#SAVFF Review: Paradise Garden: Howard Finster's Legacy

CONNECT SAVANNAH
By Anna Chandler

Paradise Garden in Summerville GA

GEORGIA---If you haven’t heard it, the legend goes like this: bike repairman and preacher Finster was working on an old bike when he got a dab of paint on his finger. A face appeared in the paint and spoke to him: “Paint sacred art.” From then on, Finster, who’d never created a work of art in his life, made tens of thousands of numbered works, riddled with Bible verses and wonderful quips of his own philosophy and wisdom. He painted on wood, telephones, Cadillacs, and anything he could find, but his greatest work was his own Paradise Garden, a Garden of Eden-inspired oasis of art and scripture. Spread over four acres in Summerville, Georgia, the Garden featured a Bible House, Mirror House, Hubcap Tower, Bicycle Tower, Machine Gun Nest, and the iconic four-story Folk Art Chapel, all crafted by Finster. [link]