciated by everyone.

In conclusion, Aisha Zahid was presented a small token of appreciation and birthday girls received their gifts.