Apr 2020

Into the Mystery - A Garden Installation during Covid-19

 

“Art is a wound turned into light.” ~ Georges Braque

We are living inside mysterious & unprecedented times.

And so, it seems fitting that we should move into the Mystery, and see what forms of Expression & Beauty want to come forth at this time.

We want to invite you to participate, as we shelter safely in place, in a Community Garden Art Installation Project happening right now at the Fellowship.

Each person or family is invited to devise, build, write, or ???? an object to be temporarily installed beside the walk in the Memorial Garden. All are invited to come, on their own time, to come peruse this work as it grows & evolves.

Please, label your work in letters large enough to be seen without lifting it & it should be waterproofed, so as to stay intact out in the elements.

Your items can be as simple as a bouquet of flowers or an elaborate sculpture, a favorite saying or an altar.  Just have it in good taste.  It can challenge, provoke reflection or cause a chuckle.  Just let your creativity guide you.

In addition to beautiful sculptures, statuary, and messages of hope strung through the trees, there is a lovely Permaculture Garden installation recently put in by Richard Taylor.  From Richard:

“When I was a kid growing up in war time England, my parents, like many other families, learned to grow much of our fruits and vegetables, and continued to do so long after rationing ended. There are similarities between the situation in 1940s England and our current predicament, and people are, once again, interested in learning how to grow their own food. So, I started this garden to share with you all.

I will be coming to the Fellowship every Sunday at 1:00, to tend the garden and harvest vegetables. What I harvest, I’ll leave in a cooler near the Unitarian entrance and this will be available on a first come, first served basis. I also invite you to study the design and build one like it yourself, at home. If you have questions about how to build a raised bed and grow food in it, please let me know.”

If you wish to participate & add to the multidimensional beauty unfolding on our grounds, please:

Email Berti Welty that you wish to participate.

• Brainstorm different ideas and start making your installation in the safety of your own home.
• On April 5th or later, take your completed installation to the Fellowship and place it in a flagged site.  Leave the flag there.   NOTE: More flags will be added by Berti as required.
• Email Berti and let her know that you have placed your creation and give her the flag number, title of your installation and the names of persons or families creating same. NOTE: If you wish to remain anonymous Berti will keep your secret, and she has to know who belongs to which.
• Enjoy walking the grounds

Requirements for your installation:

• Each installation must be placed on a flagged and numbered site.
• Most installations should be able to fit on an empty space of grass within a 3 x 3 area.
• No planting of plants or putting anything permanent in the ground.
• You may provide your own stand for your creations.
• It should be able to withstand wind and rain.
• It needs to be able to be observed without being touched in any manner, including no ‘take an object’.
• All writing needs to be easily read and waterproof. [large and in zip locs].

NOTE: Installations needing more than an empty piece of grass of up to 3’ by 3’ need prior approval of both Valerie and Berti – this includes large pieces and attaching steamers to existing trees, etc.

Humboldt Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Bayside CA