If you are a regular reader of Southern Sonoma Country Life, you'll be familiar with the story of local, award-winning sculptural landscape architect Suzanne Biaggi's beautiful, displaced, commemorative art garden, designed, crowdfunded and constructed in memory of her late brother at Cornerstone, Sonoma.
Here's a link to my 2013 post following the successful funding of Ecology of Place for Phil Biaggi by members of both local and global art and garden community. Suzanne is renowned in her field and we're fortunate to have such talent on our doorstep.
Her garden was one of the first that visitors to Cornerstone in Sonoma would stroll through and admire for its gentle pathway and stunning architectural and natural elements. Suzanne and her supporters anticipated the garden as a place of contemplation and enjoyment for the public for many years.
Last fall, following the announcement of a partnership with Cornerstone Gardens and Sunset Magazine, the artist was informed that her garden was on the chopping block to be dismantled.
Suzanne campaigned to keep her garden in place, at least for a little while longer, but to no avail. "According to the county resource and permit department and the engineer that drew up the plans there was no code violation," she said. "The garden would have needed to be removed only if and when the current septic system fails, which is has not."
Cornerstone and Sunset's merge is big news. A grand re-opening-style celebration weekend takes place May 14th and 15th, 2016, showcasing redesigned areas attracting art, garden and lifestyle fans from around the Bay Area.
Little attention has been given to the impact of change on individual artists such as Suzanne, whose heart and soul was poured into that small patch of land just a short time ago. Change is inevitable, but it is vitally important to honor work and passion that is otherwise overlooked when big news companies move in.
The good news is that, after much heart-searching and support from those who supported the garden in the first place, unstoppably creative Suzanne is in the throws of designing and constructing an exciting new garden in a new location in Petaluma, in memory of her late brother.
When it's complete, I hope Suzanne will host a grand relocation celebration all of her own. In memory of her brother, Phil Biaggi.
Comments