Patrick Dougherty: Easy Rider Photo © Britt Conley

Patrick Doughterty’s extraordinary organic vision in “Easy Rider” is like walking into a Lewis Carol dream.  For Dumbarton Oaks, it’s hide and seek match made in heaven.

Patrick Dougherty: Easy Rider Photo © Britt Conley

Doughterty, who is mostly known for his work with woven saplings, is my favorite garden artist.

Patrick Dougherty: Easy Rider Photo © Britt Conley

His work is wistful and yet solidly constructive within its structure.  This can especially be seen in the photo below which I took a few months ago before the rows of hornbeams filled in.

Patrick Dougherty: Easy Rider Photo © Britt Conley

Watching Dougherty’s construction process has been fascinating.  First he collected his saplings and planted them stiff in the ground.

Patrick Dougherty: Easy Rider Photo © Britt Conley

He built scaffolding to lift him high enough to weave the branches up into the hornbeans.

Patrick Dougherty: Easy Rider Photo © Britt Conley

According to Dumbarton Oaks he refers to these sculptures as running figures that pursue one another within the ellipse.

Patrick Dougherty: Easy Rider Photo © Britt Conley

His work is on view until the end of Spring, so I would visit while there is still time.  Summer is fast approaching : )

Patrick Dougherty: Easy Rider Photo © Britt Conley

For more information on Dougherty’s work visit www.stickwork.net

For more information on Dumbarton Oaks visit http://www.doaks.org

‘Til Tomorrow…

Britt : )

Related posts:

1. The Topiary Park where Art meets Garden
2. Romance and Wandering at Dumbarton Oaks
3. Dumbarton Oaks: The Ellipse

Art in Bloom, Photo Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

This Saturday, April 30th will kick off the 35th annual Art in Bloom at the Museum of Fine Arts Boson.    As in the previous years the event will feature all things bloom including bouquets inspired from various masterpieces within the collection, which according to the museum will be drawn from “Cassatt and Sargent, to Homer and Copley, in addition to iconic works from Ancient Egypt, Asia, and Europe.”  I have to admit, this is one of my favorite art installations of the series.

Dale Chihuly will also be represented in the Gund Gallery.  The museum boasts that  his, “42 foot green icicle tower and a neon wall-mounted piece, will be on display in the Shapiro Family Courtyard in addition to colorful ―Cat Tails‖ on view outside the Courtyard, visible through the soaring glass walls.”

Additionally Nancy Clarke, who has been the head White floral designer for every president since Carter, will lecturing on A Floral History of Six First Laides.

The museum states that there will be, “a Members’ Night on Sunday, May 1; a free evening Open House on Monday, May 2; and hands-on demonstrations, lectures, master classes, and guided tours throughout the three-day festival.”

Art in Bloom, Photo Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

ART IN BLOOM HOURS & ACTIVITIES

HOURS

Art in Bloom takes place at the MFA daily from Saturday, April 30 through Monday, May 2:

Saturday: 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.

Sunday: Regular hours 10 a.m. – 4:45 p.m. with extended hours from 6-8 p.m. exclusively for

Museum Members

Monday:  Regular hours 10 a.m. – 4:45 p.m. with the addition of a free Open House from 5-9 p.m.

FAMILY DAY—Saturday, April 30, 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

Art-oriented activities for families, including chalk sidewalk drawing with Sidewalk Sam; additional special

programs are featured throughout the galleries. Children 17 and under are admitted free.

MEMBERS’ NIGHT—Sunday, May 1, 6–8 p.m.

Museum hours are extended for a special viewing of Art in Bloom for MFA members.  No tickets are

required.  To become a member, call 617.369.3395 or email membership@mfa.org.

LECTURE AND MASTER CLASS WITH NANCY CLARKE—Monday, May 2

10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.: Lecture and Floral Demonstration.  A Floral History of Six First Ladies. –

$35 –– SOLD OUT

1:30 – 3:30 p.m.: Master Class: Hands-on class to design arrangements suitable for a White House

State Dinner – $200 –– SOLD OUT

Nancy Clarke served as the chief floral designer in the White House through six presidencies and three

decades, arranging beautiful creations according to the tastes of the Presidents and First Ladies, from the

Carters to the Obamas, before recently stepping down.

Art in Bloom, Photo Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

FREE EVENING OPEN HOUSE—Monday, May 2, 5–9 p.m.

The Museum’s evening Open House is from 5 to 9 p.m., when admission is free to the public.  Visitors are

invited to enjoy a special evening viewing of the beautiful floral arrangements throughout the MFA’s

galleries.  The New American Café and the Bravo restaurant are open for dinner.  Performances include:

Second Wind (a women’s a cappella singing group)

Gian Carlo Buscaglia (Latin singer/guitarist)

Jazmen (a trio of Jazz musicians)

ELEGANT TEA––Saturday and Sunday, April 30–May 1

2 and 4 p.m.

Koch Gallery for European Masters

Tickets are $25 for adults, $10 for children. Reservations required; call 617-369-4204.

The MFA hosts an elegant Art in Bloom tea, accompanied by live music, in the dramatic Koch Gallery, hung with European masterpiece paintings.

Outdoor Walking Tour – Sunday, May 1

3-4 p.m.

Meet at the Sharf Visitor Center

Garden lovers will enjoy a new outdoor walking tour of the MFA’s tranquil Japanese Garden, the neighboring

Back Bay Fens, plus a fascinating look at the architecture and outdoor artwork of the MFA. The tour leaves

from the Sharf Visitor Center and is free with Museum admission.

