Creating paintings from natural items

Islamabad : Since there has been some relaxation of the restrictions on group gatherings due to the lower incidences of the Covid virus, the Floral Art Society of Pakistan (FAS) - Magnolia chapter held its meeting at the Presidency, says a press release.

Hosted by First Lady, Samina Alvi, who herself is an established flower arranger in the art of Ikebana, the program was titled, “Like a Painting” - a workshop that provided hands-on experience for participating members. The meeting was held on the scenic terrace of the Presidency providing a lovely ambiance for members to work in. This environment provided encouragement for members to create unique designs after being provided a ‘frame’ and bringing natural materials to use for their ‘painting’, with members exchanging interesting bits of information to help each other with their arrangements.

After the allotted time, their work was judged by Farida Kalim and tokens of appreciation were presented to: Asma Ansari; Maryam Zafar and Mussarat Zain.

A brief session of ‘business as usual’ followed, with the secretary giving some details of past and future events, while President, Magnolia Chapter, Farhana Azim congratulated the members who had competed internationally in different events and brought laurels to the chapter and the country at large. She also thanked Samina Alvi for her generosity and patronage for this memorable occasion.

The meeting ended with refreshments and off-course, laughter and chatter – with hopes that the new variant of the virus would not bring an end to live meetings in the future, because although virtual meetings do take place, there is nothing like having a live one where interaction with other floral art enthusiasts takes place!