May 31, 2010. Western Head, N.S. Ivan the Artist.

The sculpture garden in back of his Nursery is remarkable. Certainly surprising. Ivan, the owner of Cosby's Nursery in Brooklyn, is well known. He is a very pleasant fellow, now in his fiftees, who married a Cosby girl and eventually took over running the family business. In the early years here, Ken was at Ivan's garden store every week. As I really don't enjoy garden stores, I look at other things and carefully looked at the fountains scattered around the place, all done by Ivan. His fountains were very large and somewhat grotesque, almost like old gargoyles from Cathedrals of yore, so I soon learned that there was more than Ivan than you could learn at first. Now I realize he is an artist first who just happens to make his living owning the Nursery. During the winter he teaches a class in sculpture, and himself produces one large piece for his sculpture garden in addition to his water fountains. Every year he gets better, including the sketches for the large pieces.

Yesterday we looked at his work, out back of the Nursery and every year it gets better. He has set each piece on a hill which you can walk around, with lovely plantings and rocks on the hills, with new areas ready for the next piece. The series of dancers silhouetted against the sky is spectacular. His latest piece is sold, commissioned as a commemorative fountain for a daughter who died two years ago. The young woman was a musician and the sculpture is made up of musical instruments and penguins, with a lovely young woman beside the pond. It is stunning, now sitting in his shop but soon to be taken to the Mother's home.

Ivan is a true artist but it takes a while to figure this out. He never talks about his work and you must ask about the sculpture garden out back, but he certainly cares about it. Yesterday when we asked to go and see it again, he lit up, and after a few minutes alone, Ken and I were joined by Ivan, just quietly appreciating his work. It is so impressive to find this talent in this small town in this small province in this country with a small population. He is a marvel.