Growing up in Mount Prospect, Artist Fawn Bruzan describes spending free time with her family along the Des Plaines River, hiking, canoeing and just soaking up nature.
Artist Fawn Bruzan
Her immersion into the natural setting of the river — and surrounding Cook County Forest Preserve District — led to her keen observation skills, noticing the different curves and shapes of objects in nature as well as the patterns and play of light. Ultimately she began interpreting what she saw in nature into her artwork.
Now, visitors to the Friendship Park Conservatory in Des Plaines can see firsthand Bruzan’s nature-inspired art. She is the featured artist-in-residence at the conservatory, sharing her unique, fungi-inspired ceramic sculptures and vessels for plants, that she created using both hand-building and wheel-throwing techniques. Workshops led by Bruzan are being planned.
“Fawn’s pieces add a whimsical touch to our atrium,” says Kaitlyn Scheid, Conservatory and Greenhouse Manager, “and stand out amongst the tropical plants and foliage.”
Friendship Park Conservatory is run by the Mount Prospect Park District and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday. Bruzan’s artwork can be found in its three-story atrium, but the conservatory also features an open-air courtyard, pavilion and approximately 45 colorful flower beds outside the building.
“I’m beyond excited to have my artwork featured at the Conservatory,” Bruzan says. “My artwork is all inspired by time spent in nature. Typically, I display it in my garden outdoors, so having a place to put it in public, for people to enjoy amongst plants, is just perfect.”
The Mount Prospect Park District established the artist in residence program last year at the conservatory, as a way to both to offer opportunities to local artists to showcase their work, and to provoke interest in new art forms.
“The programs we run through the conservatory are generally educational as well as creative, such as our planter classes and garden art workshops,” Scheid says. “Featuring an artist who can also give demonstrations, goes hand-in-hand with finding new concepts and ideas to inspire creativity among our patrons.”
Art lovers will see how Bruzan’s work mimics the shapes, colors and patterns found in flowers, fungi, animal bones and other natural forms. This specific type of genre is known as biophilic design.
“To Fawn, experiencing nature and creating art are both necessary to living,” Scheid says. “Each lowers stress and regulates the nervous system, allowing space for a mind to dream, create and truly live.
“Her work brings the peace and wonder of the outdoors into man-made spaces,” she adds, “beckoning spectators to find their inner tranquility.”
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