LEWIS GINTER SPRING 2018
IN THIS ISSUE 2 4 8 10 12 13 14 15
First Words Origami in the Garden Transformed by Nature The Big Picture Battle of the Bugs Making It Click Coming Up in the Garden Fringe Benefits
INTO THE FOLD Kevin Box Brings Origami To The Garden
FIRST WORDS FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ENFOLDED
This past winter guests, volunteers, and staff members were frequently capped and layered, puffing frigid clouds of breath into the air. With our arms wrapped tightly around ourselves, we waited impatiently for spring. Come spring, and now the world is wrapping its arms around us. Day by day, the earth slowly nods toward the sun, and the air warms to the yearly dance. Almost with a sigh, creatures stir, and plants break dormancy. We ourselves start to rise up— pulling off caps, shedding layers, lifting our heads, and opening our hearts—almost with a sigh. In the following pages you will read about this season’s Origami in the Garden exhibition. At the core of the art of origami is a sheet of paper, a simple material folded, then transformed. The enfolded heart of the art might be easily missed in the transformation. So it is with most things we don’t want to miss. As much as our favorite plants and trees, it is the uplifting embrace of gardeners we feel as we personally engage with a garden. At Lewis Ginter this spring, we hope to enfold you with stunning plants and evocative art, able hands and loving hearts. As you consider this comforting embrace, imagine pulling back the layers and spending a little time with each. At the core of this gardening art we hope you find…you.
Shane Tippett Executive Director
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VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 Welcome to the new Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Magazine. We hope you’ll enjoy this valuable member benefit and the stories of people connecting through plants to improve communities. DESIGN Elevation Advertising WRITING Lynn Kirk, Kirk Communications, with support from Garden staff and volunteers COVER PHOTOGRAPHY Courtesy of BoxStudio QUESTIONS & COMMENTS? Beth Monroe, Public Relations and Marketing Director; bethm@lewisginter.org; (804) 262-9887, x316
TOM HENNESSY
PHOTO COURTESY OF BOXSTUDIO
INTO THE FOLD ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN
For fifteen years, Kevin Box’s sculptures have been commissioned, collected, and displayed in prestigious art museums and private galleries around the world. Each sculpture is incredibly unique, beginning as a paperinspired design that Box immortalizes through the lost-wax casting process. Though the Santa Fe sculptor welcomes the international acclaim, he also yearns to extend his impact beyond fine arts patrons. Over five years ago, while visiting the Atlanta Botanical Garden, he and his wife, Jennifer, shared an epiphany. They could showcase his collection in galleries of a different kind: the natural settings of botanical gardens!
Unlike most fine arts exhibits, Origami in the Garden is experienced outdoors. “The pieces communicate on a lot of different levels, whether you dig deep or stay on the surface,” Box says. “I invite you to discover the meaning and spirit within my work.”
Origami in the Garden, a national touring exhibit, was born.
Each of Kevin Box’s sculptures begins with a blank piece of paper. Often, an origami master— such as Beth Johnson, Dr. Robert J. Lang, Michael G. LaFosse, or Te Jui Fu—crafts an origami form and passes it to Box, so he can work his magic through a 35-step, 12-week process. Box pioneered methods of capturing delicate details in museum-quality metals—bronze, aluminum, and steel—by utilizing lost-wax casting and fabrication techniques. “I was motivated by the impermanence of paper,” he said. “It took two years of tireless experimentation to develop the process, another seven years to perfect, and it continues to evolve today.”
“My goal was to reach a broader audience through public art,” Box says. “By presenting in a garden, we can reach an entire community—schoolchildren and families—who aren’t intimidated by the setting.” Botanical gardens are apropos for another reason. “The subjects and themes permeating the exhibit are matters of nature: animals, plants, and archetypes,” he says. “They help us get to know ourselves, as well as our place in nature.” Even the design process relies on nature for its preliminary materials. “Origami starts with paper, and the origin of paper is plants,” Box says. “In a way, the exhibit is the voice of plants in collaboration with the human hand.”
THE PROCESS
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“Origami presents a simple metaphor: When we begin with a blank page, what we do with it is up to us and the possibilities are endless.” — KEVIN BOX, Sculptor
ABOUT ORIGAMI Origami means “folding paper” in Japanese. “There is more to the world than meets the eye, and the artist expresses this perception through this simple metaphor of origami,” says Kevin Box.
ORIGAMI INFLUENCES STEM
A sculpture exhibition created by Santa Fe artists Jennifer and Kevin Box, Origami in the Garden, premiers at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden on April 13, in its mid-Atlantic debut and second stop on a national tour. The outdoor exhibition, which continues through September 30, is included with Garden admission and is free for members.
