Thoughts from the President

April 25, 2025 - Artwork with Meaning

Dear Danforth Center Community,

Early last year, we formed an ad hoc Danforth Center Art Committee to identify new pieces to display on the second level, adjacent to the main elevator. The committee, composed of Kerri Gilbert, Sarah Jennings, Anna Dibble and Todd Hornburg, pondered ideas that would be authentic representations of the Danforth Center and our values, be beautiful and creative, and be inspiring to all who view the art. The group quickly latched on to the notion of art that incorporates plant material, and soon thereafter, the committee was scrolling through websites and saying, “Ooh, look what you can do with a moss wall!”

Moss Wall

That led the group to Lynne Young, a St. Louis moss wall artist who also works at Growing Green, the company that takes care of the Center’s indoor potted plants. Lynne describes her work as watercoloring with moss. The committee asked Lynne, “Could you create a representation of a Missouri tall grass prairie, like the one at the Danforth Center?” To say Lynne was immediately comfortable with the idea, or that she understood what we had in mind, might not be so accurate. But over the course of nearly one year, 8-10 meetings with members of the committee, and much experimentation, Lynne figured out how to turn three types moss, different shades of barba grass, and vegetative and floral parts of yarrow, caspia, gyposphilla, glixia and sea lavender plants into two spectacular images of a prairie in bloom. These were the most elaborate and unusual pieces Lynne has ever created.

Anna loves that the art “reflects the beauty of our prairie and the spirit of our community. This unique installation was thoughtfully designed just for us, making it a great example of innovation.” When asked what was most fun about this project, Kerri said, “All of the ideas that we brainstormed as possible new artwork, and seeing the process of going from concept to this beautiful art.” Lynne said, “Seeing people’s faces light up and saying ‘wow’ after we installed it was the best part.”

I hope everyone enjoys viewing and showing the new artwork, and sees a little bit of themselves in what it represents. I sincerely thank Kerri, Sarah, Anna, Todd and Lynn for giving us something special.

Jim Carrington,
President and Chief Executive Officer

Previous Weekly Messages from Jim Carrington