Inspiration blooms in Blue Heron Preserve’s 10th ‘Art of Nature’ exhibit

Sylvia Cross always has made a splash.

The legendarily effervescent multimedia artist, who owns Sycamore Place Gallery in Decatur, has long drawn inspiration from large-scale masters such as Christo and Frank Gehry.

One exhibition in particular moved her to a kind of homage recently. “I saw Olafur Eliasson’s ‘Falling Water’ in the Hudson River,” she says, referring to the Icelandic-Danish artist, “and was so moved I thought: I want to do that! I want to create a waterfall! Why not? I grew up in Savannah, near the ocean, so I love to work with water as a medium. Our bodies are composed of water, salt and electricity, so water features resonate with who we are on a very basic, elemental level.”

She knew the ideal venue for it — Blue Heron Nature Preserve, a beauty spot just off Roswell Road, a stone’s throw from the bustling sprawl of Buckhead. Consecrated to natural preservation, arts immersion and community building, it is currently in the midst of its 10th annual outdoor exhibition, “Art of Nature,” continuing through June 9.

Credit: Photo by Becca McCoy

Credit: Photo by Becca McCoy

Cross had the vision; she just needed the brawn, so she rounded up a crew of her usual collaborators that she calls her “sweat equity”: Randy Taylor, Wes Cribb, Nicole Haysler, Kent Wall and T-Kay. They used PVC piping, a submersible battery and a solar-powered battery to rig up a waterfall from Nancy Creek, cascading from the edge of Rickenbacker Bridge. It is backlit with multicolor lights, so the effect is one of a beaded, iridescent curtain, a small rainbow on steroids. For an added flourish, Cross painted bright blue herons inside the bridge, which also reflect and shimmer in the water.

“Just the fact that we got it going with nobody getting electrocuted was something to celebrate,” she says, with a laugh. “And when it started to flow, we all jumped up and down like happy children in a sprinkler system.”

That sense of wonder is what the preserve, known to insiders simply as “BHNP,” strives to create. It started as a scrubby green space of seven acres, 24 years ago.

“It was just a place where local children went to play,” says founder Nancy Jones, an artist who was teaching at Sarah Smith Elementary when she decided she’d better swing into action to preserve the woodlands before developers snatched them up. So began the work of rezoning, clean-up, and trail-building.

Today, the three-mile Blueway Trail winds through 30 acres of four distinct habitats — lush, riparian meadows, woods, and wetlands. Its brick-and-mortar headquarters and gallery offers after-school programs, summer camp, a turtle sanctuary, and an apiary. And multiple exhibits and programming coordinated by artist-in-residence Dorothy O’Connor.

“I can’t think of another nature preserve anywhere in the country that is doing precisely what we are,” O’Connor says. “Art and nature are symbiotic, and we use art to call attention to issues in the natural world, and nature to call attention to art, and our curation process prioritizes artists who work with this in mind. They tend to use materials and processes found and foraged in nature. It’s very gentle and low-impact, what we do.”

Adds Jones, “Many of our exhibits are transitory. For example, we might have something natural and biodegradable on the berm of the creek, and enjoy it while you can because when the water gets high, it washes away. But that is the point. Nothing we do adds to any pollution.”

The “Art of Nature” program going on now celebrates 10 works. One, “Shielding Echoes,” by Bautanzt Here, was a site-specific dance and theater performance last month.

Other exhibits, some of which are interactive, remain open, and a map is available online and at the center to guide you. In addition to Cross’ “Waterfall Community” exhibit, check out the following:

“Metamorph” by Becca Rodriguez is a role-playing game, made to complete the journey from egg to fully metamorphosed frog, on the forest floor.

Credit: Photo by Becca McCoy

“Sights” by Julia Hill is a “teleidoscope” made from salvaged materials collected from Atlanta’s forests and fringes. Guests can peer through it for “fresh and interesting perspectives.”
“Once During the Sun” by Nneka Kai explores the question of the “free Black feminine form” through various interdisciplinary approaches such as fiber, sculpture and performance.
Laura Bell’s “Catch and Release” consists of fabric panels hung from the trees in the center of the preserve between Nancy Creek and the Woodland Loop Trail.
“A Drop in the Community Pond” by Hellenne Vermillion uses various forms of clay to form sculpted faces. A center clay head represents an individual whose thoughts, words and actions create a ripple felt throughout the community. Other faces are placed in concentric circles to create a ripple effect going out. A few visages are made of unfired clay to represent those people who were affected by the ripple but have moved out of the community.
“Interconnected” by Diana Toma is a 9-foot mural on a concrete cistern. A whimsical frog holds a wild daisy in its mouth, and a slug attempts to reach a wild berry.
“Sympoiesis” by Shana Robbins was assembled with painted rocks from Nancy Creek, flora, moss, fallen tree limbs and other elements.
Alison Hamil’s “Ant Trail Crosswalks” consists of small figures painted in various locations throughout the preserve, honoring the strong sense of can-do community among those insects — something BHNP is helping us all remember.

Jones, who plans to take the reins as next year’s artist-in-residence, says, “Ultimately, there should be no dividing line between art and nature — they’re not in isolated boxes. Both utilize observation skills and problem-solving. The Blue Heron teaches contextually the whole experience so visitors, especially children, can see and do and come to conclusions about our world and our connectedness within it.”

Adds O’Connor, “Plus it’s just a magical place, tucked away in this pocket of the city. I saw a deer there last week.”