Flowers and art respect each other

By WILLA HUBER

NARROWSBURG, NY — Before summer ends and the last petals wither, Jane Luchsinger celebrates the beauty of nature and art in her annual exhibition, “Art in Bloom.”

The exhibition lasted only the weekend of August 9-11 and was held for the eleventh year at the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance (DVAA) in Narrowsburg, NY. The exhibition features ten artworks in various media, each accompanied by a bouquet of flowers that mimics the composition and coloring of the works.

“First you see the colors, then you see the texture and the movement,” said one visitor to the exhibition. “It’s a three-dimensional interpretation of something two-dimensional.”

First, Luchsinger selects the artwork, each by a local artist and using bright colors and textures. Then she commissions florists to interpret each piece through a floral arrangement.

Florists are given complete freedom, although sometimes limited by the availability of certain blooms, and use cultivated, wild and store-bought flowers in their bouquets.

Florist Kathy Lawless created two arrangements for the exhibition. She described her process as “intuitive.”

Her bouquet was inspired by Robyn Oakes’ painting “Head in the Clouds.” She pointed to a small red spot on the edge of a white petal, a detail meant to reflect the subject’s red nail polish. She also placed long, wheat-like grasses throughout the bouquet to mimic the meticulous threadwork in the subject’s clothing.

While some pieces featured human subjects or lush landscapes, others were more abstract. Artist Cindy Schechter described her collage as “water to create a water pattern.” She used cut-out images of colors reflected in water to create a water pattern on her canvas.

The flowers presented alongside this piece – as well as their vase, or “vessel,” as Schechter called it – reflected the collage in color choice and composition.

Would she change anything?

She paused and looked closely at the arrangement. “I think it works beautifully,” she said. “I’m not a floral designer, so I really don’t know.”

Debby a damper

This year, the number of visitors to Art in Bloom did not reach the usual level.

“I think the weather kept a lot of people from coming,” Luchsinger said. “Usually, people line up outside the door waiting for the exhibit to open.” But the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby didn’t stop a handful of excited visitors from making the trip to Narrowsburg. In fact, the room was quite busy. Many were chatting while others walked around the room, carefully looking at the artwork and the flowers that accompanied it.

“The weather is bad, but I really wanted to see the exhibition,” said a regular visitor to the DVAA openings. “It’s such a unique idea and I happened to be thinking about flowers.”

“It’s cheerful,” said another attendee, who came in from across the street after a drink. She strolled through the room, where there was a lot of talking.

Adjustable lights shone down on the scene, casting shadows of the bouquets on the walls.

“The exhibition always exceeds my expectations,” said Luchsinger. “I am absolutely thrilled by the creations of the flower designers.”