Slow Down and Sketch: Still Life from Nature

Join artist Gabriela Salazar to make drawings inspired by the Harrisons’ Survival Piece #5: Portable Orchard. Visitors of all ages are welcome in the Hess Family Theater to take a close look at things that grow on trees: branches, leaves, blossoms, and fruit. Take a moment to really slow down and draw these organic forms. You can also lend your voice to the natural world by creating a message on behalf of plants and trees using invisible ink made from lemons!

Portable Orchard is an art installation by Helen Mayer Harrison and Newton Harrison, first designed in 1972. It features an indoor citrus grove with eighteen live trees. The project imagines a future where traditional farming is no longer possible, and people must find new ways to grow food. By placing this grove in a gallery setting, the artists encourage us to look more closely at these trees—just as we would a painting or sculpture. Their art is not just about creating something beautiful; it’s also a call to action, urging us to think about how we will sustain ourselves in a changing world.