{"id":65418,"date":"2022-10-02T08:44:03","date_gmt":"2022-10-02T14:44:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=65418"},"modified":"2022-10-04T08:58:04","modified_gmt":"2022-10-04T14:58:04","slug":"floral-riffs-ask-what-is-art-in-eacs-art-in-bloom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/floral-riffs-ask-what-is-art-in-eacs-art-in-bloom\/","title":{"rendered":"Floral Riffs Ask “What is Art?” in EAC’s Art in Bloom"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For the Eccles Community Art Center’s “Art in Bloom” Norshidah Majid created a floral arrangement to go with Jenny Rogers’ oil painting “Thistle.” Norshidah Majid, Fresh Florals.<\/p><\/div>\n

What is Art? This is a common question, perhaps even a tired question, but one that any lover of arts has or will encounter at some point in their studies. It was the question that filled my brain while walking through the Eccles Art Center\u2019s Art In Bloom<\/i><\/span> show that took place Aug 25-27. Art in Bloom\u00a0<\/i><\/span>invites local florists to pick a work of art from ECA\u2019s statewide competition to turn into a floral arrangement. These arrangements are then put on display for a short time at ECA.<\/h4>\n

Since May of this year, I have been working in a flower shop, learning the basic tenants of floral design and trying my hand at creating custom arrangements. I have enjoyed being in a new environment and creative space. When I heard about the Art in Bloom show I was intrigued as it combined an old love of mine, fine arts, with a new one, floral design.<\/h4>\n

With new knowledge of flowers and design in mind, I walked through the doors at ECA with excitement and intrigue. Some of the floral arrangements in the show took more direct and literal approaches to the art pieces they were reflecting. This resulted in floral arrangements that were complete recreations of the work of art. There were flamingos, chickens, cakes, and dolls all made entirely of flowers. Others focused on recreating the colors and general forms of their art pieces \u2014 strategically placing flowers that mimicked prominent features in the art. There were just a few that focused more on recreating the feelings imbued in the art than any color or form that was represented in the art piece. With such a range of representations, the show was equally enlightening and complex. I found myself filled with questions, many revolving around what defined art, what art’s purpose is, and what role flowers could\/can play in this realm.<\/h4>\n

Floral design, while definitely creative, often finds itself stuck in a realm of superficial beauty. Its purpose as an outlet for emotion is somewhat limited as flowers tend to be only associated with love, beauty, and life. Even in the case of funerals, flowers are used to brighten somber moments and pay respects to a life lived. At one point in time flowers had their own language, each flower meant something specific and allowed people to share feelings and emotions not with words but with flowers. Over time this language has been lost and flowers have largely been left with nothing more than their good looks. Though there are examples of artists utilizing flowers to express a larger range of ideas and emotions (such as life, death, decay, and\/or the brevity of life) their daily use is often one of simple beauty. While beauty for the sake of beauty is not an inherently bad or negative purpose, it is interesting to explore how the daily use of flowers might expand and push past these preconceived notions. Art in Bloom<\/em> I believe takes the beginning steps to exploring these ideas.<\/h4>\n
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Mckenna Ingersoll’s “Delicate Emotions” (digital painting) is reinterpreted with flowers by Aydia Bailey<\/p><\/div>\n

One great example of this in the show was Aydia Bailey\u2019s floral work inspired by McKenna Ingersoll\u2019s \u201cDelicate Emotions.\u201d Ingersoll\u2019s work features what Bailey believes is a Bobtail Squid. These creatures are small, nocturnal, and considered predators. There are many different types of Bobtail Squid but Bailey found herself drawn to the Hawaiian Bobtail. This squid has the ability to undergo a chemical reaction that causes it to glow, thus illuminating any shadow the creature might cast on the ocean floor. In her artist statement, Bailey shares how she reflects this squid, using light and joy to counteract darkness in her life, striving to find a balance between head and heart. She reflects on this idea saying, \u201cSometimes it feels like your chest is going to explode all over the place. As I\u2019ve learned, though, the lights around you make all the difference.\u201d Bailey\u2019s placed her arrangement in the chest cavity of a skeleton, the flowers protruding from the chest, exploding outward in a flurry of delicate emotions. Bluish fairy lights are entangled throughout the arrangement creating a common thread throughout the arrangement. Deep purple and pink flowers create a contrast that is furthered by specks of lighter pink hypericum. The purples are achieved with gladiolas, agonis, and mini calla lilies. The skeleton’s hands reach out to the viewer: in one hand they hold a pink hydrangea in the other is an anthurium. These plants reflect Bailey\u2019s hope to find a balance between brain and heart in her emotions. Bailey\u2019s contemplation of the work inspired her to create an emotionally charged piece that invites viewers to evaluate their own emotional journey.<\/h4>\n

Other invoking works include the painting “Thistle” <\/span>by Jenny Rogers. This clear painting has strong, precise lines. A woman \u2014 a mother \u2014 stares out at the viewer with determined strength and love. She holds a baby to her chest wrapped in purple cloth that flows down to the bottom of the canvas. The background is a neutral, light tannish color. Large thistle plants poke up on either side of the mother as well as two plants pushing up from behind each shoulder of the woman. The corresponding floral arrangement created by Norshidah Majid is round in shape. Gladiolas stand up in the back and pink Asiatic lilies surround a single white sunflower. This sunflower, like the mother in the painting, stares steadily out at the viewer. Four large purple thistles stand prominently in the piece and smaller thistles accent the empty spaces.<\/h4>\n

“Orange Horizon” <\/span>by Halee Roth features a nude woman laying down, her left knee bent facing the viewer, her right hand resting on her chest, and her left hand extending back above her head. Her face is in profile, looking up. The work is done in yellow, and orange tones and an arch stretches across the canvas. Heather Goff’s floral arrangement mirrors the colors and arch featured in the painting. Goff utilized six simple, square cement-looking vases to add dimension to her arrangement. Three of the vases use yellow flowers. The vases of these yellow sunflowers, roses, hypericum, and alstroemeria make a slight incline from left to right. Three shorter vases reach around the shortest vase, taking a center spot beneath the yellow ones. Deep orange gerbera daisies, spray roses, and pincushion protea call back to the orange that stretches beneath the body of the reclined woman. Two thin black steams stretch across the vase on the far left to one on the right mimicking the arch in the painting.<\/h4>\n
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“Orange Horizon,” by Halee Roth, fresh florals by Heather Goff.<\/p><\/div>\n

Art In Bloom\u00a0<\/i><\/span>is a unique experience that begins to bridge the gap that is often found between what is considered fine art and craft. The creativity of the florists and the beauty of the flowers creates an atmosphere of excitement and intrigue. Such a unique event spurs deeper conversations and musings to all in attendance.<\/h4>\n

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Art in Bloom<\/em> was at the Eccles Community Art Center<\/a> in Ogden, Aug. 25- 27.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is Art? This is a common question, perhaps even a tired question, but one that any lover of arts has or will encounter at some point in their studies. It was the question that filled my brain while walking through the Eccles Art Center\u2019s Art In Bloom […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1696,"featured_media":65445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_piecal_is_event":false,"_piecal_start_date":"","_piecal_end_date":"","_piecal_is_allday":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exhibition_reviews","category-visual_arts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/rogers.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-06 18:54:35","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1696"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65418"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65418\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65448,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65418\/revisions\/65448"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}