Artist: Amber Conger

Media: Salvaged Steel & Antique Gear

Year: 2008

Location: Western Waterwise Garden

Conger has always been drawn to metals and sees unlimited possibilities in steel. She gathers her sculpture parts from local salvage yards, auctions, garage sales, and surplus centers. To her, the gears, bearings and mechanical objects are engineering marvels and she likes using these small parts that make the world go ’round. Suspended Gear was donated to the Garden by the artist.

Artist: Tim Hysell

Media: Stainless Steel

Year: 2005 (Top piece), 2010 (Bike rack)

Location: Welcome Area

Bruce Hibbs was an avid bicycle rider who enjoyed the challenge of hill climbs. He rides through the hills of Eternity. This rack was designed by his sister, Laura Hibbs, and custom crafted by Tim Hysell of Arbors, Gates and Gardens. It was donated to the Garden by Bruce‟s friends and family.

Artist: Tim Hysell

Media: Steel

Year: 2001

Location: Vegetable Garden

Joel’s Gate was given to the Garden in remembrance of Nancy Grayson’s son. Joel Grayson was born a tiny 2.3 pounds and battled to live for six weeks. Though his life was brief, he touched many lives.

Artist: Christophe Guigon & Corrin Olson

Media: Ceramic & Steel

Year: 2001-2003

Location: Meditation Garden

Untitled Ocean was donated by Jon Riche in memory of his wife, Georgia, who greatly enjoyed the Idaho Botanical Garden. Her memorial service was held in the Garden. A plaque installed with the sculpture reads: “In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.”

Artist: Christophe Guigon & Corrin Olson

Media: Ceramic & Steel

Location: Meditation Garden

Oscar Fountain was donated to the Idaho Botanical Garden by the artists.

Artist: Christophe Guigon & Corrin Olson

Media: Ceramic & Steel

Year: 2001-03

Location: Meditation Garden

The totem series was built using extruded cylinders and sculpture body clay to create more depth in the carvings. The sculptures were donated by the artists.

Artist: Christophe Guigon & Corrin Olson

Media: Ceramic & Steel

Year: 2001-03

Location: Meditation Garden

The Original, the first collaborative piece created by Guigon and Olson, is on long term loan from the artists.

Artist: Rusty Talbot

Media: Bronze

Year: 2006

Location: Lewis & Clark Native Plant Garden

This sculpture of Sacajawea shows her holding camas lilies, which were the inspiration for sculptor Rusty Talbot. The plaque at the base reads: “Honoring the Past Cherishing the Future.” Camas Lily was a gift to the Garden from Lois & Bob Hibbs.

Artist: Amber Conger

Media: Salvaged Steel, Antique Printing Press Wheel & Ceramic Insulators

Year: 2008

Location: Idaho Native Plant Test Area

The Machine was donated by the artist.

Artist: Francis Fox

Media: Cedar & Steel

Year: 1996

Location: Idaho Native Plant Garden

According to the sculptor, Cedar expresses the paradox of stewardship, implying a delicate balance between destruction and protection. The steel represents human growth and the cedar stands for nature. The normally rigid steel material responds to the organic characteristic of the cedar trunk while at the same time confining it. Cedar was donated by Gary Bettis.

Artist: Christophe Guigon & Corrin Olson

Media: Steel

Year: 2009

Location: Children’s Adventure Garden

Pencil Bench was donated by Tawny and William Flanders in memory of their daughter, Brianna, who died of brain cancer in 2008. Bri loved writing and art and had a favorite blue pencil sharpened at both ends. The Garden was one of her favorite places. The sculpture serves as a bench with a view of Boise and the Children’s Garden. The seat is positioned a little high so adults can dangle their feet like little children! The back of the bench can be used as an easel while sitting on metal seat posts and there is an engraving of Bri’s poem “Tough Girl” that can be rubbed on a sheet of paper with a pencil.

Artist: Christophe Guigon & Corrin Olson

Media: Ceramic & Steel

Year: 2001-2003

Location: Muriel & Diana Kirk English Garden

Artist: Delia DeLapp

Media: Enamel Fused to Copper

Year: 2006

Location: Muriel & Diana Kirk English Garden

Unity was a gift to the Garden from Jennifer and Jay Ellis in honor of their wedding in the English Garden. Instead of giving party favors, Jen wanted her wedding guests to contribute to the celebration, so she had them write messages on rocks which they left in the fountain. The fountain features two trees intertwined in union, ascending from the Earth in springtime through the sky and up to the heavens, symbolizing Jen and Jay’s eternal love and great bond to each other.

Artist: Christophe Guigon & Corrin Olson

Media: Ceramic & Steel

Year: 2001-2003

Location: Muriel & Diana Kirk English Garden

The ceramic and steel sculptures of Christophe Guigon and Corrin Olson are a play of color, texture, thought, and balance. Growing up, Olson spent much time in her father’s ceramic studio, and her sculptures stem from this experience. Most are slab-built cylindrical forms, carved and textured with tools. With his engineering background, Guigon added steel to the more fragile ceramic to give a sense of strength and to provide balance. Untitled Birdhouses is on loan to the Garden from Jane Van Auker.

Artist: Clayton Robbins

Media: Bronze

Year: 1981

Location: Children’s Adventure Garden

Following the removal of the sculpture Extra Mileage, by Clayton Robbins, from the Boise Towne Square mall during 2009 renovations, Gene Williams found it in pieces at Pacific Steel and Recycling. He wrote to the Idaho Statesman letting them know the company wished to see the art restored, with community help. The resulting article received tremendous, positive response.

Garden members Bill “Action” Jackson and Truman Keith solicited ideas from the public, resulting in Roosevelt Elementary students and others writing hundreds of letters, with the majority supporting the Idaho Botanical Garden as the sculpture’s new home. Pacific Steel and Recycling donated the sculpture to the Garden and funds for installation and landscaping.

“Our main criterion was that the sculpture be available to the public. We are pleased that thousands of people will see the statue at the Garden, especially the hundreds of school children that visit on field trips each year.”

~ Michael Cataldo, Regional Manager of Pacific Steel & Recycling

Financial support from The Garden Elf and others allowed the sculpture to be placed in its new home that same year. The Boys in the Swing was restored by Idaho City artist Dirk Anderson with the assistance of Borah High School graduate Rebecca Harvey. After an amazing journey with a happy ending made possible by community collaboration, the sculpture shines in this naturalistic outdoor setting for visitors to enjoy year-round. Idaho Botanical Garden thanks those who made this installation possible.

• Pacific Steel & Recycling
• Bob and Lois Hibbs
• After Dark Landscaping
• Arbors, Gates, and Gardens
• Far West Landscape & Garden Center
• Gerhard Borbonus Landscaping
• Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation
• PipeCo, Inc.
• Quality Electric
• Restoration by Dirk Anderson