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Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Airlie Gardens Continued...



I admit...this post is pretty photo heavy!  But, there were SO many things to photograph!

 





  

 
 

 


 



I hope you have enjoyed strolling along in the gardens with us!

I would love to go back during the Azalea Festival!!  We were told that the gardens are not nearly as beautiful this year due to the strange weather patterns they had over the winter.





Minnie Evans: The Artist of Airlie


For anyone who knows American folk art, Airlie Gardens means something more; it was the inspiration for the vibrant, colorful, and intricate paintings of Minnie Evans.
Evans came to Wilmington with her mother in 1893, when she was a year old. Her mother remarried a man who was employed by Pembroke Jones, a wealthy industrialist, and by the age of 17 Minnie found work as a domestic in the Jones household. Jones’ wife, Sarah Green Jones, was the one who established Airlie Gardens. From 1948 to 1974 Minnie was the gatekeeper at Airlie, collecting admissions and selling her artwork. She painted her delicate and fantastical scenes as a result of a divine vision when in a dream god told she must paint or die. Her art works depict angel and ornately adorned figures but the art work clearly evokes the lushness and greenery of the garden setting that she saw every day. She once said, “God has some 600 shades of green, and He dressed the world with them.” To her the natural surroundings were a divine revelation, as one can readily see in her painting displayed in the Fenimore Art Museum collection dedicated to Minnie and or at special showings at the Cameron Museum of Art in Wilmington.
Minnie sold her artwork at Airlie, and had her first “exhibitions” there, spreading her paintings on the lawn at the gates entrance offering many for only fifty cents or a dollar. She died in 1987, but her work is so connected with the site that local artists created a memorial sculpture garden within Airlie in her honor. Bottle Chapel, sculptures and its garden were constructed in 2004 and has become a central feature to the gardens, popular with many visitors.

9 comments:

Karen Milano said...

Amazing, love the glass art!!... thanks for sharing...

easyweimaraner said...

that is a place like paradise... unbelievable that this wonderful little house is made with bottles... I wish I had one like this... as my mom-cave :o)

Two French Bulldogs said...

So interesting. We really enjoy photos and experiencing other areas
Lily & Edward

Da DB Boyz said...

What beautiful art and gardens!! I'm going to have to put this on my list of places to visit!!

Molly the AireGirl said...

It's just beautiful and so are the pretty flowers!

BeadedTail said...

What a pretty place to visit!

The OP Pack said...

Wow, that is a beautiful garden with gorgeous flowers and very interesting artwork!!!

Woos - Misty and Lightning

Princess Leah said...

What a beautiful place to visit! Those bottle mosaics are stunning and of course I LUFFS the Buttie Pillars
Loves and licky kisses
Princess Leah xxx

ann thompson said...

Wow, what a great place. Love the mosaics.