Flowers and Art Mimic Each Other at Spring Event

Photographer Michael Appuliese said he didn’t mind that his photo exhibit of flowers at Oxnard’s Carnegie Art Museum had to compete Sunday with the real thing.

Instead, he thought having vases stuffed with delicate calla lilies next to his framed photos of the milk-white flower brought more dimension to the exhibit.

Appuliese and other artists were at the museum Sunday to help celebrate the second annual Oxnard spring tours.

The event, held at the museum and Heritage Square in the city’s historic downtown, gave the more than 500 people who attended an opportunity to appreciate some of nature’s most beautiful creations, as well as masterful paintings and Heritage Square’s turn-of-the-century architecture.

“Flowers are a work of art themselves,” said Appuliese, a Moorpark resident. “They’re beautiful, and besides, they make everything smell good.”

Organized by the Carnegie Art Museum and Heritage Square, the event was held to increase awareness about the institutions.

“We really just want to let people know that we’re here,” said Lucinda Naboa, Carnegie’s director of museum education. “It’s a fun event that we hope will get people coming back after it’s through.”

Proceeds raised through the $5 admission fee will be used to fund a number of educational programs run by the museum and Heritage Square.

Situated throughout the two-story museum were more than a dozen ornate flower arrangements, some of which stood more than 3 feet high.

Created by a number of area floral designers, the arrangements attempted to mirror some of the artwork in the museum.

One arrangement, resting below Kirk Richards’ painting of a young woman stringing together a ristra of dried red peppers, featured pungent green leeks, red peppers and garlic cloves nestled among bunches of robust pin cushion proteas and daisies.

“I really had a lot of fun putting those together,” said floral designer Michelle Rein, owner of Passion Flowers in Ventura. “You get to be real funky and creative and don’t have to worry about costs or whether the customer is going to like it.”

At Heritage Square, patrons toured seven of the 15 historic buildings, each housing similar floral displays.

Inside the chapel, white lilies and orchid arrangements complemented the ivory satin and iridescent pearls of antique wedding gowns on display.

When not taking in the tours, patrons retreated to the McGrath House for slices of cheesecake topped with strawberries.

“She wanted to go all the way to Pasadena to go to the Huntington,” said Ann Hannon of Oxnard, who attended with her friend, Linnea Letchfield of Simi Valley. “But I told her we’ve got our own museums right here, and we’ve been having a great time.”