Art in Bloom at the MIA

This weekend marks the annual Art in Bloom festival at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Celebrating its 27th year, the Art in Bloom exhibit takes over the museum with more than 150 floral arrangements standing alongside the pieces they interpret.

This year's theme is "Hello Tokyo!," and visitors are greeted by a number of large-scale, amazingly fragrant and beautiful, Japanese-inspired masterpieces surrounding the entrances to the MIA.

Then wandering among the many collections we've all come to know and love - from Impressionism to Ancient Art - and moving from room to room, art lovers discover many of their favorite works transcended into striking floral illustrations.

Here's a sampling of my favorite pieces, the first of which was my absolute favorite, and totally took me by surprise because the painting isn't one I usually give much notice to when I visit the MIA. But the floral artist's interpretation of this piece was just so good that I now have a new found appreciation for it.

This is one of my all-time favorite paintings at the MIA, and I love how the floral arrangement perfectly captures the colors that make this piece so memorable.

This is another one that I just love because of the floral interpretation. The flowers capture the essence of the little old lady so flawlessly.

Art in Bloom is free and runs through tomorrow for those of you who are as excited about spring and fresh flowers as I am :)