This is the second annual Art in Bloom show at the Speed Art Museum. (Courtesy Kendra Farris Photography)When the Speed Art Museum invited local florists to create arrangements for its exhibitions and unveiled The Elizabeth P. and Frederick K. Cressman Art Park last year, programs and events manage r Karen Tate wanted to find more ways to bring nature inside the museum, she said.This weekend, 16 local florists will make that happen again.These floral artists spent hours on their designs, which will be featured in “Art in Bloom.” From a large, vibrant botanical arrangement to a sculpture adorned in flowers, the pieces are modeled after artwork in the Speed’s permanent collection and will be scattered across the building.Tate said the flowers aren’t what visitors might find in the flower section at their grocery store.“They'll be very colorful, very intricate,” she said. “Just seeing how [the florists] interpret the colors, the symbolism, the figures that might be in the pieces. All of that will be in play with the arrangements.”In Clarksville, Indiana, floral art veteran Tammy Morgan spent at least 30 hours on her abstract piece modeled after “Fortune,” a 1899 oil on canvas painting of the goddess of luck.Her multimedia work using 5,000 pipe cleaners, a gold-colored frame, sea lavender, carnations and baby’s breath will become a statue of “Lady Luck,” Morgan said.“My flowers will be like the clouds and the scarf or the cloth that she has draped around her legs,” she explained.Morgan, a 40-year veteran of the floral art industry, is one of two artists from Thrive Floral Studio in Clarksville. Budding flora artist Sarah Sampson created a flower replica of “Mermaid,” a 1962 ceramic piece made in Louisville.Sampson wove roses, St. John's wort and other greenery around papier-mâché and thin sheets of copper to build the head, body and tail.“I hope that it translates onto the actual mermaid because this is the first time I've ever done anything like this,” Sampson said. “As a first-timer, this has brought some new challenges and some experimentation that I am just so pleased to be a part of.”Thrive Floral Studio owner Alex Hunnicutt said florists don’t often get the opportunity to showcase their skills outside of Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, funerals and weddings.“I think that a lot of people discount floral artistry as an art form, and don't really understand that the people that create floral art are artists and do have a general knowledge in a lot of different mediums,” he said.This is the second year The Speed has invited local florists to create arrangements inspired by artwork. Tate, the show’s organizer, said this is the largest cohort of artists they’ve included in the summer exhibition series.Art in Bloom runs Friday through Sunday.The museum will also offer docent-guided tours of the exhibits, floral art-making activities and a ticketed closing reception. ...read more read less