Woodland Banners Poetry Walk
25 artworks matched with 25 poems in a permanent outdoor installation.
The Woodland Banners Poetry Walk is a stroll through the woods at Frog Pond Farm in Saxapahaw, North Carolina. It features outdoor banner artwork by Steven Durland and poetry by Linda Frye Burnham.
Leaves after Degas banner with poem in the fall
From the introduction to the accompanying book, “Woodland Banners Poetry Walk”:
Steven creates large digital images from leaves and bits and pieces of the forest floor. These images are printed on large outdoor banners and then installed back in the woods where they change with the light, the weather and the seasons. Many of these banners are named after artists whose work Steven thought serendipitously shared color and/or compositional elements with his leaf images. They have names like “Leaf after Klee,” or “Leaves after Orozco.”
Linda noted the names and began researching the words of these artists. She found that they had great power and sounded like poetry. So she repurposed the artists’ actual words, creating a poem for each banner. The poems were printed on aluminum trail markers and placed in the woods near their matching banners. The trail leads from the beginning of the drive way, through the forest to Steven’s Bourbon Dogs & Art yurt studio at the top of the hill.
The Poetry Walk had its grand opening in October 2015. The installation is now viewable by appointment year-round (weather permitting) and during open house weekends which will be announced here on the website. If you would like to visit please contact us. There is no admission charge, but donations to help with upkeep and maintenance are greatly appreciated.
Gallery of Poetry Walk images
Thanks
The Poetry Walk has been made possible by a wonderful group of people who supported our Kickstarter project.
We would specifically like to thank the following individuals for backing the two Kickstarter projects that led to Woodland Banners, and Woodland Banners Poetry Walk:
Joe & Mimi Alef, Deborah Amaral, Meg & Bond Anderson, Andrea Assaf, William Atkinson, Benjamin Vineyards, David Berry, Jerome Bias, Cindy Biles, Lynn Bodenheimer, Andrew Burnham, Jill Burnham, Linda Frye Burnham, Catherine Carter, Jody Cedzidlo, Anne Chapman, Lynn Cox, Sheila Kerrigan & Steve Clarke, William Cleveland, Jules Curry-Corriere, Sue Dayton, Kathie deNobriga, Alexandra DeSiato, Dreams and Wonders, Sheila Durland, Lynne Elizabeth, Nancy Evans, Josephine Fleishman, Jan Freya, Bruce Frye, Jess Frye, Reed Danger Frye, Global Graffiti, Pam Groben, Martha Hamblin, Jan Holloman, Charlie Hubbell, Dwight James, Jean Kaplan, Susan Kern, Ladywench, Audrey Layden, Cat Manolis, Lori Manske, Art Menius, Christopher Moller, Mike Mollett, Allene Monaghan, Danelle Morton, Samuel Pate, Sabrina Peck, James & Deborah Perotti, Sarah Preston, Gary Phillips, David Ross, Roxy Farms Antiques, Warren Schonfeld, Mat Schwarzman, Peggy Seehafer, Antje Shiflett, Diane Sipprelle, Nancy Tregaskes, Twonkykitty, Steve Wallace, Pamela Watts, Roseann Weiss, Anne Willson
