Thu, Feb 22, 2024 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm

Virtual Lecture Series: The Art of Topiary with Mike Gibson

Topiary unlocks our sense of touch and sight in unique ways. Join award-winning artist Mike Gibson as he explores the therapeutic aspects of topiary and shares his process for beautifying locations of any type, creating more inviting spaces for our senses and decreasing negativity within an area. Mike Gibson is a self-taught property artist, topiarist, and entrepreneur, who has spent over 20 years beautifying residential, commercial, and public spaces. Inspired by hardworking Black artists like his father, Michael T. Gibson, and Topiary Artists Pearl Fryar and Jake Hobson, Gibson began honing his craft at the early age of seven. Since 2015 Gibson has created well over 600 topiary designs for properties nationwide through Gibson Works Property Art (GWPA) LLC. In 2021 Gibson was the Topiary-Artist-in-Residence at Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden in Bishopville, SC, where he helped to restore the legendary garden. Among many other awards and achievements, he was a featured contestant on the HGTV produced reality tv competition show "Clipped" featuring Martha Stewart as head judge in 2021.

Mike Gibson

Adults

Virtual

$15/$12 member

Registration Deadline February 20

Gardens endlessly award our senses, making them sensible places to share our time and energy. A brief scent of wet soil, a distant murmur of a bird’s song, or a blurred pattern of blooms can transport us to another time in our memory and simultaneously root us in the present moment. Such experiences offer a source of appreciation for the life all around us and nurture our minds and souls. It's no surprise that gardening is an amazing way to cultivate, expand, and hone our "sense-abilities." Join us for our 5-part virtual lecture series to learn from talented professionals in the gardening community about the many ways sound, touch, taste, smell, and sight inspires their work.

Our virtual lecture series offers an opportunity to connect with inspiring professionals in the gardening community throughout the United States and beyond. Each lecture includes a 60-minute presentation on ZOOM followed by a 30-minute Q&A with the presenter.

Check out our best practices tip sheet to ensure you are in tip-top technical shape for the lectures! Olbrich Botanical Gardens is unable to provide technical support during the presentations.

Thank You to Our 2024 Presenting Sponsor

Barbara Mathis

You Might Be Interested In

Thu, May 23, 2024 5:30 pm

Virtual Lecture Series: My Greatest Design Lessons with Jay B. Sifford

A garden has the potential to speak to all our senses. Designer Jay Sifford believes that “a garden should be an immersive environment laced with magic, art and story, a place where people, plants and wildlife interact in meaningful ways, and a stage upon which people can live out the best versions of their lives.” Join us as Jay shares his personal discoveries from 20 years of garden design, plus lessons from other designers. Learn how to create a magical, immersive, and profound space. He will share tips on rhythm, lines, shapes, and light; creating theater using scrim; and the power of emotion. Sifford’s work has been featured in several books and publications including Fine Gardening, Southern Living, Country Gardens, Garden Design, and SouthPark Magazine. LUXlife magazine named him "North Carolina's Most Outstanding Landscape Designer” in 2021.