DAILY, ONGOING ACTIVITIES

Saturday, April 30 through Monday, May 2

Art in Bloom at Home

11 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., FREE

Alfond Auditorium

Free flower arranging workshops are offered for visitors to learn how to design their own inspired creations.

Gallery Spotlight Tours

10 a.m. – 3 p.m. (also from 6-8 p.m. on Sunday during Members’ Night, and from 5–9 p.m. on Monday

during the Open House), FREE

Ongoing throughout the galleries

A guided look at the floral arrangements and the works of art that inspired them.

Flower Cart

1 – 4 p.m.

Huntington and Fenway Entrances

Carts offering small plants and spring flowers for sale, outside the entrances.

GIVE THE ARTS A CHANCE

A special feature of Art in Bloom is the Give the Arts a Chance benefit drawing—proceeds from which fund

programs at the Museum, such as the annual Memorial Day Open House and scholarships to students at the

School of the Museum of Fine Arts, as well as those that enhance the visitor experience.  This year’s drawing

includes the grand prize of a three-night stay at the elegant Tucker’s Point Hotel and Spa in Bermuda; dinners

for 2 at a gourmet Boston’s restaurant; Red Sox tickets; a luxury stay on Martha’s Vineyard, MA.

TICKETING AND INFORMATION

Art in Bloom is free with general admission, which includes two visits within a 10-day period:

Museum members    FREE, with a special Members-only night on Monday

Adults      $20

Seniors/Students     $18

Youths 17 and younger    FREE

(on school days until 3 p.m., $7.50)

Tickets for Art in Bloom special events are available for purchase by visiting the Museum’s website at

www.mfa.org, or by visiting or calling the MFA’s Remis Auditorium box office at (800-440-6975).  For

specific questions concerning events, as well as the purchase of lecture and master class tickets, please call

the Art in Bloom hotline at 617.369.3169.

I so wish I could be there!!!

Britt : )

Related posts:

1. For the Art and Flowers lover! Art in Bloom at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
2. Wisterias in full bloom at Longwood Gardens!
3. Fine Art Prints Available directly from Britt

Cummer Oak, Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, Jacksonville, FL. Photo © Larry Nighswander, courtesy the Cultural Landscape Foundation

2010 Landslide: Every Tree Tells a Story Done in Partnership with American Photo, The Davey Tree Expert Company, Garden Design and American Forests.

The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens famous Oak tree will be featured in a photography exhibition, on view at Aljira Center for Contemporary Art in Newark, NJ through January 8, 2011.  The exhibit features 25 photographs between 12 different locations across the United States and Puerto Rico.

According to The Cummer,

“Landslide, first issued in 2003, is TCLF’s annual compendium of significant at-risk parks, gardens, horticultural features, and working landscapes and each year is accompanied by a traveling exhibition of commissioned photography.  The 2010 Landslide: Every Tree Tells a Story (http://tclf.org/annual-spotlight/landslide-2010-every-tree-tells-story) focuses on the irreplaceable trees and tree groupings, often associated with historically important people and events that have shaped the development of communities and cultures. Russell Hart, executive editor at American Photo magazine, commissioned this year’s photography, and the November/December 2010 edition of American Photo features Landslide site images. Long time supporter Garden Design magazine returns for the 2010 Landslide, The Davey Tree Expert Company joins as Presenting Sponsor and American Forests as a sponsor.

The traveling photography exhibition features sentinel and specimen trees, allées and boulevards, urban forests, formal and vernacular— things that surround us and are living reminders of our heritage. These trees and tree groupings recall our nation’s past and have the potential to bear witness to coming generations. These natural and living features command the same awe and admiration that our culture bestows upon the arts, architecture and design. The 2010 Landslide: Every Tree Tells a Story sites are (alphabetical by location):

Aoyama Tree – Los Angeles, CA

The 60 by 70-foot Moreton Bay Fig tree (Ficus macrophylla) marks the former location of the Koyasan Daishi Mission, one of the city’s oldest and largest Buddhist temples. The tree, nearly 100 years old, stands as a living symbol of the city’s cultural and historical development of Buddhism and the Japanese American community. Photography by Robert Glenn Ketchum.

Arborland Tree Farm – Milliken, CO

This orderly forest inhabited by diverse wildlife is actually a 150-acre tree farm filled with a mixture of shade and ornamental trees and conifers. The farm’s dense canopy is an anomaly in this plains area along the South Platte River. Photography by Jay Dickman.

Tulip Poplar – Tudor Place, Washington, DC

Tudor Place, built in 1805, has a beautiful collection of specimen trees on its 5-½ acre property but there is one in particular that shines brighter than the rest.  A tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), which stands more than 80-feet tall with a diameter of 60 inches, has been present since the founding of Washington, DC as a small port city in the 18^th century. Each passing year brings another chance for danger whether it is from shifting weather patterns, changes in urban development, or from environmental effects. Photography by Amy Bedik.

Cummer Oak – Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, Jacksonville, FL

In the 1890s, when the Cummer family settled on the banks of the St. Johns River, this Live Oak tree (Quercus virginiana) was already majestic. Since that time, it has grown to 80-feet tall with a 138-foot span and has witnessed the garden’s evolution from O.C. Simonds’ picturesque 1903 gardens to the formal English and Italian gardens designed by Thomas Meehan & Sons, Ellen Shipman, and the gardens’ owner, Ninah Cummer. Photography by Larry Nighswander.

Sycamore Row – Ames, IA

Professor of Horticulture A.T. Erwin planted this linear feature of almost 50 Sycamore trees (Platanus occidentalis) in the early 1900s parallel to the Ames-to-Campus railway at Iowa State University. While the tracks for the old steam engine and electric trolley have since disappeared, the trees continue to mark the historic transportation route used by countless Midwestern pioneers. Photography by David Jordano.

