Music and Art in the gardens at the Secret Gardens of Lake Forest Park

Collage by Meredith Arnold

Garden Tour and Plant Sale-- June 20, 2015

Lively music and art will enhance your garden viewing experience in Lake Forest Park. Look for an artist-in-residence such as Meredith Arnold, a mixed media artist, who will be creating small collage paintings from paint, papers and a special veneer. She creates with many layers using liquid polymer and cures in an oven into a flexible sheet.

Elsa Bouman, the Loom Lady

Other artists who are inspired by being in the gardens and may also inspire you include Elsa Bouman, the loom lady, with her fiber arts, Susan Jones creating silverpoint, Kris Barrows and her jewelry, and Judy Macauley, a glass artist, surrounded by her garden stakes.

While the artists will be available most of the day, musicians will drop in to play for an hour or two. Many of the musicians are Garden Tour favorites and you can find the schedule when you pick up your ticket on the 20th.

Ray Skjelbred plays the dolceola

One of the more unusual instrument is the dolceola played by Ray Skjelbred. Anyone who has been to the Lake Forest Park Farmers Market in the past couple of years will be familiar with his music. Wikipedia describes the dolceola “as resembling a miniature piano, but which is in fact a zither with a keyboard. It is used in traditional holy blues and has an unusual, angelic, music-box sound.”

Peter Ali
Photo by Jerry Pickard

You'll also want to hear Peter Ali, a Native American flutist. Back by popular demand, he has performed at Folklife and on the Third Place Commons stage as well as in past garden tours.  

One garden will host a musical group, the elegant Coho Chamber Ensemble.    

The Coho Chamber Ensemble

To round out the day, Judith Cumming will be playing the harp in a restful garden and Mike Good, who has performed at the garden tour for many years, will return with his guitar and a percussionist. 

During the Plant and Garden Art Sale in the Town center, Gretchen Yanover will play the cello and Kevin Reniche will be performing bluegrass. Remember, the Plant Sale starts at 9:00am and the Tour itself at 10:00am. They both end at 4:00pm, but you'll want to start at the beginning so you won't miss a moment!

Ticket information in previous article.