Garden of Well-being

I first explored the theme of a Garden of Well-being in my early childhood drawings of animated flowers swaying under a blue sky with birds and bugs. It was a safe and sensory place where I could dwell, at least while I was drawing. The desire to be in a magical garden of delight has never left my imagination. It remains a theme in my artwork and informs the lifestyle I cultivate in my Maine studio. 

Throughout the seasons of my six decades, I’ve enjoyed fragrant, fertile, and familiar gardens that have sustained my connection to the cycles of nature. A garden is a ready remedy for the art-maker, art-taker, and art-giver. I am a garden-maker who weeds, plants, and grows. I am a garden-taker who sees the beauty and eats the bounty that others cultivate. Mostly, I am happy to be a garden-giver offering pleasure to all who see the flowers that provide tasty nectar for pollinators. There is a productive and synergistic energy in a healthy garden. It is a hopeful place because, season after season, a garden returns and bears its gifts. It is a symbol of wellness that I keep in my soul, forever in bloom.

When I meet a fellow gardener, we share tales of hardy perennials, tips for fighting pests, and the joys of growing season. Connecting with a like-minded gardener is like being part of a seasonal community of flowers, vegetables, and people, all bonded by a love for cultivating abundance and stories. That storytelling magic happened when my creative passion for gardening complemented my practice as the artist working in the local cancer center. I had a one-to-one creativity session with Isabel, a woman in her 70s with a late-stage cancer diagnosis. We met during her long chemotherapy treatments. Isabel was a storyteller who enjoyed the therapy of relating colorful tales and a deep love of her Maine home garden. I was a captive audience and she encouraged me to sketch as I listened to her gentle words find a creative voice. She recalled memories of the things she loved most in life, especially her garden that overlooked the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge at the Wells Reserve. Isabel loved describing her flowers with animated details and humor. Sadly, she was battling a disease that would soon end her life. Knowing her difficult prognosis, I asked how she saw herself at that moment. Her vision was an uplifting response, "I see myself as a blue bird flying high above my garden". The painting, Garden of Well-being, is my interpretation of our healing narrative, with all of Isabel’s favorite flowers and her spirit as a blue bird soaring above the pastoral scene. In a moment of grace, I was able to present the art to her before she passed away. 

A story becomes a painting. Words and the imagined scenes from a conversation become the picture of healing. Art heals the healing artist. Art tells the story of hope and illustrates what gives meaning to life.