Creative people tend to be creative in more than one area.
Creative people should be compensated financially for their creativity.
Richard O’Mara, owner and president of Cedar Grove Gardens, subscribes to both these beliefs, and that’s why this evening he’s reviving a tradition that’s lain fallow at his Adams Street flower and garden establishment for more than a decade.
Tonight through April 7, five floral and graphic designers who work at Cedar Grove Gardens will be exhibiting –and hoping to sell– their paintings, photographs, and stained glass pieces, which will be displayed on the shop walls and free-standing panels.
“I’ve always had plenty of talented people working for me,” O’Mara notes, “Besides this year there’s a longer than usual stretch between holidays, because Easter is so late, and this show should generate some good foot traffic.”
Way back in the 90s in the days of the Dorchester Arts Council, O’Mara made room for exhibits by Dot artists like Elaine Croce-Happnie, who works in mixed media and textiles. But this all-employees’ show is a first. Staff members have more recently participated in a different sort of artsy event at Cedar Grove, similar to “Art in Bloom” at the Museum of Fine Arts, in which floral designers put together arrangements that “respond” to a painting or other work of art.
But not this time, according to one of the floral designers, Janet Harold, who wants visitors to buy her watercolors.
“The whole point of this show is sales.”
However, Harold, a proud member of the West Roxbury Artists Association, explains any funds she gets from selling her locally inspired pieces will go to a very special cause.
“Growing up in Boston was a constant inspiration for me. I love to paint the brownstones in the South End especially in the spring time when the dogwoods are in bloom. Every brush stroke I make on raw canvas is a stroke of love. I paint to raise money and awareness for Cerebral Palsy. Proceeds from my paintings go directly to my granddaughter’s alternative therapies. To signify the cause, any recent work will have a green Cerebral Palsy awareness ribbon placed discretely in the painting,” she said.
Fellow floral designers Mitchell Karas and Cat Thomson will also being showing their paintings, while June Alexandra will offer her abstract stain glasswork, similar to the pieces she used to sell at the Ashmont Farmer’s Market.
Cedar Grove Gardens’ graphic designer Kristin Ahern, a Dorchester resident, will be displaying her photos.
“For me, a photograph is much more than a picture of something or someone. It is a visual representation of emotions, thoughts and moods. It is a way to speak without actually talking.”
The public is invited to this evening’s opening reception from 6:30-8:30 p.m. to meet with these multi-talented creators. Preview the display at cedargrovegardens.com.
