Anchorage Daily News

For many of us, the phrase "Garden art" suggests permanence, certainty, marble statues, granite benches, wrought iron gates -- solid islands around which the sea of ever-changing flora flows, bubbles, surges and ebbs.

Several of the artists with work displayed at the Alaska Botanical Garden today offer a different perspective.

Art, like gardening, is about change, surprise, malleability -- properties commonly associated with life, whether human, animal or vegetable.

The evidence goes on view at the ABG's Midsummer Gala tonight and will be judged this weekend during the 11th annual Garden Fair and Garden Art Show.

MAGIC HAPPENS

Consider Gina Hollomon's big, flying, raku crane -- a solid piece of fired clay, studiously crafted to create a balance of realism and personality. But the process by which it came to be involves several leaps of faith.

Raku firing, Holloman said, comes with "lots of flames, drama and suspense."

And chance.

"The colors produced by most glazes are very unpredictable, so there is a magic that happens in the firing process that I have no control over, and I actually LOVE that," she said.

The random variables mean that the final product will be something one cannot predict, with colors ranging from red to blue to green to copper and the surface often carrying the unique shadow of "the flame's signature."

Hollomon, originally from Newbern, Tenn., has lived in Anchorage for 26 years. She's been involved with art for most of that time but was unable to take part in the Garden Art Show until last year, she said.

She credited the late artist and teacher Alex Combs with introducing her to raku at a firing in Halibut Cove. The excitement and ceremony of the maverick flames retain their allure, as does the fact that when an artist puts a piece in to be fired, she's surrendering its outcome to forces over which she can no longer direct.

"When a piece goes into the kiln, I give it a kiss for luck," she said.

ART VS. ELEMENTS

Concrete can be fickle in the curing process, but it can be shaped right down to the microscopic level, and once it's set it tends to hold its form for a long time.

Brenda Roper's "Objects of Curiosity" uses "a high-grade gypsum cement that has been sanded and treated with wax," she said. The art was originally part of a larger installation. For outdoor display, she treated the four pieces she'll bring to this year's show with polyurethane.

"They should weather outside," she said, tentatively. The vessels have openings that may take on water. She hasn't actually tested the material over a winter or in rainy conditions.

"So I do have some concerns," she said. "If water were to accumulate inside or freeze, (the art) could potentially break down over time. But so could a clay pot."

Roper, from Michigan, came to Alaska in 1985 to work at a fly-in fishing lodge in the Dillingham area. She backed into art when she started modeling for the art department at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

"I had thought of myself as a writer but never an artist," she said. But a sculpture class taught by Hugh McPeck made her rethink her talents. She graduated with a bachelor of fine arts degree in 2004 and was selected for a residency at the Vermont Studio Center.

The residency was "freeing" she said. She explored making non-narrative shapes "without the intention of making a social or political statement." The ambiguity of "Objects of Curiosity" reflects that approach.

Her pieces would also work fine indoors, she said. And if the buffets of storms and freeze-thaw cycles should make them crumble, she's not terribly concerned.

"I'm a person who loves dishevelment, texture and deterioration in art," she said.

IMPERMANENT BEAUTY

For Mary Hertert, the ephemeral nature of her art is one of its pleasures. She makes colorful silk "wind tubes" -- or "sun tubes" if you prefer -- that won't stay still and don't last anywhere near as long as stone or steel.

"I have the most fun with the idea that people are ill-at-ease with putting fabric in the garden," she said. "I enjoy working with that reaction since I like that fabric changes and that it is subject to the wind and sun and isn't permanent over the long run."

Hertert, from Cupertino, Calif., came to Alaska in 1991. She worked in the computer business until opening her own business, Color Creek Fiber Art, in 1997. (The business closed last year.)

"I've always messed around with fabric," she said. She was long involved with the annual Garden Art Show -- but as part of the entrepreneurs who run booths during the event. She sold silk paintings and "an eclectic mix of items." She moved from vendor to exhibiting artist and continues to submit art work to the event when her schedule permits.

The tubes appeared in 2001 and have since been seen at venues ranging from the Alaska Fiber Festival to the new cancer treatment center at Providence Alaska Medical Center.

"I have no idea what started me on them, except that I wanted something fun and colorful," she said.

The result is a piece of garden art that responds to its environment as sure as a flower swings with the sun.

"The trade-off for the impermanent fabric is seeing its colors and flow when it is outdoors," she said. "It is beautiful."

Find Mike Dunham online at adn.com/contact/mdunham or call 257-4332.

A MIDSUMMER GALA IN THE GARDEN is 5:30-8:30 p.m. today. The gala includes food, wine, music, guided tours, a children's program and the preview of work featured in the weekend Garden Art Show. Admission is $50 per person, $100 per family. Reservations are required.

11TH ANNUAL GARDEN FAIR AND ART SHOW is 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. This weekend will include the juried garden art show, craft and plant vendors, speakers, demonstrations and more. Admission is $5.

Both take place at the Alaska Botanical Garden, 4601 Campbell Airstrip Road. For more information and reservations, call 770-3692 or go to

www.alaskabg.org ASK THE EXPERT: Tomatoes and cucumbers.

Alaska Botanical Garden outdoor exhibit artists:

Gina Hollomon, raku sculpture

Mary Hertert, fabric wind tubes

Brenda Roper, sculpture

Cindy Shake, metal sculpture

Laura Mendola, fused glass bird baths, gazing discs

Marieke Heatwole, metal sculpture

Paul Dungan, ceramics

Tarri Thurmanm, forged metal sculpture

Chris Richie, forged metal sculpture

Steve Panarelli, copper bonsai sculptures

Don Bernard, metal sculpture

Susan Moeller, cast concrete sculpture

Barbara Miller, cast leaf sculptures

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