Photo provided Local artist, Barb Darling shows a mobile fashioned by visitors to the annual Earth Day celebration held at Earth and Spirit Garden Gallery last April.

Earth Day Celebration still lives on at Earth and Spirit Garden Gallery.

The event held in April was a huge success – over 300 people walked the grounds of Earth and Spirit, visited exhibits, engaged in presentations, and participated in performances. The overall feeling of the day was one of hope and renewal for the earth and our local environment.

Judy Ott and Joan Culver presented a workshop on the history of Earth Day inviting participants to make block prints of Earth Day symbols. Joan, who is one of the artists at the gallery, completed the block print garland and it is now hanging up in the gallery.

Barb Darling was another artist who facilitated an interactive art project.

“When Scott and Diane invited their gallery artists to participate in the first annual Earth Day Celebration, they suggested we offer an interactive experience to showcase our medium,” explained Darling. “This appealed to me in a very personal way. Throughout my life I thought my only artistic outlet was using my writing skills. When Chuck Kousky, Koucky Gallery & Gardens, gave me a chance to play with clay, I fell in love with the very tactile creativity that clay offers. I wanted others to have a chance to try it as well.”

Darling envisioned a colorful garden-hanging with guests? creations cascading from two central signs to commemorate the event. During the celebration, guests were given a piece of clay and offered a variety of tools and implements to shape what their minds eye saw. Another of Koucky’s long-time students, Susie Quattro, partnered in assisting guests to work with the clay and tools and helped in a day-long pottery glazing effort.

“I expected maybe 8 or 10 people would accept the challenge,” said Darling.

“What a nice surprise when more than 30 folks turned a lump of clay into a work of art!”

The block print garland and the garden sculpture can be seen at Earth and Spirit Garden Gallery and the many creators of this work of art are especially invited to come and take a look at what you’ve created!