For the third year in a row, Chester County Art Association has participated in a competitive class division in the Philadelphia Flower Show. This year the art association won a Blue Ribbon!

In 2006 and 2007 Chester County Art Association won second place awards for major displays in the container class. This year the association was invited to participate in the Entryway Class #152 and won First Place.

Chester County Art Association display Van Gogh’s Blues recreates a painting by Vincent Van Gogh entitled Café Terrace painted in 1888. The display which was planned out carefully throughout the past year in preparation for the 2008 Flower Show brought the Chester County Art Association a score of 98 out 100 points to achieve the honor of a Blue Ribbon. Judges quotes include “exquisitely persecuted, skillful division of spaces” “Vertical gardening terrific.”

“After days of long hours of physical labor in the cold weather and driving back and forth from West Chester to Philadelphia and losing a few plants along the way it was worth the run! ” – Darcie Goldberg, Co-Chair

The accomplishment was a group effort by committee chairs by Michelle Venema and Darcie Goldberg and Curt Alverson, Betty Drummond, Apple Logan, Rhoda Kahler, Kim Sward, Susan Pope and Pam Small.

Master Gardeners Pam Small, Curt Alverson and Betty Drummond worked on the horticultural arrangements. Rhoda Kahler, an art association faculty member and ceramic genius made many of the pots and chairs. Susan Pope created and built the doors, shutters and café awning. The café scenes and windows were painted by muralist Kim Sward, also a CCAA faculty member.

The flowers for the exhibit were grown by Chadds Ford Green House and Taylor Music of West Chester loaned the clarinet to complete the display.