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Garden Hours: Wednesday - Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (last entry 3:30 p.m.), closed on Monday & Tuesday
Leach Botanical Garden is delighted to announce that artist Rose Covert's willow sculpture project has been selected for the Sun and Moongate in our Far Meadow. Rose’s proposal was chosen for its whimsical blend of artistry, natural materials, impermanence, alignment with other features in the Far Meadow, and opportunity for community involvement.
Rose Covert is an Oregon-based fiber artist who uses natural materials to weave sculptural forms. She has been a member and board member of the Columbia Basin Basketry Guild since 2010 and uses techniques she learned through her involvement with them to develop the style of weaving she now works in. Rose hand harvests and processes all of her materials, which creates a deep connection to the fibers she uses in her work.
“I am working with themes of collaboration, interdependency and belonging. These works are created out of the living world and seek to create a connection to the wilds. They are a conversation with nature and an invitation to participate in that conversation. I am weaving a language of landscape and pattern. I am making works that evoke the rhythms and cycles of life asking us to remember that we are a part of life on this planet, that we belong and are beholden to it, that we are interconnected and intertwined and must therefore live as if our survival and thriving depends on each other, because it does.”
About the Design
Each of the two gateways will be woven by hand using native, sustainably harvested willows, rooted directly into the soil to create living, growing sculptures that change with the seasons. Together, these two gateways will create poetic entrances into the Far Meadow, each reflecting the rhythm of the natural world.
Rose’s approach to willow weaving combines sculpture and horticulture. Some of the willow will be planted live so that it continues to grow, while other sections will be stripped and sculpted to preserve the gateways’ form. Over the years, the gateways will evolve by leafing out in spring, full and green in summer, golden in fall, and pared back to their sculptural lines each winter.
As Rose describes, “Weaving with willow in this way allows the sculpture to become part of the landscape. It is strong and durable, rooted directly into the earth on which it stands.”
Installation & Community Engagement
Installation of the Sun and Moongate gateways will begin this winter. Rose will weave each structure onsite over a series of scheduled work days with opportunities for visitors to observe the creative process, ask questions, and see the gateways take shape in real time.
Leach Botanical Garden also hopes to host future community workshops on building with willow, inviting participants to learn the art of living sculpture and connect with this remarkable natural material.
We look forward to welcoming these new pieces to the Far Meadow and to celebrating another step in the ongoing transformation of this beautiful garden.
Stay tuned for installation updates and workshop opportunities in the coming months.
Engage your creativity and create an eco-themed artwork around 6x6 inches in size or smaller to benefit Leach Botanical Garden. Your gift of art will be sold for $40 at a July program to raise funds to support the Garden’s operations.
Read about what happened to the Garden's pedestrian bridge in 2020.
Horticulture Director Adam Hart writes about Petasites frigidus var. palmatus - Artic Sweet Coltsfoot.
