A Rose in Bloom
An Abstract Painter finds inspiration — and herself — in the natural world By Ross Howell Jr. • Photographs by Rebecka VanderVeen
“I
t looks rough now, but it will be beautiful this summer,” says artist Angel Rose Barker, standing on the porch overlooking her Fisher Park backyard. Barker, who goes by Angie, points out beds of daffodils and hellebores. Mature hardwoods rim the lot. “When they leaf out, there’s a lot of shade,” Barker says. Near the porch are ceramic containers, large and small. “A lot of them we’ll move up here,” Barker says. “This porch really gets blasted by the sun.” She and her husband, Michael Sage, have been gardening here
62 O.Henry
for three years. “I wanted Sage to have a hobby away from the computer,” Barker says. “He’s a software developer.” Originally grass, the yard had nothing to attract pollinators. “The first year Sage figured out he could use one of my detail brushes to pollinate the tomato flowers,” Barker says. “And we got tomatoes.” She praised her husband’s resourcefulness. “I told him that was fascinating,” she continues. “But next year we have to get flowers.” Barker feels she inherited her interest in gardening from her
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