Olmsted Parks and Parkways – Louisville, KY

This system consists of three flagship parks (Cherokee, Shawnee, and Iroquois) and the six parkways that connect them, all designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. and his sons. For more than three decades, the Olmsted firm shaped the city—18 parks and 14.5 miles of boulevards in all—each designed in deference to natural topographic attributes. Today some 6,000 trees from the Olmsted design era provide the city its mature tree canopy. Photography by Bob Hower.

Commonwealth Avenue Mall – Boston, MA

Initially laid out in Arthur Gilman’s 1850s plan for the Back Bay neighborhood, the original nine-block mall was begun in 1876 and completed in 1881 (with additional sections designed over subsequent decades). The original portion links the Boston Common and Public Garden to Boston’s famed Emerald Necklace and stands as a premiere example of a tree-lined avenue. Photography by James Sheldon.

Boxed Pines – Weymouth Heights, Southern Pines, NC

Hundreds of Longleaf Pine trees (Pinus palustris), scattered throughout the subdivision, are marked with carvings, known as boxes, made by former slaves and their descendants to collect sap for turpentine, pitch, and rosin. In 1904, industrialist James Boyd purchased the land and landscape architect Alfred Yeomans incorporated the old-growth trees into his design for the Weymouth Heights subdivision. Photography by Frank Hunter.

Japanese Flowering Cherry Trees – Essex County Branch Brook Park, Newark, NJ

Conceived by Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. in 1867, the 360-acre park was later redesigned by the Olmsted Brothers firm. The collection of Japanese Flowering Cherry trees (Prunus), established in 1928, numbers more than 4,000 today and rivals the more famous collection in Washington, DC’s Potomac Basin both in actual number and varieties. Photography by Yong Hee Kim.

Elms Of East Hampton – East Hampton, NY

Founded in 1648, the village of East Hampton displays one of the nation’s finest small architectural and landscape ensembles. By 1895, its American Elm trees (Ulmus americana) were noted in print and, in 1920, were made famous by a Childe Hassam painting of the village. While disease and insects have threatened the trees, nearly 150 of the specimens continue to form a high, leafy canopy over the village streets. Photography by Garie Waltzer.

Black Oak Tree – Katewood, Bratenahl, OH

Katewood, historically owned by the Holden family, today best known as the founders of the Holden Arboretum, is a Country Place era estate designed by A.D. Taylor. The Black Oak tree (Quercus velutina) that pre-dates the house stands as a rare remnant of the area’s pre-settlement era. Photography by Barbara Bosworth.

Río Piedras Ficuses – San Juan, PR

Three African Cloth-Bark trees (Ficus nekbuda) located along one of Puerto Rico’s busiest thoroughfares are approximately 50-feet tall, with a 20-foot total trunk diameter. Reminiscent of the farmsteads that once inhabited the region, their combined canopy stretches over seven lanes of highway and marks the entry point to Río Piedras and the greater and San Juan metropolitan area. Photography by Juan Pons.

“Cummer Museum visitors and Jacksonville residents have known for some time that our magnificent oak tree is really something special, but it is always wonderful to receive such recognition from outside, independent sources, said Cummer Curator Holly Keris.  “I hope this distinction will encourage others to look at the remarkable natural resources that surround us all, including other elements of The Cummer campus, and remember not to take them for granted.””

Photo Courtesy of Cummer Oak, Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, Jacksonville, FL.

Looks like a great exhibit to me!  For more information visit: http://tclf.org/annual-spotlight/landslide-2010-every-tree-tells-story)

‘Til Tomorrow…

Britt : )

Related posts:

1. The Cummer Museum’s Italian Garden.
2. The Cummer Museum of Art’s English Garden
3. Part V: The Maymont Arboretum and Tree Experience

Lost Gardens of Brandywine. Photo by Jim Schneck, Winterthur

The exhibits curator, Maggie Lidz created the exhibit after writing the book The du Ponts: Houses and Gardens in the Brandywine (Acanthus Press, 2009). “There were so many beautiful photos that I couldn’t use in the book, she explains, “I loved having the opportunity to use them here.”

Mrs. Rumford C G Lawn and Flower Beds in May 1922. Courtesy of the Hagley Museum and Library.

Winterthur adds, these extraordinary garden scenes are, “Previously unpublished,” and were, “provided by garden clubs, families of the gardeners and descendants of the original garden owners.”

Mrs. Charles l Patterson at Fairhills Farm on June 17, 1923. Courtesy of the Hagley Museum and Library

Winterthur explains, “Until now, garden clubs have seldom been given the recognition they deserve: an entire section is devoted to their contributions. E. H. Wilson, the great plant explorer, dedicated his 1926 Aristocrats of the Garden: “To the Garden Clubs, the most potent forces in garden-making in America, with homage and respect.” In the early 20th century, local clubs such as the Garden Club of Wilmington, the Arasapha Club of New Castle and the Brandywine Garden Club formed to share information about gardening. The clubs, exclusively women, were seriously concerned about botany, horticultural and environmental and conservation issues. Because of the money and other resources that these women had access to (the drivers taking them to meetings, the nannies rearing their children, the staff working in the garden), they were able to devote themselves to becoming expert horticulturists of the sort that is rare today.”

Winterthur's Sunken Garden blooming with tulips, violas and clematis May 20, 1923. Courtesy of the Hagley Museum and Library.

