Guest House Scarecrows: Mary Cour Burrows Seed Packet Paintings: DaKoda Davis Decomposition Maze Recycled Bugs: Tim Pace Pill Bugs: Bernhard Meck Picnic Grove Tables: Scott Banbury Playhouse Lane Country House: NJ Woods House of Rock: Tootsie Bell Finders Keepers: Mary Jo Karimnia Pixie Sticks: Mary Cour Burrows Art Guide to Backyard Bluff Marimbas: Being Art (Sean Murphy & Anne Froning Wike) Giant Earthworms: Bernhard Meck Original Works of Art that Bring our Children’s Garden to Life! Your donations support educational programming for My Big Backyard Children’s Garden. Home Sweet Home Green Couch: Paul Little Melody the Mockingbird: Tim Kinard Welcome Wildlife Butterfly Patio: Kristie Duckworth Flower Models: Elisha Gold Chrysalis Swing: Bill Price Birdbath: John Wright Hall & Brad Arnold Pollination Pass Stained Glass Insects: Suzy Hendrix Raindrop Stop/ Critter Creek Critters: Larry Lugar The Crawdad play boat: Karl Weinert Make a secure donation online at Nature Play Scott Banbury memphisbotanicgarden.com Or call 901.636.4100 Treetop Adventure Birdhouses: John Wright Hall & Brad Arnold, Mary Jo Karimnia, Deidra Daw, Lily Bix Daw, Mary Cour Burrows, Carol DeForest, Chris & Mary Claire White Backyard Birds: DaKoda Davis Birds Nest: Terance Brown Seedling Circle Rainbow Mosaic: Kristie Duckworth Dog: Tim Kinard Memphis Botanic Garden 750 Cherry Road, Memphis, TN 38117 Artist Profiles Artist: Bernhard Meck Creation: Earthworms & Pill bugs Bernhard is an environmental sculptor, who created "Monster Worms at Work" and "Small, But BIG In Their Own World" (pill bugs) utilizing steel frames and solid concrete cores, recycled concrete, and combinations of sand, cement, and color pigments for the surface to simulate organic or inorganic textures. Many lowly creatures, such as pill bugs and worms, live in a world that we ignore. However, their importance to the natural world is much greater than we realize. A child impressed by gigantic representations may be startled enough to listen to the story of what makes these creatures so important. Artist: Carol De Forest Creation: Birdhouse What is trash? According to Carol, it depends on the eye of the beholder! Her hope is that children learn to treasure transformation, changing trash into art by using imagination and a discerning eye. She considers Memphis Botanic Garden a local treasure, so she created a design that would be playful, yet provide interactive learning as part of the character of the artwork. Artist: Chris & Mary Claire White Creation: Bird Burbs Chris, a carpenter by trade, and Mary Claire, a long-time painter, were married at Memphis Botanic Garden in August, 1997. They now have 2 children and wanted to contribute their creative talents to My Big Backyard as a way to enrich their family’s connection with the Garden. Each of the five birdhouses in this installation was thoughtfully designed and masterfully constructed. The paint techniques were carefully chosen for each house to give them their own "personalities". Artist: DaKoda Davis Creation: Birds & Seed Packets DaKoda used a multitude of media from acrylic and oil to digital painting to create a world of innocence and nostalgia. Davis works with the playful representation of birds, seeds, and flowers aiming to draw attention to the much overlooked natural world. “I like the idea of seeing the world with child-like innocence. A child's world is full of awe and wonders and can be stimulated with color and exciting images for an appreciation that will last a lifetime.” Artist: Mary Cour Burrows Creation: Scarecrows, Birdhouse, Fairy House, & Beehives Mary holds a degree in sculpture and ceramics and is pursuing graduate studies in photography. She created Pixie Sticks, Ode to Her Bottled Up Nesting Instinct (birdhouse bottle tree,) Crow-Be-Gonners (dress up scarecrows), and We Bee Jammin (fanciful bee hives.) Her gift to visitors of the garden is the magic of fairies! “Oh, that magic can really happen. Fairies do visit at night. The scarecrow family, at night, when the garden is closed, they go play in the living rooms and play houses!” Artist: Mary Jo Karimnia Creation: Birdhouse & Finder’s Keeper’s Mary Jo passes on a definite sense of fun, and the notion that learning does not have to be preceded by traditional classroom teaching. She developed the Finder’s Keeper’s Playhouse, Treasure Hunt and the Casa Azul birdhouse, using mosaic design patterns. “There are treasures from our own home, as well as others, and it is fun to see them used and preserved in this way. I think of it as a type of time capsule. We love the Garden and appreciate the emphasis that they place on family and children.” Artist: Scott Banbury Creation: Woodworks-Stepping Stumps, Balance Beam, Puppet Playhouse, Builder Boards, and Nature Art Table Scott formed the structures in the Nature Play Area, as well as Natural Edge benches and picnic tables, using recovered lumber that would have otherwise gone to a landfill. He relishes the opportunity to inspire children with a love of creation. Scott wants children to recognize that the trees that surround them are a source of enjoyment while standing. However, after a tree has fallen that same wood can be used creatively to shape our surroundings. Artist: Sean P. Murphy & Anne