COLUMBUS — The “Art in Bloom” event wowed visitors at the Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) last weekend. Art in Bloom is a fundraiser for the museum that combines fresh floral and plant displays with art works from the museum collection.
Local artist Anne Stojkovic Trautman helped design and a build a display for CMA by Planthropy of Columbus.
“It’s been a dream of mine for a long time to be a part of something at the Columbus Museum of Art,” Trautman said.
Trautman is a graduate of Mount Gilead High School and taught art at Mount Gilead Middle school for seven years after graduating from Bluffton University. Over the past year she has worked with more than 100 projects for Planthropy.
Planthropy’s display for CMA’s Art in Bloom is an interpretation of artist Frank Stella’s La vecchia dell’orta museum piece that takes up most of one wall in the new wing of the museum.
“We were honored in 2018 to be featured plant artists at the CMA ‘Art in Bloom’ event,” said Planthropy founder and owner Jessie Laux. “We are again humbled and very excited to be featured artists this year.”
Planthropy was founded by Laux in 2015 with the idea of bringing green living plants along with preserved plants and mosses into living and work spaces. She grew up in Belleville, Ohio and graduated from Bowling Green University with a major in graphic art.
Planthropy co-owner Michael Creath brings his landscape design background into the mix, which gives an added dimension to their moss walls and natural murals and frames.
Trautman said they have their works displayed in businesses, institutions and residences in 21 states. She recently designed a wall installation with mosses at Dayton AES power and light company.
Laux and Creath call their presentation at the Columbus Museum of Art a “Biolith” with its circular, three-dimension affect and wild colors that mirror the pillars and cones in Stella’s artwork. Their display combines mosses, orchids and succulents to bring a bright, spring effect to the entire room.
“This is a team effort,” said Trautman. “We all worked together on the design and all worked to build this display together.”
For information about Planthropy and examples of their moss walls, see www.planthropy.co
