This year demands both big thinking and small wins.
We need to dream loudly, act boldly, and graciously accept minute moments of joy with humble attitudes and open hearts. Living this way is not just important but imperative. We must challenge ourselves to dare greatly and see the inherent good that inevitably surrounds us. We must challenge ourselves to stop and smell the roses. For if we don’t, life will surely speed by, and we will most certainly miss it.
I’ve realized a big part of navigating 2020 requires finding safe, thoughtful, creative, ways to have fun, get out of the house, and maintain perspective. This commitment[1] naturally looks different than it has in the past and consequently creates a sort of sanity survival challenge. Therefore, when a longtime family friend reached out with a thoughtful recommendation to check out a local outdoor art exhibit, I knew I had to explore it for myself: I couldn’t resist[2].
20 roses. 20 creators. 20 stories. “Roseville in Bloom” is a vibrant celebration of time, space, place, and the beauty of the present moment. The exhibit curates talent from Minnesota’s most prominent artists and brings their vivacity to life in the form of 20 6-foot flowers scattered throughout the city of Roseville. Each painted rose is sponsored by a local business and tells a story unique to the artist (and community) who created it.
The curators of this exhibit were extremely thoughtful in their approach and even mapped out various routes patrons can use to walk, bike, or drive while visiting the 20 magnificent flowers. This Easter-egg-hunt-like activity is a great opportunity to get out of the house, enjoy the fresh air, and visit local hotspots around town. It’s entirely free to visit, and select businesses have even taken steps to make the experience more interactive by hosting Roseville In Bloom-themed products and flavors. For example, through the month of October the Grand Ole Creamery is offering a “Blooming Rose” mango strawberry sorbet. Not to be outdone, Bent Brewstillery has crafted a “Roses & Rhubarb” cocktail (made from gin, rose water, rhubarb syrup, and lime juice) that is certain to quench any flower adventurer’s thirst. There’s even an official city-sponsored scavenger hunt that allows visitors to scan QR codes at each sculpture location to unlock exclusive deals at participating Roseville businesses. Each flower has a different sponsor with a unique giveaway, thus upping the ante and incentivizing rose-seekers to visit as many flowers as they possibly can.
While Roseville in Bloom was originally touted as a top item for your summer can’t-miss-list, there’s no time like the present, and if I can appreciate beautiful roses in the midst of an early snowy winter, then I say more power to me. So that’s exactly what I did: In the middle of a gray, snowy Sunday afternoon that felt like December, Cam and I decided to get in the car, pick up some coffees, and strap in for an afternoon of flower finding.
Roseville in Bloom’s interactive online map is extremely comprehensive, but there’s something to be said for going old-school with a Sharpie and paper print out map so you slowly check off your list with sweet satisfaction as you bounce around from one location to the next. Our first stop was at rose #18, titled “Bloom.” Sponsored by North American Banking Company, “Bloom” was created by mosaic artist Erin Ward, who has a deep appreciation for working with glass and ceramic tiles in the therapeutic practice of taking that which is broken and using it to ultimately construct something new, beautiful, and whole. While we had to dust off the newly settled snow to reveal the full effect of the flower’s brilliance, the sculpture easily surpassed any preexisting expectations we may have had regarding the exhibit. If this first stop was any indication, we were in for an exciting treasure hunt of an afternoon.
Our next few stops included a Catholic church, a neighborhood park, and a public library. We found our way to “Minnesota Helpers,” “Busy as a Bee,” and “Painting the Roses Red.” I smiled when I saw the bright, creative rendering of the flower-pot-turned-honey-hive and fell in love with the literary connections plastered all over the Alice in Wonderland-themed rose located just outside the library. With its acute attention to detail, it’s clear this rose was intentionally designed to leverage the sculpture’s natural beauty to both tell a larger story and inspire the imagination.
Next came “Discover” by iconic Minnesota artist, Adam Turman. Twin Cities art and Adam Turman are practically synonymous: Turman boldly juxtaposes illustrated depictions of “bold north” culture with stylized interpretations of everything from Minneapolis’ iconic Stone Arch Bridge to folklore legend Babe the Blue Ox. His work celebrates a distinctively Twin Cities love for all things outdoors, and his striking, graphic style of 80s art and comics has certainly solidified him as one of Minnesota’s most popular artists. I am captivated by the way Turman fearlessly blends a seemingly exhaustive pallet of colors—everything from midnight blue to “vivid tangerine”—and seamlessly leverages these hues to illuminate the cultural stories he seeks to tell.
After “Discover,” we drove up the road to visit “Rosewood,” “La Glace Rose,” “InSPIREd by Minnesota,” and “What Brings You Joy?” I appreciated the all-too-real effect of the ice that coated the rose outside the local ice arena and was thoroughly impressed by the stunning use of natural wood to coat the rose that is casually placed outside the local Country Inn & Suites.
Next we visited “Aurora Borealis,” “Harmony in Nature,” and “The Value of Education.” As we approached “Harmony in Nature” which is located in an unassuming corner outside the Fairfield Marriott hotel, I was—admittedly—uninterested. From a distance, the rose looked dull, brown, and altogether unappealing. “Did the artist simply paint the flower in camo colors and call it a day?” I thought to myself. “How boring and unoriginal is that?!” But as we got out of the car and approached the rose, I realized I was gravely mistaken and saw the flower for what it truly was: An incredibly thoughtful, complex, and organic work of art. “Harmony in Nature” effortlessly blends a stunning collection of various wild animals and weaves them together as part of one larger symbiotic web. Its depictions of fawns, raccoons, and trout are breathtakingly complex, and the intricate details breathe life into the art so the animals seem real and immediately present. The sculpture’s backside is perhaps even more striking, as it portrays a magnificent monarch that stretches out and cocoons the rest of the animals in a warm embrace of affection and gratitude. This rose was my favorite by far and serves as a fitting reminder that we can’t always judge the world around us based on initial impressions. For instead, if we allow ourselves to broaden our perceptions and look more closely and deeply, we just might stand tobesurprised.
Picking up momentum on our hunt, we stopped by “Paper Rose” and “Hmong Story Cloth.” Artist Kristi Abbott’s use of color, pattern, and texture in “Paper Rose” is positively stunning, and she uses multiple materials to tell a rich, layered story evocative of profound beauty and substance. Similarly, artist Kao Lee Thao weaves an exquisite interpretation of the Hmong experience by using various vignettes to represent culture, celebration, hopes, and dreams.
We ended our garden tour with “Spirit of Hospitality,” and “Blossoming Terrasse” where we encountered another set of rose aficionados—a couple with young children—enjoying the same afternoon adventure as us. We smiled and nodded at one another, exchanging knowing looks that communicated the simple pleasure and inherent connectivity stemming from the shared experience we were having.
I’ll say it again: This year demands both big thinking and small wins. Roseville in Bloom captures the imperative need for both of these elements, combining them so that big thinking actually creates small wins, and these small wins—these tiny bursts of inspiration and colorful creativity—ultimately blossom into the biggest thoughts, possibilities almost too large to contain. The cyclical relationship between these elements is both powerful and lovely, and we all should seek to live in perpetuity within this cycle of planting seeds, watching them grow, and witnessing the improbable explosion of beauty that naturally results. For then, no matter what happens to us—no matter where our journeys take us—we will always be able to live boldly, thrive deeply, and grow courageously. We will always be able to live in “happy hues” and celebrate la vie en rose.
[1] For it is surely a commitment.
[2] Thanks, Mrs. Delaney!
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