Garden Whispers

Garden Whispers is an interactive environmental sculpture installed on Courthouse Square, Warrenton, NC in 2018. A part of the Quilter’s Lane project, this welded steel outdoor sculpture reflects the flower and dragonfly pattern motifs often employed in quilt making. Inspired by intra-ship communication speaking tubes, two bright yellow five-pedal flower-shaped cones are connect through the green vine-shaped air pipe underground to one another.  With intergeneration communication in mind, one cone is lower for use by a child while the other is higher for use by an older adult.  Through speaking into the cone in a soft voice, the persons listening at the other end can hear the message clearly.  Glass tile flower patterns are repeated in the series of concrete steeping stones that connect each flower cone. 

Three common quilt patterns are expressed in the sculptural form: 1) two yellow and orange Rose of Sharon whispering cone forms attached to the end of the vine-shaped structure, 2) two lavender and purple dragonflies alighting on the intertwining vine form were inspired by a quilt created by Betty Rollinson of Warrenton, (3) eight glass tile Carolina Lily patterns and one Rose of Sharon pattern are imbedded into five concrete stepping stones that connect the two whispering cone Rose of Sharon flowers.

While the two big-eyed dragonflies seem to be alighting on the vine for just a moment, when the wind is blowing, you can almost hear the whispers they create.  Often associated with maturity and depth of character, in almost every part of the world the dragonfly symbolized change and growth. And sometimes called the devil’s darning needle, its pattern is very reflective of the quilting and textile arts.

Inspired by the whisper bench metal artworks created by Greensboro, NC sculptor Jim Galluchi, Layne designed and created Garden Whispers in his Legacyworks Studio located on Main Street in downtown Warrenton while collaborating with metal fabricator Jim Liacos to weld and form the main structure in Jim’s Raleigh studio.