Pearl Fryar

Topiary

Pearl's fascination with sculpting trees and bushes began with a simple challenge--to win the community’s "yard of the month" award. The topiary bug bit and Pearl began transforming the landscape around his house into a gallery of abstract forms, shaping native and exotic plants with garden shears and a hedge trimmer. Pearl's topiary work is not about instant gratification, but is the result of years of cultivation and pruning. Though topiary art has been around for thousands of years, Pearl's work often fits into categories of modern art, including ephemeral and nature based work.

To learn more about Pearl's art, click on the videos below.

Spotlight

Episode 1

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Is topiary an attempt to control nature or a form of expression using a nature-based medium? The word topiary is derived from the Greek root word, topias, meaning ornamental garden. An account by...

Topiary Garden

Episode 2

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Pearl Fryar, a local gardener in Bishopville, South Carolina describes the kind of trees and bushes he grows in his topiary garden. Most common topiary plants are evergreen and have small, dense...

Topiary Garden

Episode 3

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Hedges and trees in Pearl's garden appear to flow and weave into one another, often making it difficult to see where one plant ends and another begins. The effect is created by tying the tips of...

Topiary Garden

Episode 4

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The key to creating topiary is pruning. Pruning is the process of cutting off leaves and branches to encourage new growth and shape old growth. During the growing season, pruning is a daily affair in...

Topiary Garden Tour

Episode 5

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

One of the oldest sections of Pearl Fryar's garden is anchored around a Christmas tree he replanted in 1982. Success at cultivating the Eastern white pine, a native of the Blue Ridge of South Carolina...

Community

Episode 6

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Sumter's downtown Mosaic Garden is the result of Pearl Fryar's inspiration and design, the guidance of dedicated teachers, and the imagination of over 400 students. While Pearl arranged garden paths...

Community

Episode 7

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The Accessibility Project is an effort to reintroduce people to downtown Sumter by giving them a chance to experience art in public places. Many of the public art works are considered site-specific...

Community

Episode 8

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Many students had never explored Sumter's downtown area before participating in the Mosaic Garden project. Even fewer had heard the terms site-specific, topiary, and public art. The project...

Pearl Fryar's Philosophy

Episode 9

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Pearl Fryar believes his skills as an artist continues to grow because others take time to acknowledge and encourage his efforts. The idea of making a difference in another person's life, and how...

Bishopville Community

Episode 10

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Pearl Fryar attributes his passion for topiary to art scholars and promoters who had supported his work early in its development. In the past few years, Pearl has been featured on Home and Garden...

Winning Yard of the Month

Episode 11

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Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

After living in New York and Atlanta, Pearl followed his job with a packaging company to rural Bishopville, South Carolina. Though Pearl had no family in the area, he literally "put roots" down after...

Work Ethic

Episode 12

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Grades: 6 7 8

Pearl Fryar uses The Gates as an example of artwork that celebrates the experience and moment of the creative act. The viewer's opportunity to interact with and be inspired by the art work justifies...

Topiary

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Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Most common topiary plants are evergreen and have small, dense leaves and branches; such as boxwood, yew and holly bushes. But Pearl says, "Anything that can be pruned can be shaped," which explains...