April brought warmer weather and blooming flowers with it as the Jule Collins Smith Museum hosted its fourth annual Art in Bloom.
The exhibition featured floral designs inspired by works of art in the JCSM collection April 2-4.
The exhibition featured 14 florists from around Alabama who created arrangements featuring the works of John James Audubon, William Wiese and the Auburn Department of Art faculty.
The first Art in Bloom took place almost 25 years ago at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
In 2006 Susan Moore, one of the advisory board members for the JCSM, decided to have an Art in Bloom similar to other museums across the country.
The first exhibit had more than 1,000 people in attendance and brought in $7,000. The museum deemed the event a huge success and has been doing it ever since.
Andy Tennant, assistant director for the museum, said the first year Art in Bloom was in February, but the floral arrangers said it was too early in the season and too cold for the flowers to start blooming.
The following year the event took place in March, but now the museum aims for the first weekend in April.
The process for selecting the participants begins long before April.
Fenny Dane, a professor in the department of horticulture who serves on the Floral Design Committee for the Art in Bloom, finds the floral designers to participate in the event.
The floral designers are members of the Garden Clubs of Alabama and participate strictly on a volunteer basis.
Most of the designers typically come from Montgomery, Foley and Birmingham.
The museum selects the work that the floral designer will work with and, while there is no budget, certain guidelines must be followed.
The event strictly prohibits the use of silk paper, plastic flowers, soil, moss and animal parts.
Bernice Fischman, in Communications and Marketing in the Horticulture department, also serves on the Art in Bloom's Floral Design committee and is a two-year participant in the event.
This year her design featured the work of her close friend, Chichi Lovett.
"Her piece was all about making something out of something else," Fischman said. "It was, to me, about quilts and the comfort they bring, but it was also, obviously, about words, about two poems that inspired her. The poems were about growing roses, which made it very clear to me that I would use roses almost exclusively."
The flowers cost $85, which may seem expensive to some, but Fischman said you have to spend more to get specific flowers that will last for a few days.
Working on the arrangement proved to be a fun and challenging experience.
"I just like making things so this is just another outlet for the creative process," Fischman said. "You just have to keep trying things and working with some design concepts -- balance, interest, color, line, repetition."
Other Art in Bloom events included an Ikebana demonstration and luncheon Friday, April 3, by Elaine Jo, an Ikebana master who illustrated the art of Japanese flower arranging known for its graceful lines and sparse makeup of flowers.
Tommy Chase lectured April 3 on the "Aesthetics of Asian Art, Bonsai and Suiseki," which was followed by an Asian inspired cocktail reception.
Dorothy McDaniel, a well known floral arranger and florist from Birmingham, presented "Simply Beautiful Flowers But Oh So Simple to Design," April 4, which was followed by a luncheon.
"It's springtime and all the flowers are coming out, and they're really beautiful, and to just have that sprit inside of the museum is a great springtime tradition," Tennant said.
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