Floral Designer

Floral Designer

The Braille Monitor_______

October 1997

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Diane Johnson displays one of her floral arrangements.

Floral Designer in

Training

by Ladonna Jean Whitt

From the Editor: One of the most

exciting truths about membership in the National Federation of the Blind is

that one's notions about what is possible for blind people to accomplish are

always expanding. I have always felt insecure and vaguely apologetic about flower

arranging. When I give a dinner party, I mentally pull up my socks and tackle

the cut flowers with the desperate hope that I will not disgrace myself with

the centerpiece. Without considering the matter very deeply, I have always assumed

that a blind person could not be expected to do very well with creating a group

of flowers in a visually pleasing way. I humbly stand corrected. Moreover, I

have just expanded my garden for next season and have made a solemn vow to master

the art of flower arranging. The following article will explain my enthusiasm.

Here is Ladonna Jean Whitt, a floricultural technician in the Division of Horticultural

Technologies, which is part of the Agricultural Technical Institute, at Ohio

State University. She will introduce you to Diane Johnson. This is what she

says:

Let me introduce you to Mrs. Diane Johnson,

a non-traditional student at Ohio State Agricultural Technical Institute (ATI).

Diane is not only a student but also a wife and mother of four who is a part-time

employee. In addition to this, somehow she finds time to serve as the President

of Phi Theta Kappa (an honorary organization)and the FTD Club (a student floral

club).

Diane is following a lifelong dream to

be a floral designer. She told me she has had a passion for flowers since she

was a child. Like other non-traditional students, Diane was concerned about

how well she would do returning to school as an adult. Would she be able to

find her way around this large college? Diane's determination to succeed in

floral art was backed with encouragement from friends and family. The only unique

thing in this situation is that Diane is legally blind with only a small amount

of vision. Applying her ingenuity, she is learning to design floral displays

with non-visual techniques.

Basically Diane designs fresh and silk

arrangements by seeing with her hands. If you watch her design, you can see

her hands float in and around the flowers, her fingers feeling the textures,

shapes, and forms. It is wonderful to watch her in the creative design process.

As summer begins, Diane is ending her

first year at Ohio State ATI. She recently completed the required ten-week internship

at a local flower shop, where she worked 400 hours (forty hours per week). To

find a shop that would accept her as an intern, Diane went to every flower shop

in town--not once, but twice, and sometimes more. She ran into so many "no's"

that she decided she would offer to work without pay for two days before asking

the flower shop to pass judgment on her ability. Her perseverance paid off.

One employer agreed to give her a chance. Diane was hired as an intern.

I am Ladonna Whitt, a floricultural technician

in the Horticultural Technologies Division at Ohio State ATI in Wooster, Ohio.

Working with Diane during her first and second quarter was a real pleasure.

Diane convinced me that she could do floral design within the first week. I

had no problem understanding Diane; what I had a problem with was the number

of people who told Diane and me that she had an unrealistic goal. I had seen

what she could do.

When we were thinking through the alternative

techniques Diane would use in place of the usual sighted techniques, I called

Job Opportunities for the Blind (JOB) at the National Federation of the Blind

in Baltimore, 800-638-7518. Several good ideas came out of that long-distance

brainstorming session with JOB director Lorraine Rovig.

What Diane and I did was to start off

with a Brailled color wheel that we made together. She continually went over

the color wheel to memorize the primary and secondary colors. Next she listened

to the lecture on color which explained about complementary, split complementary,

and analogous colors. With this as the background, she added a mathematical

system to put it all together. Then she labeled her flower bins for the flowers

sorted for her by her sighted co-workers. With this method she knows exactly

what effect she is creating in her pieces. Some of these pieces were so large

that the tallest flowers or accent foliage were above her head when displayed

on an appropriate table or sideboard.

Diane said she continually goes over

the color wheel to ensure that she is error-free in her choices. Mixing colors

together for the arrangements is a real challenge since she has never seen color.

A co-worker takes a few minutes at the beginning of Diane's shift to tell her

the colors of the flowers; then she chooses the ones she wants to use.

Diane has discovered that she can move

easily around the flower shop and classroom. Dealing with her co-workers and

the public is not a problem either. Her caring personality, willingness to learn,

and sense of humor make everyone feel comfortable around her. Diane has found

that her employer and fellow employees can work together with her to develop

a system in the shop to deal with her disability. Her boss and co-workers have

discovered that the things they do to help her cost them very little in time

or effort. I'm delighted to report that Diane's employer was so impressed by

her floral designing that she offered her a job after Diane completed her internship.

After three quarters Diane is already a success in her field of study.

Diane's career choice proved to be appropriate

for her. She and I give you this story because Diane hopes it will encourage

other visually impaired or blind persons to follow their dreams in any field.

Currently Diane works part-time for Green Thumb Floral in Wooster, Ohio, and

she continues to take classes toward her degree. As much as her time allows,

she has offered to correspond with others who would like to know about her alternative

techniques for floral design. Please ask Miss Rovig, director of Job Opportunities

for the Blind, for contact information--(800) 638-7518.