Just 15 miles from downtown is one of the city’s best-kept hidden gems. The Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens, started in 1919 as station for introducing plants from Asia to coastal Georgia, now shines as family-friendly destination replete with artful curations of exotic and native species.
This Saturday, twelve local artists revel in the beauty of the gardens, their work showcased in Gate & Garden, a fundraiser show at Location Gallery in Savannah.
A portion of the proceeds goes to Friends of the Coastal Gardens, the nonprofit directly raising money for the botanical gardens.
Peter Roberts, manager at Location Gallery, is no stranger to fundraising, nonprofits, art, and artists. An accomplished visual artist himself, when Roberts went to lunch with local realtor and art enthusiast, Austin Hill, to discuss potential business partnerships, he knew they had a solid idea worth exploring.
At that meeting the men hit upon a partnership in which art and nonprofit fundraising would benefit all parties involved.
“We came up with cooperatively using his real estate office as an art gallery,” recalled Roberts. “And in so doing creating a structure so that all involved would be compensated. Each artist receives 50% for what they sell. The nonprofit receives at least 30% of total sales, and we at the gallery get between 15% and 20% to cover basic overhead costs.”
That creative partnership has been in place and directly benefitting different Savannah nonprofits every month for the past five years.
Pat Hackney, who founded of Friends of the Coastal Gardens in 1995, sees the show as one more opportunity to reach and educate people.
“We are 51 acres where children, adults, and visitors can see historical plants from all over the world. We are home to one very special tree in particular. Its common name is Lord’s Holly, and it was grown 80 years ago from a seed from China. We are thrilled to share who we are and our special plant collections with new visitors.”
For the show, Roberts and Hackney invited each artist to visit the botanical gardens and create work inspired by their visit. Among the artists participating are: Jamie Azevedo, Laurie Darby, Antoine deVilliers, Joy Dunigan, Tate Ellington, Calli Laundré, Bellamy Murphy, Dana Richardson, Katherine Sandoz, Sarah Volker, Lisa D. Watson and Heather Young.
Laurie Darby, a print maker who focuses mostly on flowers and plants, was excited to be invited and happy to know the gardens were still part of the community.
“I go from arboretum to arboretum for studies in my work,” explained Darby. “I was surprised to know the Coastal Botanical Gardens still existed. My husband and I took an entire day in early spring to explore it, and it was refreshing. So much of my work is flower-based, visiting the gardens really renewed my enthusiasm for my subject matter.”
Darby heads up her own printmaking studio, Cobblestone Printing, which serves as a working nexus for local printmakers both seasoned and new. Created in her studio, Darby has a few pieces in the show. “Yesterday’s Magnolias” is a brown-toned monochrome reduction print. Each color space is carved and printed separately, with each pass a range of color from light to dark.
Lisa Watson’s work also focuses on plants and flowers, and like Darby, she was happy to get Robert’s invite, happier still to tour and explore the gardens. A painter and garden designer, Watson saw the experience as an opportunity to highlight the importance of native plants in the South East.
“I chose the Rivers of Iris garden for inspiration,” said Watson. “These iris species are native and are best suited for our area. Their root systems are adapted to absorbing and draining water, and they’re adapted to withstanding heat and high humidity.”
Watson, a conservationist who’s also working with Georgia Department of Natural Resources to document endangered plants, is a proponent for using native plants in local landscaping. She often uses repurposed materials in her work.
One of Watson’s pieces, “Louisiana Iris,” bears testament to her commitment to conservation. Painted in acrylics on rice paper collaged onto a block of repurposed wood, the work features an iris native to the South Eastern U.S.
“We are truly blessed here in Savannah,” mused Roberts. “We are surrounded by incredible beauty and so many who believe in and want to give back to this community. Savannah is sort of the Santa Fe of the South East, just nobody knows it yet. But they will. They will!”
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah artists bloom in new Location Gallery show benefitting the Friends of the Coastal Gardens
The Latest
Featured
