</p> I like the fact that bronze can look like stone, mineral, wood, fabric or plastic. It can become something else. -Yoshitomo Saito</strong></p> </p> Tokyo-born artist Yoshitomo Saito started working in bronze in 1983 while living in San Francisco. Based in Denver, Saito is inspired by natural forms with delicate lines and textures. The craftsmanship and painstaking attention to detail in his sculptures are an expression of the artist’s reverence and profound respect for the natural world. </p> </picture> </div> </div> </article> Yoshitomo Saito, millionyearseeds</em> (detail), bronze, 2011-2021. ©Yoshitomo Saito. </p> Seeds are among the natural forms that fascinate Saito. His installation millionyearseeds</em> includes a variety of seeds, as well as banana peels, peppers, acorns and other small natural elements. In rendering these tiny pieces of nature, he celebrates the wisdom of life that is contained within each one. Seeds may be small and common, but each has a purpose for the creation and expansion of life. </p> In his work, bronze appears as a featherweight medium. The fine texture of the original object is evident, highlighting the care and attention given to each piece. This high level of detail is achievable through the process of lost-wax casting. </p> </picture> </div> </div> </article> Yoshitomo Saito, Cheikh Lo</em>, bronze, 2020. © Yoshitomo Saito. </p> Lost wax casting </h4> The lost wax casting process, in use since 3,700 BCE, remains essentially the same today. The artist creates a “negative” plaster mold of the object they want to cast. The object is removed, wax is poured into the mold and dumped out, leaving a thin, hollow layer of wax around the perimeter. The artist adds thin wax sticks to the perimeter of the wax reproduction, creating channels for the metal to flow through and trapped gasses to escape. This wax form is then encased in a plastic or ceramic mold, and the wax is melted away.</p> Bronze is melted down at a temperature of 1,675 ˚F and poured into the plaster mold. This step requires safety precautions including goggles, a face shield, respirator, coveralls, apron, insulated gloves and shoe coverings. When the bronze has cooled, the plaster mold is removed or destroyed to reveal the cast bronze. The supports are removed and typically a polish or patina is applied. A patina can be created naturally through the oxidizing effect of the atmosphere or the artificial application of chemicals. Saito often uses patinas to emulate an object’s natural color – browns for trees and acorns, green for peppers, red for pomegranates and so on. One notable exception to Yoshi’s patination process is Gateway</em>, which is both painted and patinated. </p> </picture> </div> </div> </article> Yoshitomo Saito, Gateway</em>, bronze, 2019. © Yoshitomo Saito.</p> Watch this video</a> about Saito’s bronze casting method.</p> Of Sky and Ground</em></a> is on view in the Freyer – Newman Center’s Kemper Family Gallery from July 24 – November 28, 2021. </p> </p>
Autumn is right around the corner, and before you sigh because that means summer is ending, I want to show all the reasons why fall at the Gardens is a very, very good thing.</p> </p> 5 Special Events</a> (with discounts on tickets or purchases for members)</h4> Corn Maze at Chatfield Farms</li> Fall Plant & Bulb Sale at York Street</li> Pumpkin Festival at Chatfield Farms</li> Glow at the Gardens at York Street</li> Día de los Muertos at York Street</li> </ol> </p> 4 Places to Wield Your Membership Card</h4> Members get 10% off at the Hive Garden Bistro, Offshoots Café, Copper Door Coffee Roasters</a> and at the Shop at the Gardens</a>. Look for tasty fall or harvest-themed food and drink items and, of course, autumn décor and gifts at the Shop! So show that card and enjoy.</p> </p> 3 New Art Exhibitions </h4> Including sculptural forms (Fervor: Ana María Hernando</em></a>), augmented reality (Seeing the Invisible</em></a>) and a 15-foot-tall Aztec deity (Alebrije: Xólotl</a></em>), which you can experience in our new gallery spaces, out on the grounds or in the Freyer - Newman Center. </p> </p> 2nd Spring</h4> Okay, technically it's fall, but if you think the beautiful blooms fade with your suntan, you must visit the Gardens in September and October! Ornamental grasses</a> turn all kinds of rusty, sunset hues; all kinds of asters</a> are bursting from the gardens; and it feels like nature is giving us a glorious send-off before it goes dormant for the winter. Plus, that sizzling summer sun has backed off a bit, and the light is golden and perfect for photo ops. Your membership gives you unlimited general admission, so you can visit all fall long.</p> </p> 1 Membership</strong> gets you all of this! And this is just for fall--we haven't even talked about summer, spring and winter. Continuing education classes</a> change seasonally, as do special events, art exhibitions, and, of course, all of the incredible horticultural displays onsite.</p> I hope to see you at the Gardens soon.</p> </p> If you're not a member, join today</a> to take advantage of everything the Gardens has to offer. </p> </p> </p> </p>
