By Josephine Johnson for the Savannah Morning News

Savannah may be blossoming as a premier art lover’s destination, but just 20 miles down the road in Richmond Hill, art and artists are also taking root. Since 2007, Arts on the Coast has been nurturing local art and its creators in Coastal Georgia with bi-monthly events, regular gallery shows and annual exhibitions.

On June 22, Arts on the Coast celebrates its 16th annual member show, Through the Looking Garden, at Elmgren’s Garden Center, 30 Cherokee St., Richmond Hill. The event is free and open to all, featuring the work of more than 30 local artists, plus live music, light hors-d’oeuvres and complimentary wine.

Through the Looking Garden is on display in the Photopoint Gallery inside Elmgren’s Garden Center, running June 22 through September 9.

Joy Dunigan, artist, photographer and owner of Photopoint Gallery, looks forward to AOC’s annual exhibition. Her husband, Greg Elmgren, owns the garden shop that’s hosted the event for the past seven years. Together, he runs the retail business outside, while inside, Dunigan curates a showcase of rotating artists.

2023 marks the first year in which the show’s theme focuses on gardens and gardening.

“When people come to the garden center and see the art on the walls, their positive reactions are signs we’re in the right place,” mused Dunigan. “Gardening is an art in and of itself, and we wanted to explore that as theme for this year’s annual exhibition but as a kind of take on Lewis Carroll’s, 'Through the Looking Glass.' It became a thematic nugget for artists to run with.”

*Heather Young’s Not All Who Wander Are Lost*

FEATURED ARTISTS

Open to all AOC artist members, the show promises awards for top submissions. A panel of three judges from different facets of the Richmond Hill community considers these criteria in evaluating works: design and composition, craftsmanship, presentation, thematic relevance and overall creativity.

Heather L. Young, best known for her vibrant, stylized interpretations of Spanish moss-draped trees, has a painting in the show, Not All Who Wander Are Lost. Using her signature process of layering paint and strategically removing color washes, Young builds a canvas of rich hues that fade, blur and intensify within the palette to create her camellia-inspired subject matter.

“I like erasers more than I like paint brushes,” joked Young. “For this piece, I used a reference photo from a pathway at the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens, and then let the painting move in its own direction. I’ve learned it works out better when you get out of the way and just allow it to happen.”

Young, a graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design, serves as treasurer for the organization and is a contributing writer at Reflections Magazine.

Life by Ana Maria Leonardi presents a different take on the theme. With soft pastels on paper, Leonardi crafts a close up of a detailed blue eye peeking through twisting leaves, grapes, an apple and orange. It is meticulous, colorful, hinting at the often fraught tensions of Lewis Carroll’s writing.

Dunigan also has an image in the show. Since she owns the gallery and is also directing the exhibition, she is swift to emphasize that like all the artists, she paid required entrance fees, and perhaps most importantly, isn’t eligible to win any awards.

Golden Afternoon is Dunigan’s interpretation. A black and white photograph of an iris flower that yields a delicate, detailed study of contrasts—apropos given the curation’s wide-ranging thematic visions.

“I’m always excited about this show because I never know what I’m going to get until it gets here,” beamed Dunigan. “It’s daunting from a gallery director perspective, but inevitably what I get has a lot of skill, creativity. It’s a box of chocolates and a little like Christmas in June.”

Arts on the Coast is open to anyone in Coastal Georgia and the Lowcountry of South Carolina interested in exploring art and growing as artist. Dues are $30 per year, which offers artists access to having their art on walls for people to see.

For Young, the organization has provided an important opportunity to network with and gain perspective from other area artists.

*Elmgren’s Garden Center, 30 Cherokee Street in Richmond Hill, GA*

“I moved to Richmond Hill in 2017, and this artist community doesn’t feel pretentious at all,” reflected Young. “Retirees, life-long artists, emerging artists, established artists, all are a part of this group, and it is so special to come together for our annual exhibition to share our work in the community. I like seeing how other people approached the theme and what they produced. It’s a party, a garden party of art and ideas that everyone will love and should be part of.”