‘Art in Bloom’ brings the Columbus Museum of Art to life

Andrew Horne
Tue, 20 Apr 2021 23:08:50 +0000
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Flowers at an Art in Bloom event at the Columbus Museum of Art. Credit: Courtesy of Tiffany Duncan via Columbus Museum of Art

Creativity will be in full bloom this weekend at the Columbus Museum of Art as “Art in Bloom” showcases floral pieces based on artist interpretations of museum exhibits.

Open from April 22-24, “Art in Bloom” will boast installations ranging from living plant walls to a sunflower with living bees, Tiffany Duncan, the membership and auxiliary officer at the CMOA, said. She said the event was originally created 30 years ago by volunteers to raise money for the museum and features floral arrangements from artists of all skill levels to showcase each artist’s unique interpretation of works in the museum.?

“These were very dedicated volunteers who had a deep love of art and supporting the museum, so a lot of their programming was designed to be sort of hands-on art experiences and creative experiences and then raising money for the museum at the same time,” Duncan said.

Although this biannual event mainly features floral arrangements, it will also include events such as demonstrations and a fashion show, all of which complement the art displayed in the museum.?

The opening Thursday night will take place in the sculpture garden with live music, cocktails and food, Duncan said. Local fashion designer Tracy Powell will dress models who will walk around the garden as featured artists of the evening in floral fashion pieces.

Friday night will feature Carson Kressley, a celebrity stylist and original member of the Fab Five in “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” according to the event page. All ticket holders for the Friday event will be automatically entered into a drawing for the opportunity to have brunch with Kressley and receive a personalized styling session with him the following Saturday morning, Duncan said.

Saturday will feature a floral demonstration of succulents and desert plants in the morning, hosted by Jessie Laux and Michael Creath of Planthropy, a local botanical company, according to the museum event page. A workshop on “vase-less” floral arrangements will be held by Kim Meacham of The Paper Daisy Flower Boutique in the afternoon.

Planthropy’s work has been featured around the world and will be interpreting the museum’s large Frank Stella piece for this event, Duncan said. Planthropy was drawn to the piece because it fit with many of the ideas they were already working on, Michael Creath, a plantscape artist at Planthropy, said.

“It’s a fun team project for us because everyone got to talk about the inspiration of the piece and how they envisioned it,” Jessie Laux, owner of Planthropy, said. “The biggest challenge was incorporating everyone’s ideas into the piece.”

This year’s installation from Planthropy will showcase loud, vibrant moss with colors including pinks, purples and teals, Laux said. Unlike many of the standard cut plant designs –– trimmed, real plants –– their moss is real but preserved, allowing the moss to retain its colors without requiring water, light and maintenance, Creath said.

Planthropy’s previous “Art in Bloom” piece featured a large display of butterfly moss wings that guests could stand in front of to create the illusion of having a pair of wings, Creath said.

“I remember like right after we had got there for the opening night, a woman in a wheelchair went up to it and had someone help her get out of the wheelchair and just really wanted to stand and have the wings behind her,” Laux said. “We got to see it all take place, and it was a really touching moment.”

Although the primary purpose of the floral arrangements is to act as interpretations of different pieces, the smell of the flowers is a welcome plus, Duncan said.

“The smell, when you walk in the museum, is amazing – like the fragrance with all the flowers,” Duncan said. “All weekend it just smells amazing in here.”

Guests can register for the event on the CMOA website by selecting an available admission time slot. Student tickets are $9 and special events can be purchased for an extra charge.