Spirit Guides await at Fernbank’s WildWoods 

Don t miss Spirit Guides Fantastical Creatures from the Workshop of Jacobo and Mar a ngeles exhibited throughout Fernbank s WildWoods now through August to discover which of the eight hybrid animals sculptures that blend Zapotec indigenous civilization of Southern Mexico with contemporary art speak to your essence Photo by Clare S Ritchie The monkey-iguana it does feel like he is looking straight at you explains Maria Moreno Fernbank Effort Manager and content expert for Spirit Guides exhibit The monkey represents creativity and the iguana signifies perseverance I see myself in him Inspired by Zapotec astrology the married artist organization from Oaxaca Mexico imagined these combined creatures based on the ancient belief that at birth you are assigned a protector animal that shares your destiny and soul and another that mirrors your personality traits These animals are with you through life s hurdles and give you guidance Morena reported If you ve seen the Pixar film Coco you may already be familiar with these spirit guides also known as alebrijes As you enter the Nature Gallery section of WildWoods where spring is in bloom the armadillo-insect greets with you it s modest demeanor The armadillo represents empathy and the insect signifies vitality Photo by Clare S Ritchie I love how the armadillo is just chilling and letting the wings do all the work stated a guest while photographing his favorite combo At nearly eight-feet tall and nine-feet wide these brightly colored whimsical forms make the perfect subjects The Denver Botanical Gardens commissioned the sculptures for this traveling exhibit To survive the weather they are constructed out of fiberglass not wood or paper mache as is custom and adorned by acrylic paint rather than traditional paints made of natural pigments Scan the QR code on the Coyote-Fish placard for a brief video that shows how the sculptures were made Photo by Clare S Ritchie QR codes throughout the exhibit cover a range of topics including Zapotec sacred foods and the ngeles reforestation initiative Signage at each sculpture is presented in English and Spanish and explains what the animals colors and intricate geometric patterns represent On the camel-eagle are patterns that represent worship staircase like pattern work diamonds and population a shape of a person in a house Morena shared Just as the ngeleses innovated their creations by including a camel not determined in Zapotec lifestyle a young guest named Amaya who enjoys drawing her own monsters at home was inspired to create her own hybrid creature Look Mommy Amaya reported as she indicated her Mom an AI generated image You made your own it s a gir-uff her Mom Kerri exclaimed Photo by Clare S Ritchie Amaya says she chose body of the giraffe for Africa she is half Tanzanian and the head of a dog because he s cute So your spirit guide is cute and society her Mom reported True but she was also drawn to the deer-butterfly which seemed to match her strength and optimism Let your imagination run wild too this spring and summer at the Spirit Guides exhibit And for a longer walk follow the path from WildWoods into Fernbank s -acre old expansion forest Nothing compares to being in the middle of a bustling city and having a place where you can see nature calm down and then get back to your day-to-day Moreno revealed The Spirit Guides exhibit is included in General Admission tickets and can be paired with an after-hours event or a guided hike Photo by Clare S Ritchie Must sees That s easy See all eight hybrid creatures and find the one you resonate with the majority of Moreno suggests The post Spirit Guides await at Fernbank s WildWoods appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta