Coming Up Roses: Museum highlights beauty through blossoms

Museum highlights beauty through blossoms

In 2019, Bentonville florists Bloom Flowers & Gifts designed an arrangement inspired by Gene Davis' "Black Balloon" (above). This year, they're challenged to interpret James Henry Beard's "It Is Very Queer, Isn't It?" (right) in florals. (Courtesy Photo/Daniel Moody) James Henry Beard (1812-1893) Reflections on Darwin 1885 Oil on canvas
In 2019, Bentonville florists Bloom Flowers & Gifts designed an arrangement inspired by Gene Davis' "Black Balloon" (above). This year, they're challenged to interpret James Henry Beard's "It Is Very Queer, Isn't It?" (right) in florals. (Courtesy Photo/Daniel Moody) James Henry Beard (1812-1893) Reflections on Darwin 1885 Oil on canvas

"Every arrangement has its own special 'wow factor' -- from the smallest one to the biggest one," Moira Anderson enthuses. She's talking about the floral arrangements that will fill the galleries for the third annual Art in Bloom celebration March 20-23 at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville.

Anderson is the assistant manager of adult public programs at the museum and has seen the weekend grow from engaging six local florists for the inaugural event to 16 designers this year.

FAQ

Art in Bloom

WHEN — March 20-23

WHERE — Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville

COST — Free

INFO — 418-5700, crystalbridges.org

FYI

There’s More!

• The workshop led by Bloom designers during Art in Bloom weekend is already sold out but, as of publication, there are still limited tickets available for the museum’s annual Ikebana Flower Arranging workshop on March 22, led by Chikako Usui, a certified instructor of the Ikenobo School of Ikebana in Japan. $45-$55.

• Art in Bloom also takes place in concurrence with Spring Break Specials. Families and visitors of all ages can stop by the drop-in studios during Art in Bloom for activities themed around spring break and flowers.

"The material is so familiar and accessible to a lot of individuals. I think there's an automatic draw to being able to take a natural material, something that is so beautiful, and wanting to create something out of it that is completely brand new," Anderson muses.

"And when it translates into this opportunity to really shine that spotlight on it from an art museum, [it drives home the notion] that this is really high-quality. This is artistic. It's sculpture. It's design. The same approaches that are taken to creating any type of art form are in the process of the floral design itself."

During the Art in Bloom weekend, museum visitors will be treated to live floral displays inspired by works of art throughout the permanent collection. The curatorial and collections teams at the museum have established a conscientious system for ensuring the arrangements will be spread out throughout the gallery spaces and there's a good mix of works for the designers to choose from.

"Sometimes you may end up with a piece of artwork that is more challenging or maybe it doesn't necessarily align with your particular style. I think the challenge is part of the fun and really kind of makes you stretch and get outside of your comfort zone a little bit," shares Russ Dietz. Dietz owns Bloom Flowers & Gifts in Bentonville with business partner Heath Nicholas, and their shop has participated in Art in Bloom since its inception.

"Last year, the piece we had was really abstract, so we kind of mimicked that design, re-created that within the structure," piggybacks Chelle Gerhardt, a florist at Bloom who is a certified floral designer, an Arkansas Master Florist and is accredited through the American Institute of Floral Design. This year, Bloom is working from James Henry Beard's "It Is Very Queer, Isn't It?" The portrait of Mr. Cowley the chimpanzee is a fan favorite and is on display in the Early American Galleries.

"It's going to be a little bit challenging to put that into flowers," Gerhardt continues. "So we've chosen to pull elements out [like] textures and colors -- the different browns and reds and warm tones -- to give that overall look and feel."

"Floral design is an art, so you're sitting there looking at an inspiration, and it's like you're painting, if you will," muses Nicholas. "The piece of art really drives that."

"I think that our designs are a little bit more modern, a little bit more clean," Dietz adds of the shop's signature style. "We're not real fussy with big bows and things like that. We just like flowers that really speak for themselves."

And, because you can't have a conversation with three florists and not ask what their favorite flowers are, the blossoms that particularly speak to Dietz, Nicholas and Gerhardt are --

Dietz: "Now that's an easy one! I love tulips, and I love orange tulips with the black centers."

Nicholas: "Mine is more vague. I would say I just love tropicals. I love the Birds of Paradise and the proteas and the orchids and things like that."

Gerhardt: "Mine is pretty cliche; it's a rose. Out of the thousands and thousands of flowers that I encounter, it's still a rose. It's not like a dozen roses, just one single rose. The beauty of it, to me, is art. I can actually feel it in my soul."

NAN What's Up on 03/15/2020

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