The principles of origami extend beyond art to interface with science, technology, engineering, and math. Every origami fold is inherently guided by an algorithm. Scientists and engineers use these equations in other applications that involve multifaceted folds, such as planetary telescopes, medical equipment, automobile airbags, and more.
Origami in the Garden captures the delicate nature of a paper art form (origami) in museum-quality metals. Displayed within beautiful garden settings will be 16 vignettes featuring 21 sculptures. These examples demonstrate what can be folded from a single piece of paper, such as soaring birds, gliding airplanes, galloping ponies, floating boats, and emerging butterflies.
NATURE IS THE
Indoors, in the Lora Robins Library, visitors will visually explore four unfolded wall hangings displayed with their four corresponding folded origami pieces. “Hidden within every folded origami object is a ‘crease pattern’—a pattern or record of choices,” says Box. “These four pieces display the beautiful patterns found inside an origami object when unfolded.”
ORIGAMI MASTER Nature uses folds in extraordinary and artistic ways. An emerging butterfly unfolds from its chrysalis, a bird expands its wings for flight, and a fern’s fiddleheads uncurl in spring. “Nature also goes to a lot of work to build a flower,” says Box. “It begins as a tightly folded bud, but in the end, it unfolds so you see the beauty.”
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ORIGAMI IN THE GARDEN VISITS RVA
A free audio tour is available for visitors who want to call on their cell phone and listen to the artists speak about the work. Folding stations, also located in the library, will invite guests of all ages to try their hand at origami.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF BOXSTUDIO
“Painted Ponies” sponsored by Patient First
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TRANSFORMED BY NATURE
At age 15, Kendra Norrell interned in the Children’s Garden. She recalls “dealing with dirt, plants, and bugs,” then advancing to cataloging plants. As the first high school participant in the Partnership for the Future collaboration (2005), Kendra didn’t expect her internship to repeat two more summers—and she certainly didn’t expect it to redirect her future. Years later, while attending Haverford College, Kendra remembered how working outdoors had made her “feel part of something bigger than myself. I wanted to be a computer engineer, but being outside had changed that.” She switched majors and graduated in 2011, with a degree in environmental biology. Today, Kendra is the program manager for Groundwork RVA, where she plans youth activities—from building sustainable planters to camping in state parks. “We work with Richmond Public Schools, where not everyone has had the experience to be outdoors,” she says. “They end up loving it and sharing it with others.” Kendra also assists with workforce development and community partnerships. In 2017, Kendra was among the first graduates of Beautiful RVA’s Ginter Urban Gardener program, and recently she was named to the Richmond 300 Advisory Council, the leadership group directing the update of the City of Richmond’s master plan. “Lewis Ginter gave me a frame of reference that working with the environment was a real option for a career,” she says. It also helped prepare Kendra in opening doors for the next generation to not only experience, but also treasure the great outdoors.
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GROUNDWORK RVA Groundwork RVA involves youth in hands-on projects that revitalize blighted neighborhoods, underappreciated school campuses, and contaminated sections of the James River shoreline. As teens apply hard work, innovation, and collaboration to restore neglected areas into inviting greenspaces, the healing extends to environmental, economic, and social wellbeing. Youth find purpose and sometimes career opportunities, while residents build connections, bridge racial barriers, and develop community pride. “They’re called the green workforce,” says Duron Chavis, community engagement coordinator at Lewis Ginter. “Kendra is a great inspiration to youth because of her experiences. The evolution of her work in horticulture is an example of what can occur when young people are engaged experientially in our urban environment with a focus on making a difference.”
CRAIG ANDERSON
THE BIG PICTURE
Photo taken at the Lewis Ginter Nature Reserve by Tom Hennessy. The 80-acre property in Hanover County was given to the Garden to ensure the preservation of the land for generations to come.
