Rewards of collaboration

Innovation does not always occur with a single idea. In many cases, the idea was actually spawned from observation or reflection on another idea. Collaboration is more likely to lead to a better idea. This concept is confirmed by two artists working together on Art for a Garden. Pat Keck and Sally Moore scamper up and down Julie Levesque's steeply tiered backyard garden like schoolgirls. They fetch Keck's spooky doll-like sculptures and place them amid Moore's plywood sculptures, which resemble houses of cards in mid-tumble. With every placement, they erupt in chortles of delight, then put their heads together, consulting on how to make it better. The two artists just met last month, when Levesque, a sculptor herself and the impresario of Art for the Garden, an annual event timed to coincide with Newton Open Studios, came up with the idea of asking this year's artists to collaborate. Levesque invited Moore, and Moore got in touch with Keck. In some ways, they're a natural fit. Both work in a theatrical vein: Moore makes the sets, and Keck crafts the characters. Ah yes, the power of we!