Client: Desert Botanical Garden

Overview

The installation for the Desert Botanical Garden was a celebration of the natural world made with recycled and re-purposed materials. Inspired by plants and cacti, the work was created from used household and industrial products and demonstrated a sensitivity and awareness to the needs of the environment. Spring Millet (shown) was 27'W x 12'H x 24″D as installed at this location. Materials included old garden hose, outdated computer cables, used electrical cords, light fixtures, bowls, pots, pans, miscellaneous plastic, metal and glass.

Goals

It was important for the Desert Botanical Garden to generate excitement for their patrons in their ongoing public art exhibition program as well as encourage thought about the protection of our natural resources. The work created and installed, therefore, invited the general public to visually explore and discover different recognizable objects from their daily lives, items normally destined for the landfill. Both children and adult viewers enjoyed interacting with the work by finding and identifying the hundreds of objects hidden in plain view in a type of "scavenger hunt" activity.

Process

I assembled a proposal that included a timeline, an installation plan as a well as a budget and worked with Laura Houghton to ensure it was appropriate for the venue. Laura handled preliminary alterations to the space, including the temporary closure of windows and shelving. Nathaniel Stitzlein assisted in the loading, delivery and installation of the work. Laura Houghton and Hilary Hirt also assisted in the unloading and installation of the artwork over a four day period.

Additional Information

"New Bloom: Industrial Nature" included two large installations as well as four smaller works. It was on view from February 1, 2019 through May 5th, 2019.