Garden Art: Victory Garden of Tomorrow

If you are a gardener who loves art you may be rejoicing in the growing body of vegetable themed art work that can be seen at art fairs, in Etsy stores and in magazines everywhere.   As growing our own vegetables has become more popular in the U.S. over the last ten years, many people in the art and design world have turned their attention to this topic as well.

One of my favorite traveling hobbies is hunting down gardening stores, gardens and small art businesses around the world.  A few years ago while browsing in the Urban Farm Store in Portland, OR I discovered the work of The Victory Garden of Tomorrow.  Their unique new take on the victory garden posters of the past intrigued me and I scrawled down the website for later perusal.  Eventually I purchased two of their posters and they both hang in my living room today as part of my garden art collection.

Joel Wirtheim, the designer behind VGoT, is a resident of Portland, one of my all time favorite cities.  His small and eco-friendly communications business focuses on depicting the rising interest in gardening, urban farming and chicken-keeping in today’s culture.  He states on his website, “Poster graphics have a long history of capturing the imagination and being tools of propaganda. My goal as an artist and garden-variety propagandist is to create meaningful messages around these broad themes that open the imagination to the possibilities of the 21st century. I’d like to spread the vision of a future that is sustainable and dynamic, while staying connected to our legacy of ingenuity, invention and diverse community. “

You can find his posters, t-shirts, cards and towels at another great website, BuyOlympia, which is handling the shipping of Wirtheim’s products while he spends a year in South Korea teaching English and exploring the gardening culture (including the many kimchi gardens) of that country.

We are always looking for new artists to love! Share with us your favorite garden artist or designer in the comments below.