Your Time: ‘Art in the Orchard’ — Park Hill Orchard, Easthampton

The Daily Hampshire Gazette, August 20th, 2015, by Dan Little

I think there is a timelessness in nature that only art can capture, and, when the two combine, the experience can be transformative. That was the case Saturday afternoon, when “Art in the Orchard” opened for its run at the Park Hill Orchard in Easthampton. It will end on Halloween, but the images may well stay with visitors for much longer.

Symmetry abounds as horses made of driftwood appear to roam in fields made for just such creatures. A human-sized picture frame outlines the landscape, allowing visitors to move into place in front of the structure and create their own images. Other finds during a walk along the sculpture trail in the exhibit-laced orchard include mirrors that have been inlaid into trees and glass bottles that dangle from branches. A natural healing labyrinth and a massive, glow-in-the-dark orb are also set in place in the fruit-lined lanes of the orchard.

“It’s the perfect blend of nature and art,” said Jean-Pierre Pasche, the owner of The Big Red Frame in Easthampton and one of the event’s primary organizers. “The location is so spectacular. Everyone can find something.”

Wandering the hillsides, where the colors of late summer, the pounding heat of the sun and the occasional wafts of refreshing breezes all melded Saturday with the artwork to leave visitors with an experience not likely to be found elsewhere.

Ellen Ober, Lisa Colt and Ethel White, all of Easthampton, said they plan to return to view changes in the exhibit and the landscape, and to explore the things they may have missed.