As the early morning sun shone through the trees on June 16, birds were singing, cicadas were humming, and Ellen Carter prepared for another day’s work in her expansive garden.
The grounds would soon be the location of “Artists in the Garden,” a fundraising event for the Brown County Art Guild on Saturday, June 26. Many will come to gather for an evening of food and drinks, live music and fellowship. Several guild artists will also be painting en plein air and have works available for purchase.
Carter has been president of the guild’s board of directors for three years, but has been around the organization since she was 8 years old. Her father, local artist Fredrick W. Rigley, was a founding member of the guild in 1954.
When guild director Andra Walters presented the fundraiser idea to the board, Carter volunteered her home as the location. Artists have often come to paint on location at the 1920s home, which was moved here from Indianapolis during the Great Depression. She and her husband, Jay, have been its residents for about 45 years.
This weekend, guests will be able to stroll along the creek, by the koi pond, and say hello to “Mama,” Carter’s cat, and “Selma,” a mannequin in the garden named after artist T.C. Steele’s wife.
“We needed a fundraiser, and I think this will be a success,” Carter said. An intense gardener, she said that she’s spent roughly 40 hours per week in preparation for the event and that the activity is her own form of art.
“(It’s) recreating gardens. … I worked on different areas to make them a little bit better,” Carter said. “I always change things. … It takes a lot of care.” Once the event is complete, she said she won’t be doing anything else so intense in her gardens.
In addition to the gardens, guests will also be able to view the Carters’ extensive art collection in their home.
She said that they’re happy that guild artists are participating in the event as well, and that there’s a “tremendous passion” the artists have for the guild and its operations. “When they participate, it tells you they like the organization,” she said.
She also said “there’s no better person” than Walters to be in her position. “We’re so lucky to have her. She’s amazing. She has passion for the guild,” Carter said.
Walters said she’d planted the seed for the event with the board, who gave a lot of support.
“I felt that the guild could benefit from a type of fundraiser that had broad appeal to the general public, but had some relationship to what we do,” she said. Her desire was to also raise the visibility of the guild.
“Gardens are beautiful, artwork is beautiful. It’s just the idea of the aesthetics of the visual — aesthetically and visually they go hand in hand,” she said.
They’re already looking forward to how this event can grow in the future. Walters said they would consider growing the event into an actual garden tour, starting with an event at another home, then moving onto tours of local grounds.
Walters said they want to encourage an awareness, helping people to understand the Brown County Art Guild started with a “desire of excellence.”
“Today, we focus on and promote excellence in the same tradition,” she said.
A workshop will happen this weekend as well, with artists having registered to paint en plein air at a Brown County location.
“To see the response we’re having between the workshop, then the garden, I feel like it can be considered our major fundraiser of the year,” Walters said.
Money raised at these events assist with guild operations. The Art Colony Weekend in September, a more “program-based” weekend, Walters said, also raise money for the guild.
“It’s going to be a fun night, with music, food,” Walters said about this weekend’s event, for which tickets are still available.
She expressed gratefulness for the Carters’ offer to host.
“It’s a beautiful melding of art and nature,” she said. “The style of artwork that is predominantly on sale is promoted in our historic works as well.
“It’s a wonderful way to help people understand who we are, what we’re about and what we’ll continue to be about.”
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Tickets: $100
Information: 812-988-6185
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