On Friday, April 26th, Driftwood Garden Club of Marblehead members attended this year’s Art in Bloom event at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. DGC Designers Laurie Boggis and Ginny von Rueden participated in the event, once again creating a fabulous floral arrangement to complement a very large ink and color fresco named “Mahaprajapati with the Infant Buddha” dating to the Chinese Ming Dynasty, 1551.
The painting depicts a scene from the early life of Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha. The infant is being held up toward the seated Mahaprajapati, his aunt and foster mother after the death of his mother Queen Maya. His half-brother is held in the arms of a nurse at the left and other attendants around the group. The painting came from the wall of a temple.
In creating the gorgeous floral arrangement pictured above, the designers wanted to be respectful of what we see now (faded) but allude to the original glorious and luxurious colors of the painting.
The arrangement represents the circle of embracing women around the Queen and Buddha baby and shows the majesty of the Ming court.
The container represents the brilliance of the lavish golden hair and clothing ornaments. Gold implies power, wealth, happiness, and longevity. The shape of the container is a bag of gold tied with a cord which is the most significant gift one can give in China, representing good luck and prosperity.
Orchids and chrysanthemum are classical Chinese flowers. The mums here represent the white robes of the Mahaprajapati. The orchids, grevellia, and calla lilies bring out the colors of the rich robes of the court ladies. The curled aspidistra leaves repeat the folds of fabric and sleeves of the garments.
The carefully selected color of the roses reveal the faces of the human figures in the painting. Eucalyptus and hydrangea bring out the blue tones of the garments. The palms reflect the grandeur of the court and peace and eternal life symbolized by the Buddha.
The eleven human figures in the photo on the right were absolutely in awe of the talent of our two designers. Congratulations to you Laurie and Ginny for a job well done!
Now, of course there were many other impressive Art in Bloom entries to be seen that day. Use the arrows to view a few of our favorites – amazing!
Driftwood Garden Club 