Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1302805
decided to plant a memorial apple tree on Wesleyan's campus, and the idea of a garden began to grow. With early support from Wesleyan College President Vivia Fowler and Development Director Andrea Williford, Frances began picturing a location for Fernando's apple tree and garden — adjacent to the art building and arboretum where an art pad already functioned as an outdoor classroom. Frances recalled years earlier that Fernando was captivated by local artisan Tanner Coleman's transformation of a concrete slab at the edge of the Wesleyan campus into an "art pad" — 1960s hippie speak for a home or hangout. "Years earlier, by accident, I uncovered the footer of a building and discarded pieces of granite and marble," Coleman said about his discovery. "I'm a place maker. I saw a special place in the making and wanted to capture the space. Fernando was a friend and real spirit, and all of us who worked on the garden with Frances clung to that." Frances presented garden designs and drawings to Fowler and Williford so they would have a visualization of the project, "something I insist on in my own students," she said. "As a painter, I work in solitude, but enjoyed thinking the garden through, even though it was outside my field of experience." So, Frances marshaled a team of artisans and volunteers to construct a garden "that was its own thing while enhancing the art pad and complimenting, not competing with, the arboretum." Even as she grappled with the multitude of decisions inherent in a project of this scope, the garden gave her purpose and a productive counterpoint to her anguish. "Saturating myself in the creative process and working with talented individuals was therapeutic," Frances said. From the outset, people donated money to the garden, but, given the expense of materials and labor, Frances committed to minimizing the costs for both. A native Alabaman, she likened that challenge to the Southern practice of "making do"— using what's at hand, despite limitations. So, Frances and Coleman continued his practice of sourcing materials from a remote area of campus where broken ceramics, granite, cast concrete planters, broken stone and other remnants were stored, and the pair began rescuing and repurposing them. e garden e entry, a brick and metal archway designed by Coleman and sculptor Jim Bodell, is anchored by brick columns carved by students in ceramic classes taught by Coleman and his wife, Wesleyan art professor Alexis Gregg. e couple own AnT Sculptural Design, a boutique firm in Macon specializing in public art and architectural ceramics carved from wet clay bricks. Gregg, who serves on Wesleyan's arboretum committee, was interested in continuing to develop the art pad, located steps from one of several entrances to the arboretum, as an outdoor art gallery. Student art work appears throughout the garden, including handcrafted tiles at the entrance and three tall ceramic totems, two of fanciful creatures and the center one inspired by Fernando's work. One whimsical motif, Frances' favorite, features two cameras, his signature pipe and Mr. Potato Head, a fixture on his desk at work. Flanking the totems is Fernando's apple tree, the species known as Anna, bred in Israel and chosen for its ability to thrive in hot climates. Although self-pollinating, a small white crabapple tree was planted close by to increase the size and yield of the fruit. e garden's centerpiece is an imposing stone wall 23-feet long and "FERNANDO WAS A FRIEND AND REAL SPIRIT, AND ALL OF US WHO WORKED ON THE GARDEN WITH FRANCES CLUNG TO THAT." -TANNER COLEMAN AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020 | maconmagazine.com 43