Patrons can experience the projection area, which Winterthur promotes as an a place where, “visitors can sit on antique garden benches and view 60 color lantern slides of gardens from the 1920s.”  They can also view the gardens from the Gardeners perspective!  Winterthur explains,

“Although (Lidz), began her research with the owners, she quickly found herself engaged with the children and grandchildren of the estate gardeners. “Interviewing them might have been the most interesting part of the last year. They had so many fascinating stories and photos to share!” During World War I, hundreds of Italian workers were brought here to work in the ramped-up gunpowder factories. In 1921, when the mills closed, a surprising number of laborers found gardening jobs on du Pont estates, ever-expanding due to new postwar wealth. Immigrants from Giusvalla, Italy formed a local community that is still closely tied to its hometown and even has its own website: http://www.giusvalla.blogspot.com.”

Photo by Jim Schneck, Winterthur

The Lost Gardens of the Brandywine Exhibition runs through July 25, 2010.  For more information visit http://www.winterthur.org/calendar/lost_gardens.asp

‘Til Tomorrow…

Britt : )

Related posts:

1. Part III: The Gardens at Winterthur!
2. Part II: Winterthur is not just a home to gardens it is also home to Art!
3. Today’s Featured Post: Part I: Yuletide trees at Winterthur

Hans Godo Frabel's Glass Art © Britt Conley

German born artist Hans Godo Frabel’s glass is on display throughout Lewis Ginter Gardens now through January 11, 2011.

Hans Godo Frabel's Glass Art © Britt Conley

The exhibit installation entitled Glorious Glass has everything from glass flowers to masks and even glass frogs.  I especially enjoyed his glass pylons which take center stage where  this stream meets a lovely pool of water.

Hans Godo Frabel's Glass Art © Britt Conley

Frabel’s glass alien looking men pop up everywhere!  Here they can be seen crossing the stream by means of a fallen tree.  Although his use of globes in his larger version of his 1979 ‘Tower of Bable’ is lovely too.  According to the garden, “The vertical rods gently move when there is a slight breeze in the air.”

Hans Godo Frabel's Glass Art © Britt Conley

Frabel’s geometric work,’Large Cube with Imploded Glass Spheres’ in the Sunken Garden is striking.  The Green Glass Globes in the center of the cube brings together the geometric elements of the garden’s space.

Hans Godo Frabel's Glass Art © Britt Conley

But not all his work is geometrically based.  Much of his glass sculptures take on the whimsical!  Below are numerous, ‘Longfellows’ crossing a stream while attempting to defy gravity.

Hans Godo Frabel's Glass Art © Britt Conley

In the Children’s area of the main conservatory you can get up close and personal with a couple of these lanky glass figures.  They are rather beautiful up close!

Hans Godo Frabel's Glass Art © Britt Conley

In the Lake by Lotus Bridge there are Ten glass clowns tooling above colored glass spheres for the entertainment of passers by.  It’s a fun use of the space.

Hans Godo Frabel's Glass Art © Britt Conley

He also employs these mischievous jesters up a spiral at the main conservatory.

Hans Godo Frabel's Glass Art © Britt Conley

A fantastic use of the spiral!  The figures journey are actioned perfectly!

Hans Godo Frabel's Glass Art © Britt Conley

Frabel’s Masks, the exhibit explains, began, “as clear tubes”, which were then, “…heated at the torch and blown to create a volume.  The volume then is cut at its long edge and folded back to form a slightly convex, flatter plane that forms the basic shape of the mask.”

Hans Godo Frabel's Glass Art © Britt Conley

The colorful glass masks were created by adding, colored glass surface highlights; to others he has applied actual gold and silver leaf.”

Hans Godo Frabel's Glass Art © Britt Conley

His joker glass figures are part of a theme titled Aces and Deuces, Jokers Wild.  They are a metaphor for, “the gambles we all have to make in our lives.”

Hans Godo Frabel's Glass Art © Britt Conley

Frabel also has an entire area in the North Wing of the Conservatory featuring his glass Botanicals!  Some of them are almost realistic, like these Pitcher Plants!

Hans Godo Frabel's Glass Art © Britt Conley

I have to admit, I find it remarkable that glass can create such lovely curves.  But it’s really all in the mastery of glass maker.  In this case Frabel has an extraordinary history with glass and is world renowned.

Sacred Lotus by Hans Godo Frabel - Glass Art © Britt Conley

Frabel’s own website explains that, “Over the years Frabel’s reputation as a master in glass art has spread worldwide beyond the glass community. Frabel art pieces can be found in public and private collections in over 80 countries worldwide. Some of the more illustrious collectors of Frabel glass art are Queen Elizabeth II, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan, current and former heads of governments such as Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Anwar Sadat as well as museums in London, Paris, Tokyo, Dresden, Valencia, Corning, San Francisco, New York and Washington D. C.”

You needn’t be famous to see his designs, just a garden wanderer at Lewis Ginter between now and January 11, 2011.  For more information visit: http://www.lewisginter.org

‘Til Tomorrow…

Britt : )

Related posts:

1. Part V: The Conservatory at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens.
2. Part I: Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens
3. The Photo Garden Bee Lifts off in a Hot air balloon over Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens.

Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? by Paul Gauguin (French, 1848–1903), 1897–98. Oil on canvas. Art in Bloom 2008, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Tompkins Collection—Arthur Gordon Tompkins. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

The Museum of Fine Art, Boston’s Art in Bloom is floral extravaganza featuring the work of fifty garden clubs from New England and professional designers who collaborated to merge the museum’s art with florals in a beautiful grand way.

