Summer may be fading in the rearview mirror, but that doesn’t mean Wilton isn’t abloom with flowers. That’s because this Friday and Saturday, Oct. 13 and 14, the Wilton Garden Club will present its “Art in Bloom” Flower Show at Wilton’s historic Old Town Hall.
In fact Old Town Hall will be transformed with an exposition of art matched with floral designs and hundreds of examples of beautiful blooms, buds and branches from local gardens for the Wilton Garden Club’s flower show Art in Bloom. Twenty-eight spectacular flower arrangements, inspired by the work of seven artists, will be a highlight of the show.
“This is going to be an amazing flower show. Using local art to inspire the floral designs is unlike anything we have tried before,” says Nan Merolla, Art in Bloom chair and former Wilton Garden Club president. She and the flower show committee have been working on the details for months. The hours the show is open are Friday, Oct. 13 from 1-5 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 14 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m..
Entry tickets are $10 apiece and are available for purchase at the door.
The local artists whose work serves as inspiration for the floral designs are Jack Disbrow, Leslie Giuliani, Daryl Hawk, Drew Klutz, Julie Leff and Toby Michaels. They all live and work in Wilton, Weston and Westport. Florida resident John Maurer’s work is familiar to patrons of the Wilton Library – his landscape painting “Donegal Green” is in the Permanent Collection and can usually be seen to the left of the main reading area fireplace. Their styles range from abstract to realistic, in mediums which include metal sculpture, oil on canvas, collage, Encaustiflex and photography.
The Artists:
Jack Disbrow: “I am totally self-taught—self exploration for my own language that the viewer can translate to the point of experience. My experience, your experience. I have been painting for over 30 years. I have had one person shows, I have hung in many juried exhibitions and many group shows. I sell work on a regular basis. My work, my images speak for themselves.”
Leslie Giuliani: Colorful and intricately designed with imagery that combines the light-hearted and the darkly primal characterize Leslie Giuliani’s artwork. Her work features a range of old and new textile techniques combining digital embroidery, hand embroidery, digital textile printing, sewing and rug hooking embellished with encaustic painting. Her drawings are interpreted through digital programming and sewing processes. Giuliani’s work has been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the country and is included in the collections of the state of Connecticut and the Housatonic Museum of Art.
Daryl Hawk: For the past 25 years, explorer and international documentary photographer Daryl Hawk has traveled alone to some of the most remote places in the world telling stories with his camera, spending weeks at a time documenting and immersing himself in different cultures and landscapes. His articles and images often appear in magazines and newspapers worldwide. He has also been featured several times on NBC’s “Today Show” and FOX 5 television. He is a member of the Explorers Club, a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a member of the Professional Photographers Association.”
Drew Klotz: A nationally recognized artist creating kinetic sculpture for over 35 years, Drew Klotz’s “wind sculptures” can be seen across the country and in galleries from New York to California. Drew’s early interest in the aerodynamics of flight directed his creative talents to kinetic sculpture. Aerodynamic shapes with sensitive bearings interact with the gentlest of breezes and wind currents to provide ever-changing rhythmic and wave-like patterns. As the kinetic sculpture revolves and dances with the wind, it choreographs its own enchanting aerial ballet.
Julie Leff: A graduate of Yale University, Julie Leff lived in New York, Los Angeles and London before settling in Connecticut. Julie has studied art at Yale and the Silvermine Guild. She began painting professionally in 2001 and won her first art show, sponsored by the Weston Commission for the Arts, two years later. She has shown her work in numerous solo and group shows. Her artwork is held in private collections in the US, Europe and Asia and is exhibited at Yale University’s Child Study Center.
John Maurer: John Maurer’s oil and acrylic paintings are primarily scenes from Europe where he has travelled since 2001. His work is vibrant and spontaneous, with loose expressive strokes of impasto color. Pigment is applied in layers using palette knives, brushes and towels. He primarily exhibits in juried art festivals in the United States including the Outdoor Art Festival of the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT and the Westport Fine Arts Festival in Westport, CT. His paintings are in numerous private collections in the United States and abroad. He is currently living and working seasonally in St. Petersburg, FL and Granger, IN and travels whenever possible.
Toby Michaels: “Going beyond the limits of logical thinking, my abstract paintings become spiritual and metaphysical adventures, inspiring me to inquire into the ‘unseen,’ the endless cosmic and universal possibilities that give life to artistic expression. Making art for me becomes a doorway into Self-Knowledge, allowing for a deep connection to a Higher Source, the basis of all creativity. I am a member of Art/Place Gallery, Women’s Caucus for Art, Westport Arts Center, Fairfield Arts Center, Silvermine Guild of Art, and am represented in the Westport School’s Permanent Art Collection.”
Not only will historic Old Town Hall be filled with art, floral arrangements, horticultural examples, educational displays, botanical arts and youth projects, but the surrounding gardens and landscape will be brimming with beauty and interest, as well. Also adding to the experience will be an on-site coffee bar. Admission is $10 per person, and children 18 and under are free.
Old Town Hall is located at 69 Ridgefield Rd..