My idea of the garden I wanted to create around my new home when I bought it in 1989, was a place to immerse myself, not a garden to be admired while sitting on the deck. I had no particular plan that I imagined. Instead, I let the woodland speak to me.
This woodland was filled with poison ivy, invasive vines, thorns and many broken branches and limbs when it called to me. Together for over three decades, it and I have worked to create a woodland garden for meditation. This is the journey.
So I’m standing in my studio basking in the golden warmth of just having completed my one month Solo Exhibition which filled three rooms in an historic mansion at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum. I’d worked for years creating new work for this prestigious opportunity. And now the show was over, the work still owned by me was taken down from the walls, packaged protectively and transported to my home studio. I looked around me surrounded by all this new artwork. I remembered the journey of discovery as so many new ideas had begun to seep into my new work over time.
As I stood there looking around me with contentment at these 40 new artworks, a cold wave of concern trickled into my mind. Where would I put all my art? I’m a minimalist by nature. I can’t stand clutter and now every surface in my two room studio is covered with piles of work. Canvases are stacked, leaning against the walls. All the walls in my studio and home are already full. A sense of claustrophobia was rapidly taking hold. The warm glow I’d been feeling turned a cold blue.
I needed to immediately take action.
Are bringing a Seasonal Focus to the concept for this in-person exhibition.
Enjoy the buoyant color and interpretation of the season by a variety of Fine Artists.
There is a sense of joy, excitement, and awe when nature or human relations are nurtured through caring and kindness to allow everything to flourish and grow. This theme reflects the focus of both of these historic organizations. The National Association of Women Artists, as the first women’s fine arts organization established in the US, has been helping women artists grow by empowering them to expand their vision. This theme of growth also serves as the guiding force behind the efforts of the Flushing Bank in support of the needs of its customers. There is a synergy in these efforts.
Petersen’s Garden. 24×36″ Embellished Giclée on Canvas
Overwintering My Summer Tropical Garden is now posted on my garden blog.
I wrote about how I converted my darkroom into a plant room with sinks, counters and LED lighting.. I show a four month sequence of photos from my plant room to the deck where the plants spend their summer vacation.
Read about how I overwinter my tropical garden on my Garden Blog Here.
At this year’s Big Picture Exhibition, six Signature Members of the National Association of Women Artists were juried into the show. This is an incredible achievement since 94 artists submitted 214 images, out of which 36 works were selected to be exhibited by Juror, Simon Levenson. This is yet one more indication of the quality of the NAWA Signature members.
NAWA Signature Members at the ALLI Big Picture Show l-r: Karen Kirshner, Eileen Shaloum, Mary Ahern, Susan Rostan, Pam Waldroup and Constance Sloggatt Wolf.