Please join Millay Arts and Hawthorne Valley Farm on Thursday, November 17th at 3 p.m., to celebrate the completion of Patty Harris' FollyFields Residency. We will meet at the Hawthorne Valley Farm Store pavilion.
Patty's piece Milkweed Phenology illustrates the life cycle of the milkweed plant -- there are six panels total, constructed from Core-Ten steel, each measuring 16" x 20" -- Patty created this work after spending time on the Farm and at the Farmscape Ecology Center Program researching aspects of biodynamic farming.
Designed to expand Millay Arts’ prestigious residency program into the local community to better connect with our neighbors, we were delighted to discover that the renowned Hawthorne Valley Farm includes the arts in its mission and that they were just as excited by this partnership as we were. Of the experience, FollyFields Artist-in-Residence, Patty states: “It was wonderful to spend time at the farm and learn something about the life cycle of plants and animals there. I walked the grounds with research scientists and learned about the evolving patterns of the movement of water, the ways in which the landscape has been reshaped for various uses, and the phenology of the humble milkweed planet. Milkweed is everywhere and plays a vital part in the lifecycle of the Monarch butterfly. I was fascinated by the varied forms the plant takes as it goes from full bloom, to spiky deadends, to seed pods, and finally to an explosion of seeds and glossy filaments that carry the seeds on the wind. It was this series of changes in form, and how it serves the life of the plant as well as Monarch butterflies, that interested me. I'm glad I was able to depict this narrative through a series of designs along the cow path.”
Monika Burczyk, Co-Director and Manager of External Affairs at Millay Arts, states adds: “Millay Arts is deeply grateful for this opportunity, thankful to Hawthorne Valley Farm for their enthusiastic embrace of this project, to Patty for her imaginative research and professional execution, and also to the Joseph Robert Foundation for their essential support. Stay tuned for next year!”