Eleanor by Frank Weston Benson (American, 1862–1951)1907. Oil on canvas. Art in Bloom 2008, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The Hayden Collection—Charles Henry Hayden Fund. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Each of the floral displays were created to interpret specific works of art from the Museum’s collection.  The museum boasts that, “Among the 50 works of art that will be interpreted in flowers are masterpieces that span the ages, from ancient Egyptian sculptures and Impressionist works by Millet and Monet, to 20th-century photographs by Harry Callahan and a mural by contemporary artist Kara Walker.”

Seated bodhisattva, Chinese, Eastern Wei dynasty, about A.D. 530. Carved limestone. Art in Bloom 2008, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gift of Denman Waldo Ross in memory of Okakura Kakuzo. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

The MFA, Boston has been celebrating Art in Bloom for 34 years.  Over the next few days more than 20,000 vistors will attend this fantastic event.  In addition to the flowers and art there are ”hands-on demonstrations, lectures, master classes, guided tours” throughout the weekend as well as a free open house on Monday April 26th!

The event’s activities include:

DAILY PROGRAMS—Saturday through Monday, April 24–26, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Art in Bloom at Home: Flower arranging workshops are offered in the Sharf Visitor Center for visitors interested in learning how to create their own inspired arrangements.
Free Guided Tours: An in-depth look at the floral arrangements and the works of art that
inspired them is presented during these continuous tours from 11 a.m.–3 p.m., leaving from the Sharf Visitor Center, and Monday evening from 5–8 p.m. during the Open House.
Garden Gallery: Exclusive Art in Bloom products, as well as fine crafts and artwork by New England artists, are available for purchase in the Linde Family Wing.

Saturday:
FAMILY DAY—Saturday, April 24, 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
Nature-oriented activities for families, art-making projects that include chalk sidewalk drawing with Sidewalk Sam, and additional special tours and programs are featured throughout the galleries. Children 17 and under are admitted free.

Sunday:
April 25— Els Teunissen Floral Demonstration
10:30 a.m.–noon: Flowers in our Life lecture
1:30–3:30 p.m.: Hands-on Instruction with Els Teunissen maste

MEMBERS’ NIGHT—Sunday, April 25, 6–8 p.m.
Museum hours are extended for a special viewing of Art in Bloom for MFA members. No tickets are required. To become a member, call 617.369.3395 or email membership@mfa.org.

Monday:
Monday, April 26— Olivier Giugni Floral Demonstration
10:30 a.m.–noon: Art as Inspiration lecture
1:30–3:30 p.m.: Hands-on Instruction with Olivier Giugni master class

FREE EVENING OPEN HOUSE—Monday, April 26, 5–9 p.m.
The Museum’s evening Open House is from 5 to 9 p.m. on Monday, April 26, when admission is free to the public. Visitors are invited to enjoy a special evening viewing of the beautiful floral
arrangements throughout the Museum’s galleries. Bravo restaurant and the Galleria café are open for dinner.

Performances include:
• The Voices of the Renaissance (children from the Renaissance Charter School, Boston)
• Second Wind (an a cappella singing group featuring Peggy Ford)
• Gian Carlo Buscaglia (Latin singer/guitarist)
• The Mather House String Quartet (featuring Jenna White, Elena Helman, Bill Reus, and Heather Hawkes from Harvard University)

Lake George by Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819–1904), 1862. Oil on canvas. Art in Bloom 2008, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Bequest of Maxim Karolik. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

During Art in Bloom, the MFA is open daily (Saturday through Monday, April 24 – 26) from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., with the addition of a special free evening Open House on Monday, from 5 to 9 p.m.

Bodhisattva on a lotus throne. Chinese, Tang dynasty, second quarter of the 8th century A.D. White marble, originally polychromed and gilt. Art in Bloom 2008, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Japanese Special Fund. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

TICKETING AND INFORMATION
Art in Bloom is free with general admission, which includes two visits within a 10-day period:
Museum members FREE
Adults $20
Seniors/Students $18
Youths 17 and younger FREE
(on school days until 3 p.m., $7.50)

Tickets for Art in Bloom special events are available for purchase by visiting the Museum’s website at www.mfa.org, or by visiting or calling the MFA’s Remis Auditorium box office at (617.369.3306). For specific questions concerning events, as well as the purchase of master class tickets, please call the Art in Bloom hotline at 617.369.3169.

I would LOVE to go to this event!  It look fantastic!  If  you in or near Boston head over to Art in Bloom.  for further information please visit The Museum of Fine Art, Boston.

‘Til Tomorrow…

Britt : )

Related posts:

1. 35TH ANNUAL ART IN BLOOM at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston
2. Fine Art Prints Available directly from Britt
3. Botanical art from the 1500′s on view at The Cummer Museum and Gardens through January 10, 2010.

Right by the main entrance of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden near the hibiscus collection can be found these bright, wonderfully large cast gourd creations of Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama. According to Fairchild, Kusama is known as, “one of the world’s leading artists and a living legend of the international art avant-garde. Flamboyant yet profound, her oeuvre encompasses unique masterpieces in painting, sculpture, and installation, as well as mass production and popular culture.”  The spots on the pumpkins are a signature element of the artist’s style that can be seen in her other works as well.

In the center of Pandanus Lake, Kusama has installed these great, gently, gliding works that are frankly delightful. The look like enormous lady bugs. They draw visitors straight to the water where the view of the palms are incredible.  The impact of the reds, greens and blues just knocked my socks off.

The work, titled Guideposts to the New Space, consists of Ten fiberglass-reinforced plastic, metal and all-weather urethane paint also features Kusams’s Polkadot signature stylings.  The works bobble with the breeze and travel across the water with the wind.  Apparently the wildlife enjoys then as well.  This bird decided to hitch a ride on this one.

