Blooming Passion
Senior Helen Hsu incorporates her love for art by making corsages for special occasions at the Hy-Vee floral department By Madison Graves
Helen Hsu uses her unique artistic abilities to construct corsages at Hy-Vee (photo by Maddison Barley).
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red felt-tip marker circles the date of the dance. Paper banners line the halls announcing the approach of the upcoming event. Students are thrilled as they eagerly consider who to ask. Plans are made, dresses are bought and the anticipation is high. However, senior Helen Hsu is busy putting together the corsages that will adorn wrists and lapels the day of the dance. Last August, Hsu began working in the floral department at Hy-Vee. As the youngest employee in the floral department, Hsu is responsible for the small arrangements such as corsages and boutonnieres often seen at Homecoming and Sweetheart dances. “I started making the arrangements because I really enjoy artistic things,” Hsu said. “When I am making corsages or any type of flower
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arrangement it makes me feel really happy because I’ve always liked making crafts.” Hsu has been taking art classes since she was young and she incorporates her love of art in the small arrangements she puts together. According to Hsu, having prior art knowledge helps her ideas in her arrangement making.
Being in the floral department isn’t considered work for me. It’s more of a really fun hobby.
-Senior Helen Hsu
“I’ve been doing art since I was little,” Hsu said. “Whenever I do an arrangement, I like to make it
so that it’s symmetrical and so that everything looks pretty evened out.” Hsu claims the hardest part about her job is planning out the arrangement, because each one is different and unique in its own way. Each arrangement includes different options of fillers, or flowers used to fill in gaps in an arrangement. Whether it be roses, baby’s breath or wax flowers, each arrangement is always different from the last. “Each bouquet is different, so when you make one you can’t be like, ‘I want it to look exactly like this,’ because one might look different than the other,” Hsu said. “At the beginning it was kind of hard because I wasn’t used to it, but after a while you get better at it. I put passion into each bouquet I make.” Aside from all the enjoyment Hsu gets from creating different bouquets,
The express | BVNWNEWS.COM | FEbruary 2014