Sunday 12 September 2010

Art in the Garden

My good friend Sally is one of nine artists in residence at the Luton Hoo Walled garden and an exhibition had been arranged for this weekend to coincide Heritage Open days and Hertfordshire Open Studio month. I took my camera and managed to catch a few moments.


The volunteer gardeners have made a wonderful job and have re-planted a section of the garden.

The artists have all created pieces connected with the history of the garden.


This piece by Abi Spendlove is about the roots put down by Lord Bute, the garden's founder, in the course of his life.  Each piece was connected with a different location.


More delicate roots in the vinery.



This installation piece by May Down was a recording  and included interviews with Land Army girls who worked on the estate during WW2. I would have loved to have had a rummage in the suitcase which was full of vintage items including the corsets.



This was Sally's installation. She was inspired by seeing large chrysalises while visiting London zoo. She has used monoprints of plants and planting lists from the garden's archive to make a set of cocoon shapes from silk and wax suspended  on cottons along one of the glasshouses. Sally's inspiration is the transient traces left over the generations within the garden. 




These carnations below were created by Suzanne Page, they made from copies of letters written by Lord Bute.





This is an installation by ceramic artist Nici Ruggiero


I thought you'd enjoy these details.




Finally I spotted these rather splendid  cuckoo pint/lords and ladies/Arum maculatum lily stems which were glowing in the shadows.





Thank you for all of your good wishes for my Etsy shop. Now I've got that sorted I feel I can get back to creating - more later.
Have a good week, 
Jill

10 comments:

Emma said...

Well, I never thought Sachys had such a variety of uses & I could just use a frog spawn eye wash! Fabulous pieces of work, all of them.

Coincidence that I've just now mentioned a bodice on my post!

menopausalmusing said...

I just HAD to click on those carnations.... how beautiful. Loved the ceramics too, particularly the way that the script stretches over the "tummies" of the bottles............ what a great exhibition!

Leenie said...

Unique and imaginative pieces. Gardening can be inspiring in so many ways.

LAC EMP 2020 said...

What a great exhibition Jill. Love the idea of the monoprints and cocoons etc. I am always intrigued by the way differing artists interpret access to the same information. Hadn't realised Luton Hoo was the seat of Lord Bute. Is that the same Lord Bute of Castell Coch fame? I must find out! Lesley x

Marigold Jam said...

What clever and inspired art work. Not sure I'd go for the eye wash though! I thought Lesley would like those cocoons and thought of her when I saw them before I noticed she'sd commented! Fascinating stuff. Glad the Etsy shop is up and running now and look forward to seeing more of your own creative artwork.

Jane

Jee said...

Some lovely things going on there. I love the carnations - would that be the same Lord Bute who was involved in Cardiff Castle and Castle Coch in Cardiff?

Jill said...

More into. This was the 3rd Lord of Bute (1713-1792) was the first Scottish prime-minister but was more interested in plants than politics. He was a founder of Kew gardens and a great plant collector.

Heloise said...

What a fascinating exhibition. I imagine that you found there was lots to think about having viewed the intriguing work.

sea-blue-sky & abstracts said...

Congrats on setting up your Etsy shop Jill and thanks for sharing these lovely photos, especially the last, of the richly coloured fruit and dark, glossy leaves of the cuckoo pint. Best wishes, Lesley

Rita said...

Thanks for taking us along! Really interesting stuff. :)