to flower arranger, judge and instructor Mrs. Gloria Freitas it spells excitement.

For Mrs. Freitas specialises in what she calls sculptural flower arranging, in which driftwood can play an important part.

"Sculptural flower arranging is an art form in that we adhere to all the principles of design -- balance, scale, proportion -- so when we create this type of design we hope that it looks like a piece of sculpture. By finding plant material which has been formed by the wind and the surf we create a piece of sculpture with it,'' she explained.

In sculptural flower arranging, an item such as driftwood becomes the main point, with the minimum of flowers or foliage being added for enhancement. So it is also a very economical art form.

"It is very different from commercial-type arrangements because we consider the principles of design. Often we are interpreting a theme in this type of design, such as a ballet dancer. Someone will have a piece of wood that looks like a ballet dancer and it will be placed upright and a few flowers added to it.

The joy of sculptural flower arranging is that no two pieces are alike.

"That's what makes it distinctive,'' Mrs. Freitas said. "Nature forms the piece we work with, then the creator or designer enhances it and shows it to best advantage.'' But the seeming simplicity of such arrangements belies the intricate work often required to bring them to fruition.

"Sculptural designs require a great deal of mechanical means to bring them about: drills, hot glue guns, mounting on pedestals and so forth,'' Mrs.

Freitas explained. "Sometimes the arranger has to use sandpaper or a wire brush and remove a few appendages to make the form pleasing to the eye.'' In Bermuda to conduct special classes for Garden Club of Bermuda members, Mrs.

Freitas was thrilled by the unique qualities of local driftwood -- or sculptures as she calls them.

"Here it is more gnarled and dramatic, and very exciting,'' she said. "Being formed by ocean winds and waves means the forms are quite wonderful,'' she said.

She has also been impressed by the work of her "students'' here. "I have never seen so many creative designs in one workshop,'' she enthused. "They seem to be very well versed in the principles of design, and (have benefitted from) the availability of (exciting) plant material.'' In fact, Mrs. Freitas said that in international shows, the work of Bermudian designers was distinctive.

"You know instantly the Bermuda designs because the foliage is so exquisite -- the combination of textures and the different shades of green.'' No stranger to Bermuda -- she won two awards at the Garden Club's international flower show here in November, 1986 including the coveted Governor's Prize -- Mrs. Freitas now finds herself in the ironic position of having to compete against a good Bermudian friend, Mrs. Judi Davidson, at a forthcoming international show in Toronto.

"We will both be interpreting "the ocean,'' so it will be interesting to see how someone from Maine and someone from Bermuda interprets the ocean in Toronto!'' At the same time, she will be able to admire other Bermudian exhibits in the same event.

"These shows are in a different country each year, and people come from all over the world to represent their country, as well as compete individually.

Bermuda has been at every one,'' she explained.

Describing the Island's past entries as "outstanding,'' Mrs. Freitas revealed that this year's creation -- a topical theme designed by Garden Club of Bermuda members Mrs. Margaret Miller and Mrs. Jill Kempe -- would be approximately nine feet high from the floor.

From modest beginnings, when she joined a local garden club as a way of enjoying her only night away from her three small children, the then-young mother became so fascinated with her hobby that today she is an international competitor, recognised judge, and also travels the world giving workshops and lectures.

Although her family have always been supportive of her achievements, it wasn't recently that her husband attended one of her lectures -- before 500 people in New Zealand.

"He was impressed and really appreciates what I do now!'' she exclaimed.

Despite her great fondness for sculptural flower arranging, Mrs. Freitas confesses that traditional arrangements in the French rococo style are really her favourite.

Nonetheless, since the ambiance of her present Cape Cod home is rustic, she does arrangements to complement that, using driftwood gathered from Maine, and doing all the drilling, gluing, etcetera herself.

As a judge, Mrs. Freitas said she looks for evidence that competitors have adhered to the principles of design rather than they way they expressed the theme.

"That should not be your concern,'' she felt.

Specifically, she wanted to know if an arrangement had balance, was well proportioned and well scaled, and if it had contrasts and rhythm -- the same sort of qualities juries looked for in art shows.

As a flower arranger, Mrs. Freitas knows a thing or two about the mixture of flowers and art or sculpture, having created specific arrangements to complement paintings in the Boston Museum's Art in Bloom exhibition, among other achievements.

With beginners in mind, the visiting expert had some basic advice about flower arranging.

"When in doubt, leave it out!'' she began, noting that novice arrangers had a tendency to cram as much material as they could into a container.

"Begin with a simple design,'' she said. "Try to find elongated foliages such as iris leaves. Use three of them at three different lengths. To accompany those use three shorter stemmed flowers, such as lilies, in three different lengths. You then need three round foliages (as opposed to elongated) in three different lengths.

"Place all of these in a medium such as wet oasis or on a spiky pin holder.

When putting the material together, arrange it so that all the stems emanate from one spot -- rather like the branch of a tree. Stems should not cross each other.'' In any arrangement, the tallest stems should not be more than one and a half or two times the height of the container.

Always pick flowers either early in the morning or during the evening and immediately submerge them in water for at least three hours to condition them before they are arranged.

Crush woody stems with a hammer and put them into water immediately.

On extending the life of an arrangement, Mrs. Freitas said there were various theories.

"One arranger I know swears by gin. It's a terrible waste of gin!'' she laughed. "Personally, I use one capful of bleach to a large bucket of water to discourage algae. Once algae starts, it kills the flowers.'' DYNAMIC ORGANIC! -- Sculptural flower arranger Mrs. Gloria Freitas works on an original design using local driftwood as the primary focus.