Another installation by Kusama is Flowers that Bloom at Midnight, which includes bright, colorful, cast flowers.  These  sculptures are fun and tantalizing.  During the short time I was at the Fairchild, there were kids wanting to climb all over them, adults gathering together to get their pictures taken with the giant 16-foot-tall flower while others were just taking in the view.  A hit by any standard!  The juxtaposition of the bright colors and the lush greens really are spectacular.  “Yayoi Kusama at Fairchild” runs from December 5 through May 30, 2010.

Kusams's Flowers that Bloom at Midnight © Britt Conley

Kusama is not the only artist on display here.  There are numerous others.  Sculptor Mark di Suvero created the work, Rust Angel, (below), in 1995.  The huge work measures 8’11″ x 14′ x 7’8″ and is made from a single sheet of cold bent steel which was cut, reassembled and painted red.

Rust Angel by Mark di Suvero © Britt Conley

There are also works from famed glass artist Dale Chihuly.  Chihuly’s innovative blown glass creations can be seen in museums and gardens across the country.  His works require a team of helpers to assemble the multitude of parts for a single complex work.  He has numerous works here at Fairchild.  This particular fanciful piece, End of the Day Tower was created in 2005 and currently resides in the conservatory.  Chihuly has many other works though out the Garden and finding them as you explore is a delight.

Dale Chihuly's End of Days Tower © Britt Conley

The Fairchild proudly proclaims it began to incorporate art within its garden in 2003, “with Patricia Van Dalen’s Luminous Gardens, followed by Dale Chihuly in 2005. Since then, Fairchild’s art program has gone on to exhibit such influential artists as Fernando Botero, Roy Lichtenstein, Franz West, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Michele Oka Doner, Mark Dion, Joshua Levin and Francois-Xavier Lalanne.”  From what I’ve seen, art and Fairchild are a great mix.  The tropical setting makes a lush backdrop for the zany and the spectacular.  It’s an ideal setting to see these sculptures.

I hope you get a chance to visit Coral Gables in Miami and the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.  It was one of the highlights of December’s first ever Photo Garden Bee Tour and there’s more to come!

For more information visit  http://www.fairchildgarden.org

‘Til Tomorrow…

Britt : )

Related posts:

1. Escape to Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden!
2. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden hosts a large, arid garden with plants from around the World!
3. At Denver Botanic Gardens it’s all about ambiance

Photo courtesy of Friends of the Topiary Park

There are few places where Gardens and Art truly become one. The Topiary Park in Columbus, Ohio, is one of them, if not the only one. Within this masterpiece of convergence, garden and art lovers can insert themselves in George Seurat’s famous neo-impressionist painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grande Jatte.

Visitors can see the whole painting from this viewing location and even pick up a copy of a self guided walking tour before hand. I absoultely love this work. Photo courtesy of Friends of the Topiary Park

The garden’s creator and sculptor James T. Mason began assembling the bronze internal infrastructures for this topiary delight in the late ’80s. Although the final topiary structural frames were finally placed by 1992, The Topiary Park site explains, the yew trees are still being coaxed toward toward their final potential.

Photo courtesy of Friends of the Topiary Park

According to Friends of the Topiary Garden, this incredible work of garden art began in 1989 with the installation of the pond to represent the River Seine and the creation of the frames which include 54 afternoon strollers, eight boats upon the pond, three dogs, the Capuchin monkey and the cat.

Photo courtesy of Friends of the Topiary Park

The Friends of the Topiary Park write:

“Though the Topiary Park that we know today was dedicated in 1992, the seven-acre park’s history goes back much further. The topiaries are nestled within what was historically called Old Deaf School Park, which has a past spanning back to the early 19th century. The popularity of the topiaries and their attraction to tourists has led the park to become popularly known as the Topiary Park. However, when you look at the park’s roots you find the history of the Ohio School for the Deaf, the inspiring story of James and Elaine Mason who first dreamed of a topiary garden and, of course, you see the muse: Georges Seurat’s famous painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grand Jatte.”

Photo courtesy of Friends of the Topiary Park

The origianl painting by George Seurat measures nearly ten feet across. It was painstakingly created with thousands of individual lttle oblong, dot-like strokes of isolated colors. The technique became known as pointalism, a common term for the divisional technique that utilizes the abiltiy of the eye to mix isolated colors at a distance. It seems fitting that the topiary work is also made of thousands of little patterned leaves as well. Each leaf is like a nod to one of Seurat’s carefully placed strokes.

Georges Seurat (French, 1859-1891) A Sunday on La Grande Jatte -- 1884, 1884-86 Oil on canvas, 81 3/4 x 121 1/4 in. (207.5 x 308.1 cm) Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection, 1926.224 Gallery 240 Photo coutesy The Art Institute of Chicago

The painting  and this lovingly interpreted topiary set the scene of a Sunday in the park complete with afternoon of families, couples and animals enjoying a relaxing late afternoon by the river. The painting shows combinations of cultures and classes here as well. An upper class man complete with a top hat sits near a woman and an oarsman. The men gaze out upon the river Seine.  A fashionable Caphuchin Monkey on a leash is seen on the right.  There are mothers with children, courtesans and even a horn player.  Despite the sheer variety of visitors, they all seem rightfully in their Sunday afternoon place.  I have always enjoyed this work and look forward to seeing its topiary compliment. I must thank The Art Istitute of Chicago for allowing me to show the original work here.

Photo courtesy of Friends of the Topiary Park

The Friends of the Topiary Park was created in 1991 to maintain the garden.   They write that they are, “a nonprofit organization dedicated to the support and promotion of the Topiary Park”, who, “organize all fundraising and volunteer efforts for garden upkeep, general administrative duties, running the Visitors’ Center and providing docent-led tours. The Friends have also been instrumental in raising funds to maintain and develop the park’s resources.”

