Connecting to the world of plants at arts museum
Workshop offers lessons on how to care for one of pandemic’s most popular trends
With scissors in one hand, Houston artist Preston Gaines cut a leaf from an elephant ear plant down to the node. He looked at the fresh cut, took a whiff and handed it to its new caregiver.
“Pop that baby in some water, love, and you’ll be good,” Gaines said to the woman who attended his first museum art show and plant workshop, “A Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants,” at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston on Saturday.
The artist brought plants from the personal garden at his Third Ward apartment complex to fill a CAMH Lab space created last fall to give Houston artists an experimental area to create during the pandemic, said Felice Cleveland, the museum’s director of education.
“Nurture” is a collaboration between Gaines and fellow artist-in-residence Mich Stevenson. The temporary exhibit invites the public to “willfully suspend time” to find much-needed rest and reflection.
At Saturday’s workshop, visitors learned to not only own plants but care for them. Gaines and his friend Daniela Fuentes talked at length about the human-plant connection and how it’s no accident that a home full of thriving houseplants can make a person happier and healthier.
“Plants are living things,” said Fuentes, a lover of art and plants. “Like humans, all plants propagate in different ways.”
Everything from elephant ears to various pothos plants
with heart-shaped leaves to snake plants filled a corner of the basement level of the museum. Two 1970s-inspired floral vinyl chairs built by Gaines bookended long sunflowers in a vase, which was placed next to several wooden planters.
After a decade-long career in corporate architecture, Gaines maintains a sense of discipline and structure with his art. He uses no nails or adhesive, he said, instead making every piece with a “tongue-in-groove” method to create the modular furniture.
“The style is definitely carried over from my parents,” he said. “When I got older, they pulled stuff out of our attic — pictures, artwork, midcentury modern furniture — and it shows in my work.”
Houseplants, and the local nurseries that grow them, have been one of the pandemic’s most popular trends, especially on social media. According to a survey by Garden Center Magazine, more than 70 percent of independent garden centers in North America saw sales increase in
2020 and the first half of 2021.
Lush green leaves, creeping long vines and dirt underneath the nails were a welcome respite at the height of COVID lockdowns when people had nowhere to go. For Carrington Davenport and his wife, gardening was a way to embrace the nature around them
while becoming self-reliant.
“It’s taught us how to take care of ourselves,” said Davenport, 32. “We learned how to create a garden in the back yard, started our compost bin and growing fruits, vegetables and herbs. It allows us to learn how to take care of ourselves at home versus going to the store for certain things.”
On a new plot of land near Brazos Bend State Park, Davenport’s family has plans to build a house with natural light to lavish their prized houseplants. The greenery sets the soothing, kind tone he wants for their future home.
The rise in houseplant popularity has been beautiful to witness, Fuentes said, especially for those who needed an outlet during their most isolated days. Plants can sometimes fill spaces reserved only for other people, she said.
But she believes the demand has hurt the plant industry.
“There has been an overproduction of houseplants which has led to many species being unable to naturally produce,” Fuentes said. “Many people don’t know how to provide the kind of soil necessary for their plants. You have to properly know how to care for your plants, not just collect them.”
Fuentes and Gaines showed visitors how to cut and propagate plant offsets, or pups, while giving them tips on how to clean the leaves and develop the most nutrients in soil and on when it’s time to transfer to a larger pot.
Ashley Kauppi, 34, attended the workshop with her husband and 7-year-old son as the kickoff to her birthday week. Prepped with her own gardening apron and jars, Kauppi’s eyes smiled as she learned new ways to love her plants.
“During COVID, I got super depressed, so I really found a lot of solace in my gardening. It’s a special thing to me,” she said. “I feel like my son’s life is elevated having plants around. He has his own plants to take care of, so it has becoming a really important part of our lives.”
Surprisingly, Gaines grew up in a houseplant-free home. It’s a stark comparison to his home that he shares with his 13-year-old daughter, he said.
“I look at everything like it’s art,” Gaines said. “Art is used to deepen a sense of connection to people; it’s an element that grounds us to the earth.”
“Nurture” will remain on display at CAMH through Aug. 8. For more information, visit CAMH.org or @camhouston on Instagram.