Last Child in the Woods Inspires Interactive Exhibit

Akron Beacon Journal – December 28, 2007
By Dottie Shin

Stan Hywet has its first artist in residence, and his name is P.R. Miller, aka the ''Grizzled Wizard.''

Miller will begin his duties in 2008, beginning with The Great Garden Adventure in May and culminating with The Wizard's Ball on Oct. 26.

''The Great Garden Adventure, which is our 2008 exhibition, is roughly based on a book by Richard Louv called Last Child in the Woods, which is part of a national movement called 'No Child Left Inside,' '' said Katie Campbell, Stan Hywet vice president of marketing.

The book and the movement are concerned with getting children out of the house and into the outdoors, where they can experience the world first hand.

''After our Tremendous Treehouses exhibit this last year we were surprised at how many people enjoyed the tree houses not because of any programming that we did, but because their children came out and ran around,'' Campbell explained. ''That's when we began talking with P.R. about programming for kids.''

Miller, who participated in Tremendous Treehouses, was approached by Stan Hywet at the end of that exhibit to create a show that would be child-interactive — something that would get children out to Stan Hywet, where they could spend all day exploring the grounds and his sculptures.

''He already does a lot of programming with kids and with recycling,'' Campbell added.

Building on the success of this year's installation at Stan Hywet, The Flower Pergola, currently installed in the Great Garden, Miller will create garden-related sculpture made from recycled materials that will be placed throughout the grounds of the Seiberling Mansion at 714 N. Portage Path, Akron.

''We aren't trying to get away from our Great Houses program,'' Campbell stressed. ''But we are trying to show that the property has many functions in terms of being a family friendly environment, and for that audience, we are promoting The Great Garden Adventure.''

An industrial artist whose motto is ''waste not,'' Miller's passion for recycling and protecting the environment has spurred him to create works of art from the detritus of contemporary life.

During his tenure as artist-in-residence, Miller will teach several educational workshops which he has developed to demonstrate the creative use of cast-off materials.

He will also create his own installations, including 100 giant flowers made from found objects and discarded material, to be placed around the grounds.

His installations will include a large rolling ball sculpture for marbles, a Wizard's fountain for the lagoon and a giant butterfly.

He will also install an outdoor gallery that will include 100 whimsical bugs and butterflies made with recyclable materials by schoolchildren from four Northeast Ohio schools.

For those who can't wait until May to see Miller's Wizardly works, there will be a sale of his indoor gallery pieces at Stan Hywet from March 13 to 15.

''We are very excited to be working with P.R. this year,'' Campbell said. ''It's something we haven't done before. It's a test case, and so far so good at this point.

''One of the directions we are going is, when the Seiberlings were here, they were interested in making Stan Hywet a center of the arts,'' she added. ''We are really trying to partner with people who bring different kinds of experiences in the arts. We are trying to figure out partners who can benefit from being with us as we can benefit from being with them.

''If everything goes well, it could very well be something completely new for Stan Hywet to do on a regular basis.''

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