Flowers have a long history soaked in both sadness and beauty.  Flowers are linked to death with the funerary practice of presenting memorial wreaths and sympathy bouquets that tribute the lives of our loved ones who are no longer here. Flowers are linked to us all being  joyously alive. Flowers seed, grow, peak, wilt, die and reseed themselves again.

In Japan, there is an entire art form dedicated to flower arrangement called Ikebana (living flowers).   Arrangements in Ikebana are to be created silently, a communion of nature and person.  It is considered not only an art, but also a spiritual practice.  Arranging these flowers becomes a mindfulness practice, a healing and joyous experience to be creative and share beauty, as fleeting as it is, to those who can witness and share in that visual delight.

FUN FACT: According to ArtMarketingNews.com, florals were the second top bestselling subjects in the art market trending in 2024, a hair behind landscapes. We celebrate the coming of Spring with 100 artists from across the region that celebrate a range of stylistic, expressionistic and thematic approaches in the Cleveland Bouquet show. We also celebrate by honoring the memory of three wonderful painters who lived vibrantly and contributed so much to Northeast, Ohio, artists Patricia Zinsmeister Parker, James Messina March and Mary Deutschman.