Art Guide to

Guest House
Scarecrows: Mary Cour Burrows
Seed Packet Paintings: DaKoda Davis
Decomposition Maze
Recycled Bugs: Tim Pace
Pill Bugs: Bernhard Meck
Picnic Grove
Tables: Scott Banbury
Playhouse Lane
Country House: NJ Woods
House of Rock: Tootsie Bell
Finders Keepers: Mary Jo Karimnia
Pixie Sticks: Mary Cour Burrows
Art Guide
to
Backyard Bluff
Marimbas: Being Art (Sean Murphy
& Anne Froning Wike)
Giant Earthworms: Bernhard Meck
Original Works of Art that Bring our
Children’s Garden to Life!
Your donations support educational programming for
My Big Backyard Children’s Garden.
Home Sweet Home
Green Couch: Paul Little
Melody the Mockingbird: Tim Kinard
Welcome Wildlife
Butterfly Patio: Kristie Duckworth
Flower Models: Elisha Gold
Chrysalis Swing: Bill Price
Birdbath: John Wright Hall
& Brad Arnold
Pollination Pass
Stained Glass Insects: Suzy Hendrix
Raindrop Stop/ Critter Creek
Critters: Larry Lugar
The Crawdad play boat: Karl Weinert
Make a secure donation online at
Nature Play
Scott Banbury
memphisbotanicgarden.com
Or call 901.636.4100
Treetop Adventure
Birdhouses: John Wright Hall & Brad Arnold,
Mary Jo Karimnia, Deidra Daw, Lily Bix Daw,
Mary Cour Burrows, Carol DeForest, Chris &
Mary Claire White
Backyard Birds: DaKoda Davis
Birds Nest: Terance Brown
Seedling Circle
Rainbow Mosaic: Kristie Duckworth
Dog: Tim Kinard
Memphis Botanic Garden
750 Cherry Road, Memphis, TN 38117
Artist Profiles
Artist: Bernhard Meck
Creation: Earthworms & Pill bugs
Bernhard is an environmental sculptor, who created "Monster Worms at Work" and "Small, But BIG In Their Own
World" (pill bugs) utilizing steel frames and solid concrete cores, recycled concrete, and combinations of sand,
cement, and color pigments for the surface to simulate organic or inorganic textures. Many lowly creatures,
such as pill bugs and worms, live in a world that we ignore. However, their importance to the natural world is
much greater than we realize. A child impressed by gigantic representations may be startled enough to listen to
the story of what makes these creatures so important.
Artist: Carol De Forest
Creation: Birdhouse
What is trash? According to Carol, it depends on the eye of the beholder! Her hope is that children learn to
treasure transformation, changing trash into art by using imagination and a discerning eye. She considers Memphis Botanic Garden a local treasure, so she created a design that would be playful, yet provide interactive
learning as part of the character of the artwork.
Artist: Chris & Mary Claire White
Creation: Bird Burbs
Chris, a carpenter by trade, and Mary Claire, a long-time painter, were married at Memphis Botanic Garden in
August, 1997. They now have 2 children and wanted to contribute their creative talents to My Big Backyard as
a way to enrich their family’s connection with the Garden. Each of the five birdhouses in this installation was
thoughtfully designed and masterfully constructed. The paint techniques were carefully chosen for each
house to give them their own "personalities".
Artist: DaKoda Davis
Creation: Birds & Seed Packets
DaKoda used a multitude of media from acrylic and oil to digital painting to create a world of innocence
and nostalgia. Davis works with the playful representation of birds, seeds, and flowers aiming to draw attention
to the much overlooked natural world. “I like the idea of seeing the world with child-like innocence. A child's
world is full of awe and wonders and can be stimulated with color and exciting images for an appreciation that
will last a lifetime.”
Artist: Mary Cour Burrows
Creation: Scarecrows, Birdhouse, Fairy House, & Beehives
Mary holds a degree in sculpture and ceramics and is pursuing graduate studies in photography. She created
Pixie Sticks, Ode to Her Bottled Up Nesting Instinct (birdhouse bottle tree,) Crow-Be-Gonners (dress up scarecrows),
and We Bee Jammin (fanciful bee hives.) Her gift to visitors of the garden is the magic of fairies! “Oh, that magic
can really happen. Fairies do visit at night. The scarecrow family, at night, when the garden is closed, they go
play in the living rooms and play houses!”
Artist: Mary Jo Karimnia
Creation: Birdhouse & Finder’s Keeper’s
Mary Jo passes on a definite sense of fun, and the notion that learning does not have to be preceded by traditional classroom teaching. She developed the Finder’s Keeper’s Playhouse, Treasure Hunt and the Casa Azul birdhouse, using mosaic design patterns. “There are treasures from our own home, as well as others, and it is fun to
see them used and preserved in this way. I think of it as a type of time capsule. We love the Garden and appreciate the emphasis that they place on family and children.”
