MSU library, art, floral design collaborate for new, ongoing exhibit

STARKVILLE, Miss.--Rotating weekly exhibits of ceramic vessels and floral displays now are on public display at Mississippi State's Mitchell Memorial Library.

Creations by art/ceramics professor Robert Long, along with plant and soil sciences professor Jim DelPrince and university students in his advanced floral design classes, are available for viewing in the third-floor foyer, located near the dean's office at the west--or Drill Field--side of the building.

Sculptural vessels from the College of Architecture, Art and Design's Public Art Incentive Collection will hold fresh arrangements created either by horticulture majors or DelPrince. From classical Ikebana to old-world Flemish designs, their displays will represent both practice and experimentation in the art of floral design.

Long and DelPrince have collaborated over the past five years on vessels that:

--Provide a basis for floral design while giving support to delicate individual stems;

--Help increase floral display longevity; and

--Serve to blur artistic lines between plant material and fired clay.

"For years, Mr. Long and I have been intrigued by the interaction between flowers and traditional forms," DelPrince explained. "Combining simple elements such as small, ceramic vases with single stems of flowers can create an extraordinary arrangement."

For more information on the exhibits and Public Art Incentive Program, contact DelPrince at jdelprince@pss.msstate.edu. For information on MSU Libraries, visit http://library.msstate.edu/.

For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.