Price Center Garden Party celebrating outdoor art

Staff Reports

SAN MARCOS – Over the past 12 months, the Price Center Arts Committee has overseen the installation of 10 new pieces of permanent outdoor art in the Center’s showcase Garden. A special outdoor reception celebrating all the art is set for Saturday, May 7 from 10 a.m. – noon. The event is free and open to all, and live music by Gary Taylor and light refreshments will also be featured.

Guests of the Art Garden Party will enjoy a chance to meet with some of the artists behind the works, including the two newest installations, which will be dedicated during the reception. A colorful mural of local flora on the Feltner Alley wall and three mosaic benches under the garden’s largest heritage pecan tree bring the current total of outdoor artworks in the downtown greenspace to 11.  

The two recent additions were funded by local property owner and art enthusiast Melissa Hodgkins in memory of her late husband George Forrester. Local artist Michelle Wilson (Hagerty) created the alley mural, and the creative team behind River City Glassworks — Kat Welch and Sondra Kretschmar — was selected for the bench project. Each will have some of their smaller artworks available to purchase that day.  

“The beauty of our Garden space is that there is always something blooming, sprouting or changing in some way, all year long,” said Clay DeStefano, executive director. “The addition of all of this art helps make the spaces all the more engaging as the greenery and flowers grow and recede around the original works throughout the year,” he added. “It’s almost like a secret garden as you discover something new each time.”

In addition to Dianne, the beautiful painted mermaid sculpture that has sat in the front corner of the Garden since 2018, last spring the Center added a mosaic bust, recycled glass wind chimes, a fused glass mobile, clay bees, cement cast elephant ears, a mosaic sundial, recycled flowers, and a living chair to the Garden space. A recently added winding path down the middle of the front Garden also now offers viewers a chance to take in the works while enjoying the beautiful plant specimens throughout.

Funds to purchase the outdoor art came from direct donations and proceeds from the Rotating Community Art Shows that are created, curated, and conducted by the Price Center Arts Committee. The San Marcos Arts Commission provides a portion of the funding for the shows.

For more information about art shows at the Price Center, please call 512-392-2900, stop by the Center at 222 W. San Antonio St., or visit price-center.org or Facebook @ Price Center & Garden.