Off the beaten path, beyond the grassy drive, down a shady path and into a sunny hollow awaits a garden of delights.
When one enters the ever-verdant Froggwell Gardens, with its tiers of shrubs, perennials, box hedges and creeping shafts of flowers, its lines of island-bred rhododendrons and hefty-flowered hydrangeas, and through the drifts of other trees and shrubs that sidle up to the forested acreage beyond, it’s like being dropped into some English secret garden.
The turreted and hobbit-like curved wood-shingled house furthers the mood of enchantment as if Bilbo Baggins himself might walk out onto the porch and call everyone in for tea.
Though she may not hail from Middle Earth, every year curator and artist Anne Belov — with the blessing of art lover and Froggwell proprietor Ralph Hastings — does indeed call everyone over for the Froggwell Biennale Invitational Exhibit of Fine Art in Freeland.
The public is invited to view the work of the 13 invited artists from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, July 30 through Sunday, Aug. 1 in and out of the house at Froggwell.
Here, a wonderland of art welcomes anyone who ventures to the show.
The enchanting garden grounds will be graced with the work of island sculptors Sharon Spencer and Sue Taves. Inside, viewers can stroll through every room of the house, where paintings, etchings, lithographs and other live-print pieces will hang, even in the bathroom. The indoor tour will include the work of Bruce Morrow, Buffy Cribbs, Briony Morrow Cribbs, Kathryn Trigg, Gail Gwinn, Suzanne Schlicke, Teresa Saia, Bridget Fischer, Kathleen Fruge Brown, Rebecca Collins and Belov.
As the curator, Belov is a purist when it comes to the Froggwell show.
“Everything in the show is created by the artists by hand,” Belov said.
There are no reproductions in this show, she said.
“I also invite a core group of artists who I know and whose work I like,” Belov added, “and every year
I invite some new artists to spice things up.”
Because her good friend Hastings has always been a great appreciator and supporter of the arts, Belov had the idea for the show years ago when she realized Froggwell Gardens was the perfect place for a unique art event.
“The great thing about this show is you get to see what the art looks like in a real house,” she said.
“And it’s such a spectacular garden, that I realized the show had to have sculpture, as well, where these two artists’ organic shapes and natural forms work so beautifully. You just can’t get that in a gallery setting.”
Everyone is welcome to tour the three-day show, and the artists will be present at various intervals throughout the weekend to answer questions about their work, Belov said.
Froggwell Gardens is at 5508 Double Bluff Road. Parking is limited at peak hours, so carpooling is advised.
For more information about the show, e-mail froggwellbiennale@gmail.com.