Froning Wike Creation: Hardwood Percussive Trio This collection of artwork is interactive! These are concert quality musical instruments that are aesthetically pleasing, designed for kids, and can live outside. “We saw My Big Backyard as the perfect opportunity to reconnect children & families with art & music-making in a rich outdoor environment. When people visit this area we want them to be inspired to cross cultural boundaries through music.” Artist: Suzy Hendrix Creation: Bugnation Stained Glass Insects Bugnation was formed through Suzy’s artistically developed use of fused glass. “Insects can be very creepy, yucky things, but if you look close enough, you can see that they are all amazing creatures, each with its own mission. In this piece, it is my desire to celebrate the beauty of insects and their unique role in nature. Children should view insects not just as bugs but as an important aspect of nature; each bug has a job to do.” Artist: Deidre Daw & Lily Bix-Daw Creation: Bird Cottage & Gourd House This mother/daughter pair worked together to create these unique birdhouses. Lily’s bird cottage was built of cedar with painted designs. Deidre’s gourd birdhouse was crafted from glazed porcelain and painted to reflect a bird family that has found a home in the gourd. Artist: Larry Lugar Creation: Hidden Creatures Larry’s bronze creatures are quiet and hidden...wonderful surprises for those who take time to investigate a little closer. In contrast to the large, colorful pieces in My Big Backyard, these small creatures remind us all to pause and look more closely at the environment around us. Artist: Bill Price Creation: Chrysalis Swing The smooth, natural contours, warm color of the copper, and the fact that it is a functioning swing make this piece a favorite of visitors. It is the ideal place for relaxing between other sculptures & activities in the Garden. Artist: Copper Hall (John Wright Hall & Brad Arnold) Creation: Copper/Cedar birdhouses, garden gate, and bird bath. John and Brad create art from found objects and copper creations. Their art is unique in that no two pieces are alike. “We hope that children are inspired to use their imaginations to create their own works of art out of everyday objects.” Artist: Tim Pace Creation: Recycled Bugs Scrapped metals find new life at Tim’s Eco-art Workshop, where he creates unique sculptures by welding together recycled metals, such as farm implements, tools, car parts, cutlery, trampoline frames, springs, and more. Artist: NJ Woods Creation: Country House NJ wants her Country House to give today’s children a glimpse of what life was like for her generation growing up. “We live in such a fast-paced world, I wanted to show them how uncomplicated life was then, at least through a child’s eyes. There was a lot to do, but we were happy, made memories, and the lessons I learned from those chores stick with me to this day.” Artist: Kristie Duckworth Creation: Rainbow Mosaic & Butterfly Patio Kristie has created art at locations throughout the city of Memphis. The natural stone used to create her butterfly are similar to the colors of a real butterfly. Tiles for her Seedling Circle mosaic were hand-made in her studio. “I hope that children will be better able to appreciate the vast array and subtlety of colors, patterns, shapes, and beauty to be found in nature.” Artist: Karl Weinert Creation: The Crawdad & Play Boat Karl is a gifted craftsman who loves creating with wood, both domestic and exotic, in Big Sandy, TN. “The small wooden boat of yester-year is a piece of Americana that everyone should experience at least once.” Artist: Tim Kinnard Creation: Dog Sculpture & Melody the Mockingbird Tim wanted the dog and mockingbird sculptures in My Big Backyard to present an instant draw for any child who passes. These two unique sculptures allow children to play with art. Artist: Paul Little & Bill Ferrell Creation: Living furniture, green roof, and fairy house Paul is co-owner of Little Hill Nursery, and is a local expert on sedum and hardy grown succulents. His mission is to bring nature and homes together instead of keeping them separate. His mantra is “If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space!” Artist: Terance Brown Creation: Bird’s Nest Children love feeling like a bird when they’re inside this gigantic natural nest. The nest is woven together from branches & limbs, much like a real bird’s nest, Artist: Tootsie Bell Creation: House of Rock Tootsie’s primary focus is jewelry and silversmithing. She is owner of Bell Fine Art Jewelers, holds a B.F.A. in sculpture from Memphis College of Art and is also a musician. She harbors a natural passion for children, learning, and creative expression through public art. “It is my hope that children will enjoy and interact with my playhouse - that they will be stimulated by color and sound- that they will see that music and sound can be created with everyday objects and that the memory and experience will spark an interest in music or art.” Artist: Elijah Gold Creation: Metal Flowers Elijah used found metal pieces to create these whimsical but beautifully artistic, larger-than-life flowers. He worked with the Garden’s education staff to create botanically correct models that could be used as teaching tools.