Throughout the summer and autumn, Sarah Beth Goncarova was here in Nova Scotia bending branches, wiring lights and recording sounds. In August and September we were privileged to have her experiential sculpture, What Gifts the Rain May Bring, installed in the secondfloor gallery at Main & Station. She also created installations in the gardens at West Bay and at The Pond House.  Check out the videos, words, and images below for a taste of her wonderful creations.

What Gifts the Rain May Bring from Sarah Beth Goncarova on Vimeo.

Sarah Beth Goncarova is also a poet…

What Gifts the Rain May Bring

               for Judith and Harvey      

What you call Invasive Species

I see for what they are—

scourged by hurricane winds,

dried up and tired and

picked at and picked over

Oh-so-ready to rest their broken bones

into the damp

In these I see

a haven in the trees

for fireflies lost and forgotten

seeking shelter

from the wind who

will always have her way

A nest to nourish lost dreams–

the ones most meaningful and yet

most likely to be sneered at

and declared Invasive

and sprayed with Round-Up

and chopped up don’t worry

it’s better this way

I see a place where you can do handstands and cartwheels

and build castles in the mud

and forts in the trees

and play Uno in your undies

in a tree house by flashlight

and talk like gangsters

and chew on carrots like cigars

and drink root beer floats without mom knowing

and blow bubbles through straws

with your nose

We all need a place to play–

a nest for fireflies lost and forgotten

where you can do anything

or do nothing

and just watch what gifts the rain may bring —

even when, especially when

we are all grown up.

     -Esbie Goncarova

Venus of Parrsboro. A living sculpture of alder wood and moss, commissioned by The Pond House Pottery Center, Nova Scotia.

“Her movements large and lush, flush with green, she bends and twists in roaring dance and silent prayer to sights unseen.”

To see and read more of Sarah Beth’s work, visit her website http://goncarova.com/