- April 26, 2024
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Linda McCauley never considered herself an artist — until she started taking the Ormond Memorial Art Museum's Art of Healing classes.
"I never wanted to take classes because I thought it was all just painting," she said. "But every time we come here, we do something phenomenal. Things I never thought I could do."
Led by the museum's Curator of Education and Outreach Kristin Heron, the classes offer free art projects with the purpose of inner healing and finding peace. That kind of solitude and creativity was found in the museum's gardens May 26, where the group used plants and leaves from the ground to create botanical monoprints. The classes' artwork — along with other local professional and amateur artists who have been inspired by the gardens — will be hung in the museum for the "Art in the gARTen" gallery starting June 3.
"Everybody can do art," McCauley said. "You just have to find something that works for you, and you can only do that by taking classes."
While her last class only had five students, they all said normally Heron's classes are completely full.
"We hope the Smithsonian doesn't grab her up," Lori Davis smiled. "We want her to stay in Ormond."
A community inspired
More than 35 artists will be featured in the upcoming "Art in the gARTen" show opening June 3 in honor of the founding 70 years ago of the museum and gardens. Made up of 12-by-12 inch oil and acrylic paintings, photography, mixed media, ceramic and mosaic of the museum's gardens. Besides the lush flora and fauna, iconic images of the waterfall and peacock fountain were also captured.
A college art class set Juliet Bullen-Dunbar on a path of recovery and self-discovery, helping her create one of the paintings to be featured in the exhibit.
"The art was drawing me out of myself and giving me a lot of self-confidence,'' said the recent graduate of Daytona State College in a press release.
The museum is open from 10 a.m.to 4 p.m. daily, and noon to 4 p.m. on the weekend. The gardens are open until dusk.
