Flowers of Mardi Gras

A New Orleans-specific art form

Remember the Spy Boy suit that used to stand in the lobby of La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast?

Hand sewn beadwork and rooster feathers

When we bought the suit, it was full of moths.  We thought we had eliminated them, but it turns out that it is all but impossible.  The moths love to eat the feathers and there are just too many nooks and crannies in which they hide their eggs.  As previous reviews have noted, we run a clean place.   It wouldn't do to have moths be a part of the package.

Luckily, we went to the Palmer Art Market a month ago and made the acquaintance of Brian Bush.  He is a professional Mardi Gras sculptor.  

If you have ever had the joy of attending a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, you have seen floats bedecked with paper flowers.  Thousands of intricate, oversized paper flowers need to be made every year and somebody has to make them.  

People ask me, "Can a musician really make a living in New Orleans?"  The answer is yes, and other professionals who specialize in the city's cultural economy get by, too.  Mardi Gras sculptors and innkeepers do.  So do chefs and waiters.  So do the families that inherit old money Uptown, and so do the artists who bicycle between the Bywater and Desire.  

Three flowers make a rainbow

With the Spy Boy suit gone, we needed to fill the wall space with something just as impressive.  Mr. Bush delivered the goods.  Literally, he delivered the merchandise to our front door and all of it was good.  "This is a beautiful place you've got here," he said.  "You do beautiful work," Frau Schmitt told him.

We ordered five flowers in colors of the artist's choice.  Brian Bush's sense of hue is as vibrant as the city he calls home.  We hung four of his handmade creations in the lobby.  Since one of our suites is Les Fleurs, we had the perfect place to hang the fifth.  More on that later.

For context, here is a shot of one corner of our lobby:

We need more flowers

My photography, as usual, does not do justice to the subject.  We have placed another order for three more flowers to hang in this arrangement.  We are practicing New Orleans ikebana.

What about Les Fleurs Suite?  What about that fifth flower you got from mardigrasmayhem.com?  Alright, I'll tell you.

Imagine waking up around 8:30AM on a Wednesday morning after spending an enjoyable evening that started with dinner at Crescent City Steaks at your hosts recommendation, included catching a show at the Shadowbox Theater, and ended with a short cab ride after the last set at Sweet Lorraine's, which your hosts also recommended.  You open your eyes and see a Mardi Gras flower abloom over the fireplace mantle.  Today is going to be a good day.

Nobody comes to New Orleans to watch TV

I admit that I am biased, but if I were going to visit New Orleans, I would stay at La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.  I am sure Frau Schmitt would agree, and she is usually right about most things.    

A votre sante.