Have you ever thought of your garden as a work of art? Maybe you spend months planning and plotting, considering what plants will look best where, or maybe you take a more abstract approach and scatter seeds like the paint in a Jackson Pollock painting. Whichever type of gardener you are, you are using visual thinking strategies, just like artists. Wander gardens and galleries this summer to learn more about the connections between gardens and art. </p> Start your explorations by visiting Blue Grass, Green Skies: American Impressionism and Realism from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art</a> opening June 7 </strong>in the Freyer – Newman Center. Impressionist artists were famous for painting en plein air</em> (outdoors) so they could directly observe the effects of sunlight on their subjects. What better place to paint outdoors than in a garden? Many American Impressionist artists were garden enthusiasts, including John Henry Twachtman, whose lush home garden became a painting destination for fellow artists, or Childe Hassam, who spent summers painting the seaside gardens on Appledore Island in Maine. </p> After browsing the exhibition, head into the gardens to discover gold frames highlighting garden compositions reminiscent of American Impressionist landscapes. Artists and gardeners think about the same things in their work—emphasis, patterns, color combinations, textures, shapes and more all play an important role in creating a beautiful, cohesive garden, just as they do in a work of art.</p> “Art, to me, is the interpretation of the impression which nature makes upon the eye and brain,” Childe Hassam once said. Nature and art go hand in hand, whether you’re a painter, a gardener, or just someone looking to spend an afternoon outdoors. </p> Full credit for "California Landscape"</em>: William Wendt, "California Landscape," oil on canvas, 1920. 31 5/16” H x 70 3/16” W. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Gift of James O. McReynolds, Robert Coulter McReynolds and Mrs. Edwin L. Harbach, in fond memory of their mother, Frances Coulter McReynolds and their father, Dr. Robert Phillips McReynolds. </p>
I have fond memories of being a child and walking next to Grandpa as he rototilled the garden. There is something comforting about the smell and texture of newly tilled soil. As an adult, though, I’ve learned that leaves the soil exposed to wind and rain and the resulting erosion can be devastating. </p> The best way to prevent erosion is to “armor” the soil, i.e. keep it covered. Cover crops, as their name suggests, are a great way to do this. Plant some rye and vetch seeds in the fall as you are putting your garden to bed for the season. In the spring, knock down the growth or mow it and the residue will increase organic matter as it decomposes. The natural mulch will also shade the soil, keeping it cool and reducing evaporative water-loss. </p> </picture> </div> </article> Chatfield Farms CSA</p> The cover crop roots will produce exudates, or food for microbes and fungi in the soil. Those microbes and fungi are bringing nutrients to plant roots and establishing the foundation of a complex ecosystem in the soil. The result is a stable soil, full of spaces for new roots to grow, and allow water and oxygen to infiltrate. </p> Having a garden full of plants and living roots, instead of clean-looking, bare soil takes some getting used to. Especially if, like me, you have grown up tilling your soil every year, but the benefits are worth it. If you would like to learn more about soil health, look at the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Soil Health home page</a>; How to Create a Soil Community</a> from Rodale Institute; or this Planttalk</em>® Colorado</a></strong> from Colorado State University (CSU) Extension on using cover crops. </p> To see a variety of cover crops in a larger area, come down to Chatfield Farms where you can see sorghum-sudan grass, vetch, rye, winter wheat, crimson clover, buckwheat, pacific mustard and triticale, among others. Using cover crops at Chatfield Farms is part of our soil management plan but also has several other regenerative benefits including additional habitat for beneficial insect predators, pollinators and cover crops can provide competition to weed growth which helps farmers with the never-ending task of weed mitigation. </p>
