At 5 p.m. on March 20, the Norton Art Gallery in Shreveport opens its doors to this year’s Bloom exhibition.
Emily Feazel is the designer of exhibits and special events at the Norton. She explains that the qualifications for the exhibition are fairly simple: there has to be a floral element, all mediums except free-standing sculpture and photography are permitted, and the piece has to be between 10 x 10 and 60 x 60. Feazel says these open qualifications allow for a lot of creativity, which is exactly the goal of the museum.
"Every piece is completely different–subject matter, style, technique. So, coming in you’re going to see 53 completely different pieces."
From displaying a giant-colored pencil rose to a painted metal tea set surrounded by flowers, each of the pieces were carefully selected by the judges. Feazel says picking the ones to be displayed is always a tough call for them since there are so many good submissions.
"So, you’ll see some still lifes, but you’ll also see goldfish in a bowl, and then you’ll see a lady with a flower crown," she says. "Especially for this show, they’re looking to put together an eclectic view of all the submissions that were sent in."
Feazel says the opening of Bloom is one of her favorite days at the gallery. She says it's exciting to see all of the winners visit their own pieces in the gallery, as some of them might not have had that chance before.
"It’s exciting for these artists. Their work is hanging right down the hall from a Mary Casatt painting or right down the hall from Henry Matisse," Feazel says. "I mean, it’s just exciting. You’re in a space with these incredible, famous artists."
The exhibition’s artists range from professional artists to young students.
"Seeing those baby artists, those high schoolers, who are taking a chance and entering an international juried exhibition–and two of them made it in! That’s incredible!"
Alongside these young artists are creatives who have submitted before. Feazel says it’s fascinating to witness the artists’ skills develop over time.
"It’s really great to see their style and their creativity and technique grow with them, and every year they just get better and better," Feazel says.
In total, 527 pieces from 29 states and 22 different countries were submitted to the competition, but half of the selected 53 are from local artists.
"You’ve got Latvia; Benton, Connecticut; Mississippi… So, it’s really neat to see the different styles and places that these pieces are from."
Though she says she cannot pick favorites, Feazel notes she loves to see portraits in the submissions.
"So, I think whenever you can use those florals in a portrait setting, and make it unexpected and interesting to look at, I tend to gravitate toward those pieces," Feazel says.
These unexpected and interesting pieces are among the ones the judges pick, but some of them feature a simple flower.
"I always laugh because they say they don’t want a mugshot of a flower. So, a lot of the time in these pieces, yes, there are florals and there are beautiful flowers, but they’re in a portrait," Feazel says. "They’re on the head of a bird. They’re in a living room setting with a skunk drinking tea. I have such a respect and admiration for every piece because they were worked on so hard. And you can tell that pieces were so thought out."
In addition, the Norton will open their recently renovated American wing. With Red River Radio News, I'm Alaina Atnip.