Vacant lot in Northern Kentucky is transformed into a work of art

At the end of Grandview Avenue in Bellevue, Kentucky next to the train tracks and near a cul-de-sac, a meadow of wildflowers is blooming where just two months ago sat a vacant lot. Thanks to a unique community art project organized by artist Devan Horton the 30 feet wide by 30 feet long space is now a colorful field of flowers. She calls the project Perennial.

“This is a living piece of art. They are all perennial native wildflowers. There are 26 different species of wildflower in this lot and all different species of coreopsis, milkweed, coneflower, things like that. I was really looking to demonstrate the positive good a collective can do when we come in here and we can change the environment,” explained Horton.

Horton said sustainability is a focus of her work. She knew she wanted to do a community-based project that had a gardening component. The 31-year-old lives in Bellevue. She also knew there were several vacant lots. So, she approached Bellevue City Administrator, Frank Warnock with her idea to create living art in at least one of the lots.

“I told him I am an artist that has created a series of materials that are all botanical based, and paper that’s filled with pollinator seeds, and that I would like to invite the community to have an art-making event in which we will be planting paintings,” reported Horton.

City administrator Warnock liked Horton’s idea. On this day Warnock and Horton stand in the meadow just a few blocks from the town’s Catholic Church.

Warnock said he appreciates the creativity, thoughtfulness, and botanical-based art-making materials put into this project.

“This lot has been vacant for many, many years. Most people think it’s a city lot. It’s actually owned by the railroad. The local neighbors used to maintain the lot. It’s just sort of an odd thing here in the city. One of the priorities of the city is to try to enhance and promote art. And I think a lot of people in the city really enjoy coming and seeing it and experiencing it," said Warnock.

With an Art Meets Activism grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women, Devan Horton was able to hold a painting and planting party at the lot. So, a couple of months ago more than 200 people came to help. Cold Spring, Kentucky resident Gabrielle Siekman was there. She recalled how Horton had a huge stack of 8-inch by 5-inch pieces of paper she handed out.

“She made about 500 pieces of seed paper from scratch with all organic materials. She went out, collected dried grasses and leaves and she shredded newspapers and other things that she recycled all to create this pulp that she created these papers with. Filled it with all the different seeds for the pollinator garden and we got to use that as the actual canvas in which we made our paintings," said Siekman.

Siekman said she’s an artist but has never experienced planting a painting before. She said she planted her painting of a marigold with a bumble bee on it.

“This was really a one-of-a-kind experience. It felt so amazing to be a part of it. To get to transform kind of a drab space full of a bunch of weeds to something that is truly beautiful and good for the environment," said Siekman.

Seeing the community come together to paint seed papers and plant them was heartwarming says University of Kentucky forestry student Cardell Boneslater. The Erlanger native said he was so inspired by what he was seeing he had to get out his camera and document everything.

“To see the real world what she did to bring the community together, it was so beautiful, I had to record it," said Boneslater.

Boneslater captured the music,the painting,the planting and all of the excitement and shared it here.

People like Court Mace like the change to their neighborhood. Mace comes out to water flowers in his yard. He lives right next door to the lot. Mace said it looks great. He said he didn’t know what to expect when the project began.

"I've never seen something like this done before. So, just hearing about it, it really sparks your interest , it's like wow, paintings that are being planted that are going to grow? It's really cool," said Mace.

Artist Devan Horton is excited to see the yellow coreopsis, bunches of tiny white flowers, and blue flax. She said she’s amazed at how quickly the flowers are blooming. Horton points to remnants of one of the planted paintings.

“So this is like the paper that we planted that was full of seeds. So like the seeds are coming out of the paper right there," said Horton.

Devan Horton said the City of Bellevue is encouraging Horton to do another project at a different location. She’s very interested.

“I would love to come back to this plot and collect these seeds to do another plot elsewhere,” said Horton.

Horton said she hopes this kind of live art catches on everywhere.

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