“I enjoy the tremendous transcendence I experience there, and the thoughtful beauty of the gardens. What a setting!”
People often say there are surprises around every corner of Marin Art and Garden Center. They also insist there is magic within its walls. A few people, however, like Janis Yerington, have experienced the collision of those forces in the best way possible.
Janis is a passionate artist, educator, speaker, mom, wife, backyard chicken farmer, and gardener who currently lives in Bolinas. She graduated cum laude from Brandeis University with a degree in Art History, attended Studio Art Center International in Florence, Italy, and then Cambridge University in the UK. Her art has been shown around the world, with one particular winter exhibit at Marin Art and Garden Center being particularly memorable.
“I had an art exhibit with a fellow artist in the little cottage,” she says. “It was a beautiful day, and the event was well attended. At the end of the day, my friend and I felt so gratified, but she (a bit older than I) did not understand why I was so tired. She suggested I might be pregnant. I laughed, sitting amongst all that beauty at the Marin Art and Garden Center. That evening, we went with our two little ones and found a Christmas tree and had a family style dinner with friends in Occidental. I continued to be unusually tired. My friend’s words in the garden echoed in my head. Later that night, I found out we were pregnant with baby number three. The happiest surprise of my life.”
The beauty of that day has stayed with Janis throughout the years and has led to both a wonderful family life as well as an abundance of art, including uniquely detailed pieces that feature flowers, fruit, and sea life. When the kids were little, she would take them to Pixie Park. She has also enjoyed several plays at the Ross Valley Players Barn theater, and even attended church services on the grounds.
When talking about her time at Marin Art and Garden Center, Janis says, “The sweetest memories were formed,” and those memories continue to bring her back to see just what else may be hiding behind its corners. “I always enjoyed how inspired my young daughter was at the garden,” she says. “She would tell endless stories about the ‘fairies’ that lived there and how they spent their days.”
Even now, whether she’s working in her garden studio, welcoming visitors to view her art with wine and tea, or leading families, schools, and the community through an array of artistic activities, the special memories, beauty, inspiration, magic, and element of surprise she has experienced—including from her visits to and exhibits at Marin Art and Garden Center—stay with Janis. “I enjoy the tremendous transcendence I experience there,” she says, “and the thoughtful beauty of the gardens. What a setting!”
