Petal to the metal
Fayette florist transforms artistry into art
Kara Martin loved arranging flowers, but were it not for her former employer, she may never have become a florist.
The Lemont Furnace woman worked as an administrator at Nickman’s Home Center for 20 years. The owner Ed Nickman – an entrepreneur himself – had a knack for recognizing that spirit in others, Martin said.
“And he’d encourage you to step out on your own,” she said.
When her time working for the Nickman family came to an end, she decided to take his advice.
“I pushed myself into it. Right or wrong, I just had to do it,” she said.
For the past six years, Martin has shared her creativity. Last month, the owner of Enchanted Florist in Lemont Furnace won an award for transforming her artistry into art.
Martin won the People’s Choice Award at Art in Bloom, an exhibition at Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg.
Each entrant was asked to translate a painting into a floral arrangement.
Martin was given Pittsburgh Industrial by Nat Youngblood, a former illustrator for The Pittsburgh Press who started painting watercolors during World War II when he served in the European Theater with the 101st Airborne Division.
Pittsburgh Industrial depicts the cityscape, complete with steel mills.
Martin represented the mills’ smoke stacks in her arrangement, using tall black vases. Hydrangeas mimicked the clouds of smoke coming from them. She used bolts in the arrangement to create the industrial feeling the painting evokes.
Roses, orchids, mums and greens were among the pieces that surrounded her arrangement.
Martin said it took her about four hours to construct in her shop.
Getting the piece from Lemont Furnace to the museum in Greensburg – a 35-mile trek – was a challenge.
“I literally loaded it up in a wagon and had someone help me lift it into the car. Then I drove it there as carefully as I could,” she said.
She wheeled it up to the building, and very carefully placed the arrangement on its display pedestal.
Over the five-day run, attendees voted for their favorite piece. It was Martin’s interpretation that took the People’s Choice Award.
“I wanted to challenge myself to see if I could do it,” she said. “I didn’t think I was going to win.”
After a successful first go at Art in Bloom, Martin is eager to enter again.
And not unlike her boss from several years ago, Martin offered encouragement to anyone who wonders if their passion can turn into a business.
“If it’s something you like, you should try,” she said.