Letter from the Executive Director |
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Greetings!
We're excited to soon be opening "Back to the Garden," an exhibition of Mexican folk art from John's collection, now in the John Gaston Fairey Mexican Folk Art Collection at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) . I'd like to send a special thank you to Lynn Castle, Executive Director of AMSET for her willingness to share this work with us, and give a talk at our fundraising reception. Thanks, too, to the dynamic duo of Curator of Collections, Dario S. Bucheli and Curator of Exhibitions, Caitlin Clay for personally delivering the work to us, diligently installing it in our gallery, and providing a detailed exhibition checklist.
It seems to me that there is something instructive to be found in John's focus expanding from Mexican flora to include Mexican art. It was through the plant material and the landscape that John first felt his love for the country. Regarding his first trip to Mexico with Lynn Lowrey, he wrote, "These four memorable days were an intense introduction to a whole new way of seeing…" I wish I could have asked John exactly what he meant by that. It would be interesting to know if he was speaking only in terms of plant life? The landscape? The relationship of plants to the landscape? Or could he have meant it more in cultural terms? My guess is all of the above. John was, after all, a professor in an Environmental Design department and he certainly spent countless hours considering his relationship between the garden and the house and, later on, the gallery that housed his folk art treasures. John naturally integrated all those aspects of his property and his life, and he was keenly aware and appreciative of the way people in rural Mexico did, too.
If you read the excerpt from his Mexican trip journal from trip 58 posted below, you can read John's own words of respect for the people and culture of Mexico, a respect that moved him to honor and share what he found in Mexico with their neighbors to the north.
Warm regards,
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BACK TO THE GARDEN - Selections From The John Gaston Fairey Collection of Mexican Folk Art
Opening to members in the Garden Gallery
12 - 5 pm, Saturday, May 7th
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In 2017, John gifted his collection of Mexican folk art to the Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) in memory of his parents. Thanks to the generous cooperation of the AMSET Board of Directors and Director, Lynn Castle, we are pleased to announce select pieces from John's collection will return to the Garden for a three month long exhibition in the Garden gallery, beginning May 7th, 2022 for members.
If you're a member of the Garden, we invite you to a free members-only day from 12 - 5 pm on Saturday, May 7th. Members will still need to get tickets. Members-only tickets available here.
Due to limited resources and parking, admission to the exhibition will timed and ticketed. We will sell tickets to the exhibition only, or guests may purchase a combination exhibition/Garden tour of the North Dry Garden, which will highlight plants from our Mexican collection.
We hope you'll come experience another aspect of John's passion, keen eye, and deep appreciation for the culture of Mexico.
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Notes from John Fairey's Mexico plant collecting journals |
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Trip 58 – September 29, 1994
Trip 58 appears to have been more of a documentary trip than a plant collecting trip. John sketched numerous site plans of various haciendas he visited with his companion, photographer Kalina Herr. (If anyone knows how to contact Miss Herr, would you please let us know?)
Most of the entries in John's Mexico journals are a straight forward listing of plants collected and seen, distance traveled, accommodations, and the occasional anecdote - especially if humorous or farcical. On this trip, however, John writes eloquently about the haciendas they visited. Entries like this one are rare and worth transcribing.
When the English were still grubbing for roots in the forest the Mexicans were creating flora and fauna paradises. Today this deep rooted and sincere love and appreciation of plants still exist – even in the hard climatic conditions of the northeast mountains of Mexico (a land once thought uninhabitable). The dominant influences are sun, wind, (soil conditions) and rain or lack of it.
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March was a busy month at the Garden for visitors. Nursery Manager, Craig Jackson, hosted French gardener, Jean-François Giraud, and his wife, whose name we do not have in our register, who were already familiar with the Garden and many of the plants in our collection. They came to Dallas for the Bromeliad show and drove to Hempstead on the first leg of their journey to Austin and the Edwards Plateau. We are so pleased they put us on their itinerary (and, being excellent French ambassadors, they left us a lovely bottle of wine). Merci beaucoup!
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Twenty four members of the Montgomery Bonterra Garden Club got a private docent tour of the Garden this month followed by a catered lunch and some plant shopping in the nursery. We love hosting garden clubs. If you are in a garden club and interested in visiting the Garden, contact Kara at kara@jfgarden.org.
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We were pleased to host a visit and picnic for various clubs in the Agriculture department at Prairie View A&M University. We're particularly gratified that this visit was organized by our first-ever PVAMU intern, Charles Carpenter. Charles has continued to be an advocate for the Garden, especially at PVAMU, and we are grateful for this connection. |
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For those of you who have visited the Garden in April, you may have been fortunate enough to witness the incredible new flush of leaves on our Quercus crassifolia. These leaves feel like velvet to the touch and their saturated color is remarkable. The tops of the leaves eventually turn green and leathery but their undersides retain their velvety texture. Make sure you stop and give one a feel next time you’re on a tour. |
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We are very pleased to introduce our newest employee - Gardener, Luke Kelley. Luke started the first week of April and if you've been near our office and nursery area, you've seen what an impact Luke's diligent weeding and planting has already made. Here's Luke's bio:
I began my interest in plants in 2007, working at S and S plant farms in West Texas. In 2009 I moved to the Austin area and worked at The Natural Gardener for over 10 years, studying the natural and organic gardening methods taught by John Dromgoole as well as learning directly from head gardeners Roger Igo and David Johndrow. I have an inclination towards art and seeing gardening as another form of creative expression, so when I moved to College Station in April of this year, I discovered John Fairey Garden and was excited to be apart of the creativity and imaginative expression John Fairey established.
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