Carol Robinson and Lillian Bartelheimer pose for a photo Wednesday, March 12 amid close-up photos Robinson took of vegetables and garden scenes which underpin an art fundraiser for the Snohomish Community Kitchen public dinner.
Photo by Michael Whitney.
SNOHOMISH — Vibrant squash, zucchini, tomatoes, cabbage, pumpkins and more.
Four seasons of a garden are depicted for a community art show Saturday, April 5.
For the event, more than 35 photos by Carol Robinson printed onto canvas will be spread out in the parish hall of St. John’s Episcopal Church.
Organizers hope people will take them home. They’re thinking pieces will be priced in the $20-$50 range depending on size. It will benefit the Snohomish
Community Kitchen, the free public dinner that feeds people Monday and Thursday nights at St. John’s.
She’s named the photo set “Lillian’s Garden.”
“Lillian” is Lillian Bartelheimer, part of the secret to this success. She and a group of friends turned a former clover and alfalfa patch on Bartelheimers’ acreage into the year-round garden.
Ninety percent of this garden’s bounty — the other 10% is for home eating — is distributed across the immediate region: To the Snohomish Community Food Bank, to the Maltby Food Bank, to the Sky Valley Food Bank, to the Snohomish Senior Center, and of course the Community Kitchen.
It’s half the story. The local gardening collective swaps seeds and grows produce in plots mostly small and smaller. Master Gardener Diane Decker-Ihle gives advice.
Community Kitchen leader Sandie Wheeler called it a network.
Anyone can grow in this climate, Robinson noted. She’s been gardening for 25 years. She hopes the show can inspire people to start their own.
Robinson, Rosemary Randall and fellow gardeners help tend the garden and pick up the goods. They are delivering something harvested practically every day.
One time, they filled up the truck bed of a Ford F-150 with crates of corn ears.
People who want to start donating can contact a food bank as an option. The Community Kitchen effort will take produce, too, Wheeler said.
At places that serve dinner, these ingredients are cooked into meals almost immediately. It’s garden-to-table, and locally fresh.
No fancy equipment got the shots. Robinson said she got the photos with her Samsung smartphone, and didn’t pretty them up with photo editing. The raw veggies seen are the raw photos.
St. John’s community art night happens monthly on the first Saturday of the month. The evening also has an open mic time to share poetry, music or spoken word, said art night manager Christian Fickle.
Event details
Community Art Night: Garden Art photos for Community Kitchen
St. John’s Episcopal Church, 913 Second St., Snohomish
Saturday, April 5. 7 - 9 p.m.