Artist: Scott Banbury
Creation: Woodworks-Stepping Stumps, Balance Beam, Puppet Playhouse, Builder Boards, and Nature Art Table
Scott formed the structures in the Nature Play Area, as well as Natural Edge benches and picnic tables, using
recovered lumber that would have otherwise gone to a landfill. He relishes the opportunity to inspire children
with a love of creation. Scott wants children to recognize that the trees that surround them are a source of enjoyment while standing. However, after a tree has fallen that same wood can be used creatively to shape our
surroundings.
Artist: Sean P. Murphy & Anne Froning Wike
Creation: Hardwood Percussive Trio
This collection of artwork is interactive! These are concert quality musical instruments that are aesthetically
pleasing, designed for kids, and can live outside. “We saw My Big Backyard as the perfect opportunity to reconnect children & families with art & music-making in a rich outdoor environment. When people visit this area we
want them to be inspired to cross cultural boundaries through music.”
Artist: Suzy Hendrix
Creation: Bugnation Stained Glass Insects
Bugnation was formed through Suzy’s artistically developed use of fused glass. “Insects can be very creepy,
yucky things, but if you look close enough, you can see that they are all amazing creatures, each with its own
mission. In this piece, it is my desire to celebrate the beauty of insects and their unique role in nature. Children
should view insects not just as bugs but as an important aspect of nature; each bug has a job to do.”
Artist: Deidre Daw & Lily Bix-Daw Creation: Bird Cottage & Gourd House
This mother/daughter pair worked together to create these unique birdhouses. Lily’s bird cottage was built of
cedar with painted designs. Deidre’s gourd birdhouse was crafted from glazed porcelain and painted to reflect a
bird family that has found a home in the gourd.
Artist: Larry Lugar
Creation: Hidden Creatures
Larry’s bronze creatures are quiet and hidden...wonderful surprises for those who take time to investigate a little closer. In contrast to the large, colorful pieces in My Big Backyard, these small creatures remind us all to
pause and look more closely at the environment around us.
Artist: Bill Price
Creation: Chrysalis Swing
The smooth, natural contours, warm color of the copper, and the fact that it is a functioning swing make this
piece a favorite of visitors. It is the ideal place for relaxing between other sculptures & activities in the Garden.
Artist: Copper Hall (John Wright Hall & Brad Arnold)
Creation: Copper/Cedar birdhouses, garden gate, and bird bath.
John and Brad create art from found objects and copper creations. Their art is unique in that no two pieces are
alike. “We hope that children are inspired to use their imaginations to create their own works of art out of everyday objects.”
Artist: Tim Pace
Creation: Recycled Bugs
Scrapped metals find new life at Tim’s Eco-art Workshop, where he creates unique sculptures by welding together recycled metals, such as farm implements, tools, car parts, cutlery, trampoline frames, springs, and more.
Artist: NJ Woods
Creation: Country House
NJ wants her Country House to give today’s children a glimpse of what life was like for her generation growing
up. “We live in such a fast-paced world, I wanted to show them how uncomplicated life was then, at least
through a child’s eyes. There was a lot to do, but we were happy, made memories, and the lessons I learned
from those chores stick with me to this day.”
Artist: Kristie Duckworth
Creation: Rainbow Mosaic & Butterfly Patio
Kristie has created art at locations throughout the city of Memphis. The natural stone used to create her butterfly are similar to the colors of a real butterfly. Tiles for her Seedling Circle mosaic were hand-made in her studio.
“I hope that children will be better able to appreciate the vast array and subtlety of colors, patterns, shapes,
and beauty to be found in nature.”
Artist: Karl Weinert
Creation: The Crawdad & Play Boat
Karl is a gifted craftsman who loves creating with wood, both domestic and exotic, in Big Sandy, TN. “The
small wooden boat of yester-year is a piece of Americana that everyone should experience at least once.”
Artist: Tim Kinnard
Creation: Dog Sculpture & Melody the Mockingbird
Tim wanted the dog and mockingbird sculptures in My Big Backyard to present an instant draw for any child
who passes. These two unique sculptures allow children to play with art.
Artist: Paul Little & Bill Ferrell
Creation: Living furniture, green roof, and fairy house
Paul is co-owner of Little Hill Nursery, and is a local expert on sedum and hardy grown succulents. His mission
is to bring nature and homes together instead of keeping them separate. His mantra is “If you’re not living on
the edge, you’re taking up too much space!”
Artist: Terance Brown
Creation: Bird’s Nest
Children love feeling like a bird when they’re inside this gigantic natural nest. The nest is woven together from
branches & limbs, much like a real bird’s nest,
Artist: Tootsie Bell
Creation: House of Rock
Tootsie’s primary focus is jewelry and silversmithing. She is owner of Bell Fine Art Jewelers, holds a B.F.A. in
sculpture from Memphis College of Art and is also a musician. She harbors a natural passion for children, learning, and creative expression through public art. “It is my hope that children will enjoy and interact with my playhouse - that they will be stimulated by color and sound- that they will see that
music and sound can be created with everyday objects and that the memory and experience will
spark an interest in music or art.”
Artist: Elijah Gold
Creation: Metal Flowers
Elijah used found metal pieces to create these whimsical but beautifully artistic, larger-than-life
flowers. He worked with the Garden’s education staff to create botanically correct models that
could be used as teaching tools.