The Gathering Ground at Baltimore Clayworks

A second Sacred Place on the same campus, this one easy to reach.

Two adults on a curved wooden bench while a child runs by at The Gathering Ground

WHERE

Baltimore, MD

SETTING

Neighborhood

PARTNER INSTITUTION

Baltimore Clayworks

Visit

Where it is

5707 Smith Avenue, Baltimore, MD

What happens here

Artists and visitors come to pause and reflect on campus. Seated on the bench, visitors are surrounded by lush hedges and plantings with an all-inclusive view of the garden, while the plants and shrubs behind protect them from the sound, sight, and physical access of the parking lot.

Find this Sacred Place

People gather outside at The Gathering Ground at Baltimore Clayworks

HOW IT CAME TO BE

The first one was not enough.

Visitors on a bench and lawn beside a young tree and The Gathering Ground sign at Baltimore Clayworks

Plain lawn in front of the stone Baltimore Clayworks building before The Gathering Ground was built

Drag to see the transformation.

The Need

Baltimore Clayworks, a community-centered ceramics institution founded by nine artists in 1980 in Mt. Washington, already had a Sacred Place: sky-reaching plants and flowers, ceramic sculptures, and an incredible clay fountain created collaboratively by resident artists. But demand for places to pause and reflect on campus ran high, and the existing space was hard to reach for anyone with mobility issues.

The Vision

A second Sacred Place would continue and expand what the campus could offer artists, increase accessibility for people with mobility issues, and incorporate native plants with educational markings. Clayworks holds that making and appreciating art are essential to the nourishment of the human spirit, a deep alignment with Nature Sacred's own principle about intentionally designed green space.

The Transformation

The design establishes a welcoming sanctuary by creating a series of lush natural edges in front of the main admin and gallery building. New planting designs were integrated into the existing pathway and at each entrance to the building. A hedgerow was renovated to separate the Sacred Place from the sidewalk and road. The bench sits below three shade trees, nestled into a new planting surround with views of the lawn and the new trees, strategically located to take in the whole garden. The design leaves a framework for additional art features to be integrated into the shaped lawn or at key points along the path.

How a Sacred Place comes to be →

WHO TENDS IT