The Topiary Park in Columbus, Ohio is open from sunrise to sunset.  Visit http://www.topiarygarden.org/ for more information and opportunities to support their terrific work.

I am planning to visit and photograph this garden this Summer.  As always, if you know of any other garden gems, please visit The Bee’s Suggest a Garden page or pop me an e-mail.

‘Til Tomorrow…

Britt

Related posts:

1. Let the fun begin at Green Animals Topiary Garden!
2. The Topiary Garden at Longwood Gardens
3. President Lincoln’s Heirloom Garden

Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues (French, c. 1533 – 1588), Apple, c. 1580, watercolor and gouache on paper prepared as vellum, From the collection of Arader Galleries

In 1564 the Frenchman Jacques Le Moyne boarded a ship and took the long difficult journey to a new land full of spectacular new flora and fauna. That new land was America and these drawings are the earliest look at our naturally growing botanicals. Le Moyne, “the pre-eminent botanical artists of his time” explains Cummer Curator Holly Keris, “was the official cartographer and artist of the French expedition to establish a Huguenot colony at Fort Caroline in 1564. After the settlement failed, Le Moyne became a botanical artist, painting flowers and leaves with butterflies and other insects, and fruits and nuts Botanical Watercolors by Jacques Le Moyne, features 61 watercolor and gouache botanical paintings by Le Moyne, on loan from the Arader Gallery in New York.”

Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues (French, c. 1533 – 1588), Dragon Arum and Tortoiseshell Butterfly, c. 1580, watercolor and gouache on paper prepared as vellum, From the collection of Arader Galleries.

Keris adds, “It is incredible to think that Le Moyne, the first European artist to set foot in the new world, spent a year in what would become Jacksonville, on the banks of our St. Johns River, documenting the native people of our area and chronicling an important chapter in our area’s history.”

Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues (French, c. 1533 – 1588), German Iris and Insect, c. 1580, watercolor and gouache on paper prepared as vellum, From the collection of Arader Galleries.

“It is incredible to think” Keris continues, “that Le Moyne, the first European artist to set foot in the new world, spent a year in what would become Jacksonville, on the banks of our St. Johns River, documenting the native people of our area and chronicling an important chapter in our area’s history.”

Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues (French, c. 1533 – 1588), Species Rose with Snail, c. 1580, watercolor and gouache on paper prepared as vellum, From the collection of Arader Galleries.

During his time in Florida, it was Le Moyne’s job to document not only the flora and fauna but also the local indian tribe, the Timucua. Unfortunately the Spanish arrived and attacked fort Caroline in which they were living.  Le Moyne could not get to his drawings documenting the tribe and as The Cummer details, “Le Moyne and a handful of ohers were forced to return to France.” where the artist, “would recreate these scenes at the end of his life.  A Flemish publisher, Theordor de Bry, and his two sons used Le Moyne’s watercolors as inspiration for the illustrations in their picture book, A Brief History of Those Things which Befell the French in Florida, which they published in 1591.”

Theodor de Bry (Flemish, 1528 - 1598), Plan of Fort Caroline from Grands Voyages, vol. 2, plate X, 1591, engraving on paper.

It is these pages that are also on exhibit here at The Cummer and their detail and stories cover everything about the Timucua including the ever fascinating culture and the grotesque methods by which they fought and killed.  It was a lesson in cultural history that bowled me over.  The illustrations are full of details that garner a lenghty visit.

Susan Davenport Ober, Squash blossom series – No. 1, 2009, oil on linen, 20 x 20 in., Courtesy of the Artist.

Lastly I took a look at the work of Susan Davenport, a botanical painter who is also on view in the exhibition, Artist Response: Botanical.  According to The Cummer, this exhibition, “explores the relationship between Le Moyne’s works and contemporary art. Jacksonville artists…”   I love her work. Using colors in light as a vehicle for lumiosity is always lovely.  I’ve never seen it used like this and it’s powerful.

There is also one other exhibit : “New View: Botanicals. The exhibition features work by students from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts who used their newly xeriscaped garden to create drawings inspired by the tradition of Le Moyne’s botanical watercolors. The New View program is a partnership with the Visual Arts department at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. This partnership, which began in 2005, allows students to study in-depth one work of art at The Cummer and reinterpret it through a variety of media.”  The Cummer illertates.

If you anywhere near Jacksonville, Florida stop by The Cummer.  The exhibits ends this weekend on the 10th!  For more information visit http://www.cummer.org/art_gardens/exhibitions/exhibitions.cfm And don’t forget to see their gardens!

This Bee started a bit late today but is moving on straight to tomorrow’s post!  In the mean time If you know of any great Garden or Art Buzz related to florals, feel free to write me!  And there is always my “Suggest a Garden” page.  I would love to hear from more you about your favorite gardens and interests.

‘Til Tomrrow…

Britt : )

Related posts:

1. The Cummer Museum of Art’s English Garden
2. The Cummer Museum’s Italian Garden.
3. Garden Buzz! Volunteer Recruitment Open House at Filoli 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 16, 2010

For those who are not American Art History Buffs, here is a small primer. This 150 year time span covering these paintings gives us an extraordinary look into our history and culture of the era that built this Nation. Early American portraits from the 1600′s were mostly known for their “Folk Art” nature. The artisans of this era generally had little formal training and were working learning from memory or prints of pictures from Europe. Although these works may seem stark in their strength and delineations of space, they are incredible in style, color and iconographic portrait style. As time went on we came into our own in the art of portrait painting and this exhibit illustrates some of the best examples from that time frame.

