After nearly 4 years of art, community and culture, my studio will be closing. These past years have been the most rewarding and creative period of my life and I would like to share some of my favorites with you.
Each day leading up to the closing date of January 23, 2012 will consist of one of my favorite memories. Enjoy Snyder Art memory number 1…
#1: The Unflappable Lavender Plant and Tomato Tree
Lavender plants occupied the planter when I first opened the studio back in 2008. The scent, along with the lavender plants from the the neighboring planters of Aurthur Brown Plumbing, was strong and stopped many passersby in their tracks. Apparently to some, it smelled like marijuana.
My favorite was while I painted inside, two kids around 13 years old stopped, kicked up their skateboards and took in a whiff at the planter. I kept painting, but attentively listened to their short conversation.
“Dude, do you smell that marijuana?” one asked.
“Duh, it’s an art studio,” the other replied.
These Lavender plants not only smelled like marijuana to some, but were completely out of control. I felt they were out to get me. A trim would ignite an onslaught of new sprouts and unflappable growth. I decided to replace one side of the planer with a cherry tomato plant to reduce the amount of maintenance.
The tomato plant began slow. I don’t even like tomatoes, but I love the combination of red and green. The additional lavender was a perfect mix.
The plant’s growth was healthy, and over time, increased rapidly. Before I knew it, the plant had begun to climb up the wall and in and out of my window vent screen. I included a hanging apparatus once I realized the now identified tomato tree could topple over onto passersby at any moment.
Dozens of small and bright red dots began to appear all over the tree like dots on the belly of a young chicken pox victim. Due to the overwhelming amount of produce, and my distaste for tomatoes, I propped a “FREE TOMATOES” sign against the tree base inviting passersby to help themselves.
The tree grew strong and cherry tomatoes were picked by many. In addition to the introduction of red and green colors into my planter and the free produce offered to the community, it served as a great natural curtain hiding my preparations for my 2nd annual art show. Before unveiling the show, the Snyder Art Tomato tree was removed, but, like the unflappable Lavender plant, which eventually was uprooted entirely, the memory lives on…
– Bryan Snyder
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🙂 Love it!!!!