The Garden as an Idea

By: Xavier Hardison

December 13, 2024

When you imagine a garden, what comes to mind? Peace? Harmony? Maybe growth? A garden is often considered a place for reflection. We can draw strong parallels to the role art plays in our daily lives. Could a garden be metaphoric? More than a physical space, could it represent a mental/emotional state of being?

In the studio, we constantly challenge and re-orient ourselves with this idea. How can we create a space which provides self-reckoning and encourages positive reflection. There is often more than one way to achieve this desired result, as different people respond different ways to different things. This is important to highlight because it's what makes art so exciting. The unique perspectives we carry are the missing element in any piece of art, and help create a more complete understanding of our environment.

So what about the physical environment? It surely must have an impact in creating a liminal, contemplative space. Our studio addresses this topic in a simple manner. Human nature is in fact, nature. Therefore, our artwork is always centered around natural elements, making nature a consistent theme for us. Plants and animals (humans included), are depicted in nearly every piece we make because nature inherently resonates with the human spirit. When the spirit is pleased, we enter into the "idea of a garden", which puts us at ease. Even if a single visual reference is made [see below], there's an ever-present connection between what we see (lion), and how we feel about what we see (courage, strength, royalty, etc...) based on its role in nature.

All that goes to say, we keep things natural over here. All our imagery is drafted from life observations of natural subjects. We never use pre-fabricated, or "captured" digital images to produce art because we believe in the traditional artistic idea of valuing the dimensionality of the eye. Everything is either done on-site or drafted on site to later be transfered on a larger scale in studio. When the world is in a frenzy, and chaos is around every corner, you can find us "in the garden" consistently bringing you peace of mind.

Thanks for reading, and Happy Holidays!!