Having taken some classes in American Art History over the years I immediately knew this was a show of shows. Also, what many of you may not know is that I also am a portrait painter and always up to enjoy a great exhibit of paintings. To walk these walls and look at the various techniques and coloring was a highlight indeed! Of the works these are just some of my top pics.

Euphemia White Van Rensselaer. George P. A. Healy, 1842, oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Cornelia Cruger, 1923 (23.102) Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In 1842, Boston born portraitist, George P. A. Healy, painted this commissioned portrait of Euphemia White Van Rensselaer. Euphemia was a recent New York heiress on vacation in Paris when she sat for Healy. What makes this portrait amazing is the subtle handling and luminous quality of the paint. The grays within the entire paint structure provide a soft daylight that glows of the canvas beneath. Her eyes and hair are warmed by brown tones that perfectly offset the orange-rose glow of the cheeks and lips. The Yellow bonnet is strong and textural. The outer side mimics a buttery yellow silk, while the inside which frames her face is bold golden yellow. The hat, features both a delicate flower lace head wrap under the bonnet and a dramatic plume of feathers off the top of the bonnet.

Although, the overall black look of her dress seems Puritan in its styling, the bonnet and the lovely viridian green ribbon that accompanies Euphemia’s black shawl are bold and exciting and quite cosmopolitan. She looks us straight in the eye with a demure and honest glance. Healy began this canvas with a wispy hint of the sky and landscape and then built up heavier brush strokes and paint layers to create the 3-dimensionality of Miss White Van Rensselaer before delicately blending the facial areas to give a porcelain focal point to the entire piece. The draftsmanship alone was worth every hour of drive up here.

George Washington. Gilbert Stuart, begun 1795, oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1907 (07.160) Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Another great work is by our well known Gilbert Stuart, known mostly for his paintings of George Washington. This particular work was created in 1795. Stuart works Washington’s face predominantly with pinks and whites with grey and bluish mid-tones for the transitional areas, (where the plane of the facial area changes direction). He too uses a wispy cursory approach to laying down the background and hair, while the face is more detailed with layers of paint. The shadow-work under Washington’s chin is what makes him real and appear to sit in the space. It would be fascinating to line up all 18 works of Washington and see the progression in style and paint handling over time.

Susan Walker Morse (The Muse), Samuel F. B. Morse, ca. 1836–37, oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Herbert L. Pratt, 1945 (45.62.1) Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

This painting of Susan Walker Morse, by her father Samuel F.B. Morse is a compositional stunner. Here Susan sits with a large drawing pad and pencil considering what draw. Her incredible yellow-ochre taffeta gown is topped with a delicately patterned linen lace and belted by a wide patterned silk belt with a bold black buckle. The sleeves are fantastic and the Vermillion colored chaise lounge is pictured here as though on a terrace in Europe overlooking the countryside at sunset.. Things I love about this work include the overall composition, color and lovely handling of the reddish-brown hair, complete with a detailed curl at the nape of her neck. The fringe of the chaise lounge and the lovely soft handing of the paper drawing pad are my highlights. Also just to her right is a ribbon with a hanger top. I wonder if the art pad was hung vertically by the ribbon being slipped between the pages? I am sure an expert would know.

Michael Angelo and Emma Clara Peale. Rembrandt Peale, ca. 1826, oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Dodge Fund, Dale T. Johnson Fund, and The Douglass Foundation, The Overbrook Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Max N. Berry, Barbara G. Fleischman, Mrs. Daniel Fraad, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Lunder, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Martucci, and Erving and Joyce Wolf Gifts, 2000 (2000.151) Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Lastly there is this wonderful portrait of by Rembrant Peale from 1826 of his children Michael Angelo and Emma Clara, who were the youngest of nine. The faces of these two warmly glow as if from candle light against the cooler toned blueish and green background. Peale was an American Neoclassicist and avid student of the European masters. He brought many of their varying techniques into his own painting process. Peale liked to work with a realistic style and with trompe-l’oeil which often made his works have a familiarity that seems almost photographic in some areas and yet painterly in others. This combined with his use of black as a graphically delineating element make this work stark within the transitional areas between the well lit and porcelain faces and the darker edges of the hair and skin. The turning of the heads gives the viewer a comfortable glance inside the world of the two sitters simply sitting for a portrait in the familiarity of the their father’s studio. Rembrandt Peals was the son of the famous painter Charles Wilson Peale. His wife Harriet Cany Peale was also a painter.

If you head to Winterthur after the gardens have gone for the season there is still plenty to do! The Art Gallery at Winterthur is home to exhibitions throughout the year. The next amazing exhibit on tap is right up our alley: the Lost Garden’s of the Brandywine Valley. It’s on view from March 27th- July 26th, 2010 and includes, Winterthur states, “rare early color images and garden ornaments, (that), explore the private, historic gardens of the Brandywine Valley-hidden gems of fleeting beauty, many of which have been lost to time.” This looks like an upcoming feature for this Bee! For more information on the exhibitions at Winterthur visit www.winterthur.org

As for me, I am about to make a nice hot cup of Harrod’s London Earl Grey tea and plan my next garden visit. As for the Photo Garden Bee, were spending tomorrow looking at the amazing gardens at Winterthur! They are lovely and worth an arm chair visit and a real one as soon as the flowers come back!

‘Til Tomorrow…

Britt : )

Related posts:

1. The Lost Gardens of the Brandywine at Winterthur Museum and Gardens through July 25!
2. The Quarry Garden at Winterthur
3. Part V: The Famous Winterthur Store!