WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NC – Leading floral designers from North and South Carolina gathered this weekend in Wrightsville Beach to showcase their floral creations inspired by fine art.
This year’s artwork came from private collections and the Wilmington Art Association. Floral designers received their art assignment from a blind draw weeks before the event.
Judges this year included National Garden Club judge and Flower Show School Instructor Claudia Bates, as well as NC State Floral Association judge and instructor Tammy Yow Russell. Floral design winners received a cash award, a beautiful ribbon, and bragging rights.
Here are the top floral designers in the 2021 Art & The Bloom competition:
1st Place: Sharon Van Teyens, New Hanover Garden Club, Wilmington, NC
2nd Place: Noel Morris, Sweetgrass Southern Market, Ocean Isle, NC
3rd Place: Kim Cruz, Tobaccoville, NC, Lewisville Garden Club, Lewisville, NC
Best Use of Color: Roxanne Thompson, Wilmington, NC
People’s Choice Award: Roxanne Thompson, Wilmington, NC
Click for 2021 Art & The Bloom photo gallery
The four-day Art & The Bloom exhibition and competition (Jan. 7-10) included expert demonstrations and workshops in floral design, botanical illustration, jewelry fashion shows, gallery art sales by the Wilmington Art Association, and more. Sessions included:
–A horticultural presentation by Frank Hyman, renowned gardening lecturer, and author.
–The Language of Flowers workshop by Patricia Savage, a renowned botanical illustrator from Chapel Hill. Savage teaches botanical art and illustration at the UNC Botanical Gardens and has taught at the NC Museum of Natural Science and the NC Museum of Art.
–Workshops by Tammy Yow Russell on miniature floral design and wearable flowers. Tammy is a multi-award-winning designer, including NC State Designer of the Year, Greensboro Triad Designer of the Year, Northern Piedmont Designer of the Year, and Southern Retail Designer of the Year in 2000. She is a three-time winner of the prestigious interpretive design NC Jim Treadaway Cup competition and was the second woman ever inducted into the NC Jim Treadaway Cup Hall of Fame in 2017.
–Claudia Bates, a National Garden Club Flower Show School Design Instructor, demonstrated abstracted floral design techniques. Bates also conducted a workshop to make a creative design container and fill it with a creative floral design.
“We are so happy that Art & The Bloom was a success and enjoyed by so many,” said Barb Bittler, Co-chair of the event. “We would like to thank our artists, floral designers, the Wilmington Art Association, our many sponsors and donors, and especially Blockade Runner Beach Resort for their support. We look forward to the many good projects the New Hanover Garden Club will be able to support to give back to our community.”
New Hanover Garden Club (NHGC), the organizer of Art & The Bloom, is federated through the National Garden Club and Garden Clubs of North Carolina. The event’s proceeds benefit gardening projects for nonprofit organizations and scholarships for students. All activities were held at the host hotel, Blockade Runner Beach Resort.
Contact:
Barb Bittler, Co-Chair
Art & The Bloom
BarbBittler@gmail.com
910-616-0476
Robert B Butler
Communications | Public Relations
www.RBButler.com
www.NCPressRelease.org
Permission granted for publishing and redistribution – Photo credits requested
Important note: The New Hanover Garden Club and Blockade Runner Beach Resort focused on public safety during the event. Measures included following the Governor’s guidelines to help prevent the spread of COVID 19, temperature checks upon entering the resort, the wearing of masks in public areas, limiting numbers of tickets sold, encouraging social distancing, and providing hand sanitizers in public places.
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