“In today’s world, land continues to be fragmented for human development. This makes the land not used for roads and buildings increasingly important as shelters of biodiversity.” — MARY ELFNER, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Board Member
BATTLE OF THE BUGS
USING NATURAL ENEMIES FOR PEST MANAGEMENT While most gardeners try to keep insects out of the garden, Horticulturist Chelsea Mahaffey invites them in — selectively, of course. “The trick is knowing which bugs are beneficial and which are harmful,” she says. Aphids, two-spotted spider mites, and mealybugs are common bugs that harm plants. If they’re present and plant damage escalates, Mahaffey reaches for the phone. Through a wholesaler, she orders a variety of natural predators— mealybug destroyers, predatory wasps, and predatory mites—that provide a form of predator-prey pest management. “It’s weird: every month, I order live [beneficial] bugs that get shipped overnight from California,” she says. They’re transported in Styrofoam containers, along with cool packs that slow the insects’ activity. As shipments arrive at Lewis
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Ginter, staff and volunteers strategically spread as many as 2,000 beneficial insects throughout the Conservatory. When these insects warm up and resume activity, they hunt specific prey (the harmful bugs) and either eat them or use them as their predatory host. Over time, the number of harmful bugs is reduced. The beneficial bugs have less prey, resulting in a food shortage that reduces their populations, too. The next time there’s an influx of harmful insects—and Mahaffey says there’s always a next time—she repeats the biocontrol cycle. “We create a mini-ecosystem that works,” she says. “My plants are healthier with less pesticides, and it’s safer for me, volunteers, and visitors. Best of all, the good bugs continue to work long after I’m done.”
MAKING IT CLICK
PHOTOS BY LYNDA RICHARDSON
5 TIPS FROM A NATURE PHOTOGRAPHER Capturing nature in the camera lens takes practice plus knowledge. Lynda Richardson, a noted environmental photojournalist, shares five tips.
Learn how to control depth-of-field and shutter speed for great exposures. It’s a juggling act to capture the best photograph if you don’t understand these important tools.
Become well acquainted with your camera. Read the manual thoroughly with the camera in hand, and practice features as you learn about them. Nothing is more frustrating than having to stop and figure out how your camera works, especially at a decisive moment!
Shoot, shoot, shoot photos, and then shoot some more. You’ll never get better unless you practice, practice, practice…and take chances. Evaluate what you’ve done. Ask for advice and accept critiques from fellow photographers. Look at other photographers’ work for ideas and ways you can improve.
Learn how to SEE! How does light fall on your subject? When is the best light of the day? Would the subject look better with or without shadows? Can you change the light by adding flash? Understand the principles of composition. Placing your subject in the center of the frame is an obvious beginner’s no-no! Don’t be afraid to get low and/or change your camera angle.
Contributed by Lynda Richardson, art director for Virginia Wildlife magazine and adulteducation instructor for Lewis Ginter. Find a complete list of upcoming Garden classes at lewisginter.org.
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COMING UP IN THE GARDEN
MARCH
APRIL
MAY/JUNE
Peek-a-Bloom with Peter Rabbit March 31 & April 1
Butterflies LIVE! April 6–October 14 Supporting Sponsor: Publix Charities
Spring PlantFest May 3–5
Virginia Daffodil Society Show March 31 & April 1 A Million Blooms March 31–June 1 45,000 spring-flowering bulbs were planted, including 23,725 tulips and 7,438 daffodils!
Early Morning Hours Open 8 a.m. Saturdays & Sundays Memorial Day Weekend–Labor Day Weekend.
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Richmond African Violet Society Show and Sale April 13–15
Mother’s Day Weekend May 11–13 Richmond Rose Society Show May 26 & 27
Origami in the Garden April 13–September 30
Memorial Day Celebration May 28
Extended Hours for Historic Garden Week Wednesday, April 25 ONLY
Flowers After 5 Thursday nights, June–midSeptember (Fidos After 5 on second and fourth Thursday nights of each month)
Please visit lewisginter.org for all of our classes, activities, and more; sign up for the weekly events enewsletter at the bottom of our homepage.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @lewisginter for the latest on what’s happening in the Garden.
FRINGE BENEFITS
FRINGETREE Chionanthus virginicus, the tree’s botanical name, loosely translates as “snow flowers of Virginia.” How apropos, for spring’s creamywhite blooms blanket this native tree like snow.
Naturally popular are the fringetree’s fruits, enjoyed by deer and birds alike. Man appreciates the ornamental for another reason: its troublefree maintenance and uncommon beauty.
“Old Man’s Beard” is just as fitting. This common name connotes clusters of wispy blooms drooping with “bearded” charm.
For information on other Virginia natives and more—including bloom times and photos—visit lewisginter.org “What’s in Bloom.”
PHOTO BY TOM HENNESSY
Male or female? Hard to tell, but important to know, since both are needed for pollination. Hint: Males exhibit showier blossoms, while females develop green fruits (drupes) that turn heather blue when ripe.
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1800 Lakeside Avenue Richmond, VA 23228
A MILLION BLOOMS MARCH 31–JUNE 1
Nature celebrates spring by unfurling her blooms, and Butterflies LIVE! returns April 6. Visit lewisginter.org to learn more.
2018
PAID
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U S POSTAGE
PERMIT 520 RICHMOND, VA