Help Us Save the Chapel!

the World's Folk Art Chapel today
The Board of Paradise Gardens strongly believes in the project to restore and preserve Howard Finster's wonderful Art environment. It has been enjoyed by multitudes of people through out the years, and remains of great interest to thousands. We are committed to its long term operation as a place to celebrate the life and work of Howard and as a public space for the arts, festivals, music, plant and animal life, children and education... all of which were close to Rev. Finster's heart.

We are looking for those companies, foundations and individuals who share this passion with us and who will come along side and walk with us the "extra mile" through financial, physical, and/or advisory support. The Gardens will continue, through your help, to be a place of joy and meditation to the world. We welcome any inquiry and opinions from you, for Paradise Gardens belongs to us all.

The last thing Howard Finster put up in the Garden was this request.
A sign was hung on the chapel doors, both front and rear, reading:

"Help save the Garden Chapel.
Thousands enjoyed it.
A place of free weddings
and many school groups
Last 40 years."

Perhaps the most important thing going on today in the restoration of Paradise Gardens is the preservation of the World's Folk Art Chapel. Because of Paradise Gardens' damp environment, and the fact that the Chapel was constructed out of cast-off and recycled materials, the World's Folk Art Chapel is in extreme need of restoration. We, the Board of Directors, are presently seeking donations from businesses and private doners to help us restore the Chapel back to it's former self. If you have any desire to donate to the Chapel Restoration Fund, or to the restoration of Paradise Gardens, please email us and we will get back to you immediately.

FinstersParadiseGardens@juno.com

Thank you so much for your continued interest and support.

The Gardens are in the process of being restored. Howard Finster's daughter, Beverly, recently donated and signed Paradise Gardens over to a non-profit organization. The Board of Directors are only interested in restoring and preserving the Gardens and Howard's legacy. It is their desire to save this special place. Paradise Gardens was once a hub of artistic activity, drawing hundreds of people, artists and art lovers, musicians and pilgrims, the business savvy and the bohemian. Although the Gardens are temporarily closed, they will open soon. The Board members, along with many friends and family, long to see people enjoy the Gardens once again.

Located in Summerville, Georgia, the county seat of Chatooga County, there exists a place like no other... A place called Paradise Gardens. The Gardens sit on a four acre plot of land that is now, quite simply, a work of art... a masterpiece in it's own right. Included on the property are the Gardens, a museum, the Finster Folk Art Gallery, and of course, the World's Folk Art Chapel.

The Gardens were begun by Howard in 1961 before he received his vision telling him to create sacred art in 1976. Years of compiled art make up the maze of structures and sculptures. Everything in the Gardens has a meaning. Incorporating all kinds of recycled materials into his art,

Howard used bottles, glass, mirrors, cement, bathtubs, toilets, "garbage" such as rusted bicycle frames and cast off jewelry... you name it, it's there. Howard had an amazing way of combining text and strong visual forms, so that you have no doubt about his evangelical purpose. His calling as a preacher comes to life here at Paradise Gardens, and by using his art, he created sermon after sermon. Of visual art, he said, "Visual art is a great thing. It draws the attention of people. That's what people's work does. It preaches for them after they're gone." Yes... it certainly does.