Garden Art on Martha’s Vineyard and an Artist that Creates it
by Chaiel Schaffel
A young, ivory colored girl hides among the dew-laden flower-beds and carpets of lush grass on the Vineyard. There with her, a teal colored frog, paint chipped from a falling stone, happily keeps her company through the rainy weather. A fountain nearby welcomes visitors into fresh, bubbling water. A visitor to the island with a sharp eye might catch the interplay in a small scene like this, many of which are common across front lawns throughout the island. Strategically dotting gardens, and sitting just within sight, Garden Art on the island is a sight to behold. From the finely-pruned roses of Edgartown, to the whimsically styled pieces of Oak Bluffs, all of the gardens have something unique to exhibit. Each tiny masterpiece contributes its small part to the ambiance of the Vineyard.
The variation in garden art on the island is enormous: how much, how little, in what shapes, colors and sizes are left to the imagination of the gardener. Sometimes, certain patterns seem to emerge. For example, for some in Edgartown, the flowers themselves are the best kind of art. The flower beds here speak for themselves, preferring minimal adornment to emphasize the colors of the flowers. A multicolored array of roses clamber over countless stately, white picket fences casting pink-and-red shadows in the sunlight. Perhaps a ceramic birdbath graces the Edgartown garden, or maybe the buoy of an old sailing ship. This accentuates the flowers themselves, and leads the onlooker to calm and relaxation.
Oak Bluffs, on the other hand, does not require grace in its madness. The gardens of the famous gingerbread cottages explode with chaotic life, filled with porcelain squirrels, miniature houses, and the fluttering outline of Old Glory. Many owners of the cottages like to match the garden art they create to the color schemes of their houses, and yet others, seemingly adding to the chaos, have no decorations at all.
The subtle work behind this craft need not go uncredited. Cue Rena Morrison, an Oak Bluffs local who has just begun to craft her own Garden Art for the public. Morrison began making her garden sculptures in April, and is in the infancy of her career. Her method is a unique one, not yet employed by other outdoor artists on the Vineyard; She takes a brilliant variety of glass vases, bowls, dishes, and spheres, some antique, and uses epoxy to keep them together. Each of her sculptures has a name thats fits its theme. Her favorite? A towering, glittering pink and white piece aptly titled “The Bridal Cake,” that encases a sculpture of a bride and holds a beautifully made ceramic rose.
The exact sources for her materials are a closely guarded secret, but Morrison admitted that she visits thrift shops on the island for some of her glass. Though a thrift store might not be the first place one would look for art supplies, Rena prides herself on her creative ability to make the random into something beautiful. Ever since her youth in the mountains of northern Pennsylvania, she has always loved to create. Morrison lives by the words of her mother, that, “you can make something out of nothing, and make a treasure of it!” With a precise eye for detail, color, and embellishment, she does this and more every day.
Her workshop, a brilliantly shimmering array of multicolored glass, seems to agree. Stacks of glass plates and containers line the walls, augmented by the odd bottle of glue or brush-up markers, and set small space ablaze. Here, ‘nothing’ is taken in, inspected, polished, mulled over, and finally, crafted into ‘something’ that everyone can appreciate.
Rena doesn’t claim to be an expert. “I’m learning as I go,” she said. Her relative greenness on the art scene has led her to an innovative solution; a trunk show, to exhibit all of her work so far, and catapult herself directly onto the public stage. Witness the birth of an artist in Morrison as she reveals her artwork to the public for the first time, and dips her feet into the greater ocean of artwork on Martha’s Vineyard. She plans to hold the show in a perfect test-bed setting: her own beautifully manicured gardens, already home to much of her art. However, her show will not be limited to outdoor art. Morrison’s daughter-in-law, Rhonda Morrison, will also be featured. Rhonda will be showing contemporary art to complement and push off of Rena’s work. Rena also plans to unveil her smaller, indoor sculptures at the event, and wants to make the trunk show an annual event.
Rena’s motivations behind having the show are mixed. On one hand, she needed an “avenue for people to see my art.” Like all artists, especially those who are just starting out, Morrison needed a way to distribute her pieces to the public. However, the underlying reason for the show, and indeed, Rena’s entire newfound career, is far deeper. When asked, Morrison said it was to “bring a little joy to someone who sees my art…To make them smile!” This attitude shines through in all of her works, which take an optimistic tone. Her art, much like the sun that reflects through it, serves to make the viewer happy. Though her work may be in its early stages, one can only predict countless smiles caused by this newest unique addition to the Martha’s Vineyard art scene.
