MINNEAPOLIS — Fresh flowers and timeless art came together, here, at the 31st annual Art in Bloom event held at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts May 1-4. Presented by Friends of the Institute, over 150 floral arrangements, created by professionals and amateurs to interpret and complement pieces of visual art from the MIA’s permanent collection, were on display to more than 35,000 visitors (the highest attendance to date) — all longing for a breath of spring.

Sue DeMuth, manager of floral merchandising for SpartanNash in Edina, MN, has been a member of Friends of the Institute and involved in AIB for over 15 years. This year she brought some flower designers from Family Fresh Markets to create beautiful pedestal floral arrangements.

Classic works of art with floral interpretations on display at Art in Bloom 2014 held at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in Minneapolis.“There is an old Chinese proverb, ‘If you have two pennies, you should spend one on bread and one on flowers; the bread will feed the body and the flowers will feed the soul.’ This type of belief is a way of life in many European countries, but not so much in our American culture,” said DeMuth. “SpartanNash is determined to help change this way of thinking with its sponsorship of the floral industry’s leading research and design speaker, Bill Taylor, former president of the American Institute of Floral Designers, at the 2014 AIB.”

Taylor’s master floral class, “From Supermarket Bouquet to Splendid Arrangement,” taught participants how to combine a grocery store flower bouquet with other elements and transform it into a stunning vase arrangement.

“Flowers are known to change a mood and make people happy,” DeMuth said. “Grocery stores provide everyday bouquets, that splendid ‘day brightener’, the gift that accompanies the wine at a dinner party, the plant that warms a new home or congratulates a job well done — the flowers that feed our souls.”

Taylor also presented a lecture and demonstration on “The History of Flower Arranging from the Egyptians to the Present,” where he explored the history of floral design and created arrangements that corresponded to significant periods of that history. The demonstration was followed by an auction of Taylor’s flower arrangements.

Along with lectures and demonstrations, the AIB festival offered guided tours, a “BloomOff” floral competition where contestants fashioned accessories from the contents of a mystery box, a fashion show featuring dresses and accessories made entirely out of flowers, a pop-up shop, family activities, a silent auction and a gala.

Friends of the Institute, an organization that has supported the MIA for 92 years, says AIB is its largest annual fundraiser. Proceeds help make art accessible through educational tours and transportation for school children, as well as funding for exhibitions, restoration and art acquisitions.

Art in Bloom originated in 1976 at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and is held annually, usually in the spring, at museums throughout the United States and Canada.