The Oak Spring Podcast Podcast Por Oak Spring Garden Foundation arte de portada

The Oak Spring Podcast

The Oak Spring Podcast

De: Oak Spring Garden Foundation
Escúchala gratis

The Oak Spring Podcast is the voice of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation in Upperville, Virginia. The monthly podcast discusses how the legacy of Mrs. Bunny Mellon is continued through its courses, workshops, residencies and other public events. Guests include artists, writers, scientists, researchers and alumni whose work has become an integral part of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation community. Each episode will explore a topic related to Oak Spring's mission and calendar of events.

Host: Chris Stafford
Website: osgf.org
Email: max@osfg.org
Instagram: @oakspringgardenfoundation
Twitter: @oak_springOak Spring Garden Foundation
Episodios
  • Frances Palmer: Terracotta, Topiaries, and the Art of Working with Your Hands

    Frances Palmer: Terracotta, Topiaries, and the Art of Working with Your Hands
    Mar 17 2026
    In this episode of the Oak Spring Podcast, ceramic artist Frances Palmer joins host Chris Stafford for a conversation that weaves together craft, gardens, discipline, and creative evolution. A two-time visitor to Oak Spring—first as a participant and later as an instructor—Frances reflects on the profound generosity and understated elegance of the landscape, where artists are given both tremendous trust and deep access. Inspired by the topiaries, greenhouses, historic terracotta pots, and the legacy of Bunny Mellon, Frances designed a hands-on course that guided students from studying Oak Spring’s living collections and library holdings to building their own terracotta vessels. In a powerful full-circle gesture, she fired the pots in her own studio and mailed them back to her students, completing a process rooted in tradition, stewardship, and making.

    Frances also traces her own winding path—from early ambitions in printmaking to studying art history at Barnard and Columbia, working at MoMA PS1, and ultimately building a ceramic studio at home after the birth of her daughter. A maker at heart, she speaks about the discipline of daily practice, the unpredictable magic of the kiln, and the deep parallels between tending a garden and working with clay—both require guidance, then surrender. With reflections on craftsmanship, mentorship, and the resurgence of interest in fine craft, Frances offers insight for emerging artists: repetition builds mastery, exposure helps—but long-term devotion to your practice is what sustains it.

    Host: Chris Stafford
    Oak Spring website: https://www.osgf.org/
    Subscribe to the Oak Spring Newsletter:
    Email: programs@osgf.org
    Instagram: @oakspringgardenfoundation
    Twitter: @oak_spring
    Facebook: Oak Spring Garden Foundation
    Más Menos
    31 m
  • Rooted and Growing: Peter Crane on a Decade of Stewardship at Oak Spring

    Rooted and Growing: Peter Crane on a Decade of Stewardship at Oak Spring
    Feb 18 2026
    As the inaugural president of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, Peter Crane arrived from Yale University at a pivotal moment, shortly after the passing of Mrs. Mellon. The early years were both challenging and exhilarating: there were practical matters like establishing payroll and operations, as well as deeper questions about what programs the Foundation should offer and how best to steward an extraordinary property and collection. Crane reflects on the immense benefit of inheriting dedicated staff—particularly in the library—who had worked closely with Mrs. Mellon and ensured the collection was meticulously cared for. At the same time, he saw an opportunity to blend long-standing institutional knowledge with new expertise. Since 2017, the Foundation’s expansion from 250 to 700 acres with the acquisition of Rokeby Farm has transformed its capacity for residency programs and land stewardship, deepening its engagement with the region’s complex agricultural and ecological history.

    Over the past decade, Crane has prioritized understanding before intervening—conducting ecological assessments, inventorying every tree via GIS, and carefully managing habitats to support native species, including migratory grassland birds and seasonal visitors like the Short-eared Owl. Partnerships with organizations such as the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Dumbarton Oaks, and the National Gallery of Art have extended Oak Spring’s reach, enabling loans, collaborative exhibitions, and increased digitization of the library’s holdings. The garden itself—once primarily a backdrop—has become an integrated teaching and research space, with programs that pair its living collections with the Foundation’s rare books and archives. A decade in, Crane describes an institution that has grown thoughtfully: rooted in history, attentive to landscape and legacy, and increasingly vibrant as a center for art, ecology, and scholarship.

    Host: Chris Stafford
    Oak Spring website: https://www.osgf.org/
    Subscribe to the Oak Spring Newsletter:
    Email: programs@osgf.org
    Instagram: @oakspringgardenfoundation
    Twitter: @oak_spring
    Facebook: Oak Spring Garden Foundation
    Más Menos
    1 h y 5 m
  • Caring for Champions: Veterinarian John Mayo on Rokeby Farm and Paul Mellon

    Caring for Champions: Veterinarian John Mayo on Rokeby Farm and Paul Mellon
    Jan 21 2026
    In this episode, we sit down with veterinarian John Mayo, who served as the primary veterinarian for Rokeby Farm, the legendary horse breeding and racing operation owned by Paul Mellon, from 1962 to 1997. Across more than three decades, Dr. Mayo played a central role in the care, training, and long-term health of some of America’s most significant Thoroughbred horses.

    Drawing on firsthand experience, Dr. Mayo reflects on what it meant to practice veterinary medicine at one of the most respected horse farms in the United States during the golden era of American Thoroughbred racing. He shares stories from daily life at Rokeby Farm, insights into breeding and racing practices, and the evolving standards of equine veterinary care over the latter half of the twentieth century.

    Listeners will gain a rare behind-the-scenes perspective on the relationship between veterinarians, breeders, trainers, and horses, as well as Paul Mellon’s approach to stewardship, animal welfare, and excellence. This conversation also touches on the broader cultural and historical significance of horse racing in Virginia and the legacy of Rokeby Farm.

    Whether you’re interested in equine veterinary medicine, horse racing history, Thoroughbred breeding, or the human stories behind iconic sporting institutions, this episode offers a thoughtful and compelling oral history from someone who lived it.

    Host: Chris Stafford
    Oak Spring website: https://www.osgf.org/
    Subscribe to the Oak Spring Newsletter:
    Email: program@osgf.org
    Instagram: @oakspringgardenfoundation
    Twitter: @oak_spring
    Facebook: Oak Spring Garden Foundation
    Más Menos
    48 m
Todavía no hay opiniones