Bringing Art to Life and Life to Art

Imagine flowers bringing art to life, and life to art.

“There will be flower arrangements at the tour sites that interpret works of art –from paintings to cars,” said Cindy Edgerton, chair of Martinsville-Henry County Garden Day 2017. Garden Day takes place April 26.

“The interpretation might re-create the whole piece, incorporating its colors, design, shape and style,” she said. “Or the arrangement might focus on one of those elements.”

The Garden Day tour –“Art In Bloom – highlights the Arts and Culture District of a city with history rooted in tobacco, textiles and furniture.

The special flower arrangements can be seen in homes. One will be “Chellowe,”1119 Knollwood Place, an early 20th-century Colonial and Georgian Revival with traditional décor. Another is the King Uptown loft, 29A Jones St., overlooking the courthouse square. The Simmons home, 209 Starling Ave., now used for meetings and as a B&B, will be bedecked with a special arrangement, too.

Interpretive floral arrangements will also be in museums and other sites open for the tour. Those include the Historic Little Post Office, Piedmont Arts, the Virginia Museum of Natural History, the Fayette Area Historical Initiative African-American Museum & Cultural Center and the Historic Henry County Courthouse Heritage Center & Museum. First Baptist Church, with its faceted stained glass windows, will also have an interpretive arrangement. Museums across the country host exhibits that challenge floral designers and those who just love to arrange flowers in ways that bring art to life.

Recreation
One of the “Bouquets to Art” exhibits – there have been 33 over the years -- at San Francisco’s de Young Museum featured this floral display by Plumweed Floral and Event Design recreating Robert Henri’s “Lady in Black with Spanish Scarf,”1910.Photo by Greg A. Lato courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. 

Color-coordinated
This arrangement by J. Miller Flowers & Gifts interpreted Richard Mayhew’s “Rhapsody,” 2002, courtesy of ACA Galleries, New York. The flower display and painting were part of a “Bouquets to Art” exhibit at the de Young Museum. Photo by Douglas Sandberg courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. 

FYI

What: “Art In Bloom,” Martinsville-Henry County Garden Day 2017When: April 26, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: Piedmont Arts Association, tour headquarters, 215 Starling Avenue
Who: The Martinsville Garden Club and Garden Study Club, hosts
Tickets: $15 in advance, $20 on tour day. On tour day, buy at any site or at tourheadquarters.
Advance tickets: At www.vagardenweek.org. Available locally Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce, Martinsville-Henry County Visitor’s Center, Piedmont Arts Association, the Patrick County Chamber of Commerce, Janice Cain Stationery and Hamlet Vineyards.
Lunch: Piedmont Arts Association, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; $14 per person. Reservations required by April 25. Contact Lynne Beeler, 276-638-1030, ldcb@comcast.net.
Sponsors/Supporters:Everything Outdoors, LLC, Stifel, Hamlet Vineyards, Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce, Virginia Tourism / Martinsville-Henry County Visitor Center, Piedmont Triad International Airport, First Baptist Church, Piedmont Arts Association, Virginia Natural History Museum, Historic Henry County Courthouse Heritage Center & Museum, Fayette Area Historical Initiative, Sunnyside Communities King’s Grant, and Norris Funeral Services