Canceled last January following one of the worst hurricanes in state history, leading floral designers in North Carolina will gather at Blockade Runner Beach Resort in Wrightsville Beach to showcase their floral creations inspired by fine art, Jan. 9-12, 2020.
The four-day Art & The Bloom exhibition and competitive judging includes expert demonstrations and workshops in floral design and flower pounding, botanical illustration and art, millinery fashion shows, gallery art sales by the Wilmington Art Association, and a presentation-book signing for Gardening with Confidence by Helen Yoest, award-winning garden writer and founder of Bee Better.
Now entering its third year, the New Hanover Garden Club’s Art & The Bloom has become a highly anticipated event in North Carolina. This year’s art will come from private collections and the Wilmington Art Association. Floral designers receive their art assignment from a blind draw weeks before the event.
The Designing Divas, a five-member team of nationally accredited jurors and flower show school instructors, will judge the 2020 floral design competition. Winners receive beautiful ribbons, cash awards, and bragging rights.
Affiliated with the National Garden Club and hailing from Florida, the Designing Divas will present two floral design demonstrations and a wedding flower design workshop on Friday and Saturday.
Linda Koffenberger, a botanical illustrator from Chapel Hill, will present a workshop on how to draw butterflies using colored pencils. Koffenberger is an award-winning national artist creating works in colored pencil, egg tempera, and watercolor. Her recognitions and achievements include the Best of Show and CIPPY Award in the International Exhibition of the Colored Pencil Society of America.
Kim Fisher, a North Carolina floral designer originally from DC, will be leading a workshop creating a coastal-style woodland tabletop setting. Kim’s unique experiences include floral designs for several US Presidents and the Catherine Zeta-Jones wedding.
Accomplished artist Pat Carlson will conduct a workshop on the art of flower pounding, creating beautiful note cards and framed fabric art from flowers.
New Hanover Garden Club, the organizer of Art & The Bloom, is federated through the National Garden Club and Garden Clubs of North Carolina. The event’s proceeds will benefit gardening projects and scholarships for nonprofit organizations. All activities will be at the host hotel, Blockade Runner Beach Resort.
Click here for itinerary, tickets, registration information
