Adorable elves. Charming dragons. Distinguished wizards. Handsome turtles and owls and birds. Grand mushrooms. These creatures, with their photos featured in this blog, were my favorite part about walking around two enchanting art shops and galleries on Île d’Orléans – L’Art au Jardin and Le Jardin des Arts – during my walk along the 42-mile Chemin Royal (Royal Road) that encircles the island. One specializing in art in the garden, and the other displaying a garden of arts.
Le Forét Enchantée, The Enchanted Forest, where these creatures live, is a place set in a shaded area of trees on the side of the building of L’Art au Jardin, The Art in the Garden. A shop all about everything garden. Need something for your yard? This is the place to go.
Carrying both artistic and functional items in this store, L’Art au Jardin carries anything from garden furniture, like tables and chairs and benches, to pottery for plants and flowers. They have a great variety of bird feeders and bird baths and bird houses and bird sculptures. Water features and fountains are some more of the garden ornaments you find, as well as sculptures of geese and ducks and frogs and fish. And of course, the enchanting creatures. As I said, everything garden.
Whether you are looking inside the shop, or wandering around the decorated garden in the back of the store, or strolling through the enchanted forest, L’Art au Jardin is where you will definitely find the art in the garden.
*****
The largest art gallery on Île d’Orléans, an island near Québec City, Canada, contains a wide variety of art crafted by 57, yes 57, local Québec artists, no two artists the same, and definitely on the scale of any classic art museum around. While no pictures were allowed in the gallery, being given my own tour of Le Jardin des Arts, The Garden of Arts, was my second favorite part about walking around two enchanting art shops and galleries on Île d’Orléans. It was like walking through a garden of flowers, with all the colors and varieties, except that it was well, a garden of art.
Some of the traditional and contemporary art forms in Le Jardin des Arts included ceramics, jewelry, paintings (in fact there are 18 painters in this gallery), woodworking, porcelain, and faience. I was shown glass paintings and stained glass, and stained glass paintings on canvas. Etchings, watercolors on wood, still life painting, and sculptures. Things were made out of aluminum cans, out of stones and rocks, out of driftwood, and even art made out of ostrich eggs. There was art made by Raku, a 14th/15th century Japanese technique, as well as items made out of limestone, shale, and onyx from Mexico. Even art made out of origami.
Some of my favorite pieces were island images of the six parishes of Île d’Orléans, and small sculptures showing the architecture of the homes of Île d’Orléans. Le Jardin des Arts had useful artistic objects as well…doorstops, tissue boxes, key holders, trinket boxes, step stools, coasters, key chains, small furniture, and tiffany-type lamps. There were painted cups, teapots, plates, and bowls. They even had a paper towel roll holder that included one of my favorite objects, a lighthouse, as part of the décor.
So my reasons #24 and #25 out of my 42 reasons to visit Île d’Orléans are these two art shops and galleries, L’Art au Jardin and Le Jardin des Arts, one specializing in art in the garden, and the other displaying a garden of arts. Definitely enchanting.
Sweet (and enchanting) Travels!
To recap my first 23, out of 42, reasons to visit Île d’Orléans:
#1. The quiet.
#2 through #4. The chocolate shops.
#5 through #10. The wineries, cidreries, and vinaigreries.
#11 through #16. The churches.
#17. The aroma of lavender.
#18 and #19. Recycled Folk Art and Textile Weaving.
#20. Strawberry Season.
#21 and #22. Strawberries, Raspberries, and Blackcurrants. Oh my!
#23. The mailboxes.
My walking tour of Île d’Orléans was sponsored by Tourisme Québec (Québec Original) and Québec City Tourism (Québec Region). For more information, please visit:
Tourisme Île d’Orléans
Quebéc Region
Quebéc Region-Québec City and Area-Île d’Orléans
Quebéc Original