The Philadelphia Flower show has long been a staple in Philadelphia. The flower show, which functions as both showcase and fund-raiser, has been an annual event since 1829- making it the largest and longest running Horticultural event in the world. This year, the flower show took place from March first through March ninth, and featured some of our very own.
Nestled among the hundreds of booths at the flower show laid a display created by some of our Bucks Community. Lisa Walton, a recent graduate of Bucks County Community College, was invited to showcase her work- the first year that the Bucks County Community College’s Floral Design Program was offered this opportunity.
The Floral Design Program was given an area of nine displays across the Flower show. The students and graduates of the Design Program working on the show were given artistic freedom to arrange the space based on their prompt: What will the floral world look like in 1000 years, and how will the florists of the future change their techniques and materials.
The end result was nothing like a bouquet of roses, or other typical floral arrangements one might see in a flower shop. Students and staff spent countless hours sketching, assembling, and constructing. The end result was a wonderland- full of towering sculptures, glass, picture frames, metalwork, and, of course, flowers.
In one particular section of the showcase, produced by Karen Kuyper, a full headdress, top, and a pair of shoes had been crafted entirely from metal. The metal was bent and manipulated to give the appearance of folded, textured fabric- including in the floral motifs scattered across the metal. On a plaque read the description “Step into the empress” closet, where galactic glamour reigns. Dried botanicals, seed pods, and hand painted aspidistra leaves are paired with radiant metallics, creating a cosmic collection of wearable art.
In another section, metal sculptures were topped with blooming, live plants- bringing to mind an image not unlike a sensational chia pet, for those familiar.
For those who missed the Philadelphia Flower Show, or who want to see more of the Floral Designs Programs work, Lisa Walton recommended the Arts in Bloom Program, saying “’It’s a show like this [the Philadelphia Flower Show] we put on, and a way to give our students and our recent graduate designers a chance to do something creative like this with the floral arts’’.
Like the Philadelphia Flower show, showcases at the Arts in Bloom show will be themed and judged. While Lisa Walton stressed what an honor it was for the Floral Design Program to be invited to showcase their work, the real honor was having our school be represented so well by the talented artists who call Bucks County Community college their home.
“Bucks County Community College is a proud Educational Partner with the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD). Through this program, floral design students have a chance to become a Certified Floral Designer (CFD) by completing BCCC’s comprehensive curriculum” according to the Bucks website. All Floral design classes are taken at the Bucks Newtown Campus with various Instructors on hand willing to help expand your knowledge in all thing’s flowers.