Bloom N Art is about to flower at Fivesparks

Article from the Harvard Press by Margaret Kusner - Published March 22, 2024

Tables and dropcloths, bouquets of flowers, plant containers, vases, small tools and props were set up in the main gallery of Fivesparks. Pieces of artwork by Bromfield students rested on shelves: a painting of a black and white tiger with bright green eyes, a plaster face mask painted with a scene from nature, a graphic design about polluted waterways, portrait photography, large and small ceramic pieces, and a large wire sculpture of an octopus.

For the eighth annual Bloom N Art show, these and other works of student art have been paired with Garden Club of Harvard members who will create floral arrangements reflecting various aspects of the artworks.

Nancy Webber holds up the base of an arrangement that she started March 15 to go with a design by Klara Tartarev. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

In anticipation of the exhibit, club member Deb Dowson gave a presentation last week in which she explained how to create a floral arrangement using design elements and principles, scale, meaning, or inspiration of an art piece. She also explained how to trim and condition the plants to withstand the duration of the exhibit, and how to create structures to hold them up.

Then last Friday in the gallery, a few Garden Club members met co-chairs AnaMaria Nanra, Marijke Vallaeys, and Dowson, ready to assist any floral arrangers who showed up to participate in a mock-up session, the way an artist or set designer creates preparatory sketches or models before presenting the final creation. The session was a place where the club members could practice building an arrangement, gain confidence, ask for advice, and play with and explore ideas before creating the arrangement for the exhibit.

With the giant wire octopus looking on, Maria Day was working out her frustrations with a sprawl of twigs, which were being forced to sprout tiny green leaves by soaking them in water. Meg Bagdonas had found a flower that cleverly referenced the hand seen in a photo. Kathy Hewett was arranging some dried grasses that reflected the colors and textures seen in a portrait. Nancy Webber was creating the illusion of an underwater scene of waving plants.

As the morning went on, the arrangers exchanged snippets of conversation. “What’s the name of the white flower that hangs down like this?” asked Mary Maxwell. Latin and common names of plants were bandied about. Concerns about the availability of particular flowers were expressed. The names of local stores were called out as possible places to find this or that flower. Details of the upcoming trip to the Flower Market in Boston were discussed.

This weekend, Saturday, March 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, March 24, from noon to 4 p.m., Fivesparks will display 26 art pieces by Bromfield students with 27 accompanying floral arrangements, all organically grown from the rich soil of imagination.