Floral artists Dot McCulloch and Sue Jones talk to Justine Tyerman about their 'addiction' .You are driving along a country road and the car in front of you suddenly swerves off to the side and comes to a screeching halt. Four women armed with secateurs and buckets leap out of the vehicle and begin to attack foliage on the side of the road with a look of ecstasy on their faces.

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It's likely you have come across members of a local floral art club out on a hunting and gathering mission, women who are, by their own admission, hopelessly but happily addicted to their hobby. I caught up with two seriously hooked floral artists at the new Eastland Rescue Helicopter Trust hangar the day before the grand opening earlier this week. Dot McCulloch and Sue Jones, members of the Floral Art Society of New Zealand (FASNZ), were preparing to transform a bare black metal frame into a work of floral art. The artists say they have a picture in mind and after gathering their raw materials, mainly New Zealand natives, they begin with the mechanics of the display, in this case a metal frame. Nikau palm fronds, woven by Dot the previous night and nikau spathes (thetough outside enclosure of the palm frond) are secured to the frame with cable ties along with cages containing floral foam.

Asiatic lillies (purchased from a shop) and foliage (pittosporum, puriri, variegated puka, and moss from Dot's garden) are then added to complete an impressive three-tier display. The arrangement must not only be pleasing to the eye but also stable and able to last a few days, they say. Dot has been involved with floral art for 40 years and is one of two highly qualified Gisborne-based teachers and judges, Bev Miller being the other. She became interested in floral art as a form of therapy when her helicopter pilot husband, the late Russ McCulloch was out on search and rescue missions. Russ died in 1984 when the helicopter he was flying came down during the laying of the gas pipeline in the Waioeka Gorge, so arranging floral art for the opening of the hangar has special significance for her. "Floral art is governed by the principles and elements of design found in all art forms — proportion, scale, line, texture and colour," says Dot, who holds classes for beginners. Sue is the Gisborne-Coast area representative for the FASNZ — she has won the Gisborne Designer of the Year competition twice and been placed third in the national competition in 2010 and second in 2013. "My love of flowers and plant material, and the desire to have something nice to beautify my house got me started in floral art," says Sue. "And once you start it's addictive. I go to take the rubbish out to the gate and end up getting sidetracked for a couple of hours in my floral art shed. "It's a highly rewarding hobby. We have monthly meetings which are very much hands-on workshops enabling members to have fun with friends and flowers." The FASNZ has 2260 members in 14 areas around New Zealand. There are three clubs in this district: Gisborne Floral Art Club, Te Hapara Garden and Floral Art Club and Wairoa Floral Art Club. Dot belongs to both Gisborne clubs while Sue is a member of the Gisborne Floral Art Club. The aims of the FASNZ are "to stimulate and promote participation in the art of floral design, to encourage and appreciate nature's materials, to educate and guide through tuition".

Filmed and Edited by
Ben Cowper

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