Saving Howard Finster's Paradise Gardens

Kennesaw State University Associate Professor Dinah McClintock took her art history class on a different kind of field trip. Instead of visiting a museum to study paintings and learn about famous artists who died more than 200 years ago, her students headed to Summerville, Ga., to help restore a famous folk artist’s art garden. This “adventure,” as students called it, would excite, inspire and change many, if not all, that participated. Their destination was Howard Finster’s Paradise Gardens. Howard Finster's evangelical, religious art has appeared in magazines, on record covers, and in museums, influencing artists around the world. Beyond the thousands of pieces he crafted, Finster also created a unique recycled art garden and built environment in Summerville, GA: Paradise Gardens.