This is the rare case of a sketch done in the quiet time between events. I had an hour to kill before the Art Critique and Conversation began at the Maitland Art Center, (231 West Packwood Ave. Maitland, FL). I wandered into the Mayan Courtyard. I’m sure that countless wedding vows have been exchanged in this outdoor garden paradise. I sketched the entry to the chapel. The Art Center was founded and designed by architect and artist J. Andre Smith in 1937. The intricate Aztec-Mayan sculpted motifs cover every surface. The Art Center is one of the few surviving examples of “Mayan Revival”
or fantasy architecture in the Southeast. The Center is recognized by
the State of Florida as an historic site and is entered on the National
Register of Historic Places as of 1987.
A plaque outside the entry read, ” I stood at the gate of life and said give me a light that I might go safely into the unknown. And a voice replied, go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God, that will be to you better than a light and safer than a known way.”
Gorgeous! I love this courtyard.