Florida artists bring pixie dust and props to Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival

Two Florida artists who have been spreading pixie dust at the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival for years with their miniature fairy houses are back with new creations this year. And for one special weekend, you can meet them at the festival and purchase unique pieces from their company, the Prop Duster Dept.

Sisters Vikki Yarborough and Ronda Maseman work just like the Disney Fairies do — by recycling objects that humans have discarded and by collecting things from nature.

Last year, they told me about their company’s origins: “We are sisters that have been feeding off of one another’s ideas and imagination, creating things together for many years. Our current path began with making various props for gardens — wind chimes, stepping stones, scarecrows, bird baths, mosaic garden animals, topiaries covered in seeds and homes to attract fairies. The Prop Duster Dept. was born when someone said we make props dusted with pixie dust. The fairies then asked for more, so we took a side path to create these fantasy homes.”

At this year’s Flower and Garden Festival, guests can see their signature fairy house, which is the large one modeled after Tinker Bell’s home in the Disney movies and features an overturned teacup. It’s located adjacent to the Tinker Bell topiary outside the butterfly garden in Future World.

“The large Tinker Bell house has been in the Festival since the DVD movies began [in 2008],” Yarborough told me. “We watched the movie to get the an idea which direction to go. With Tinker Bell’s guidance, we found a large white teapot and a stump of wood for the base, similar to that in the movie; then added other natural items that Tink had used to decorate her house. Each year we bring her home after the festival and refurbish it to get it ready for the next year.”

In past years, the festival also featured multiple fairy topiaries and their homes also were designed by Yarborough and Maseman. I was sad to see they did not return this year.

However, the pair has created several other stunning pieces in the festival for visitors to enjoy. For example, outside the China pavilion, there is a ram statue made out of natural materials. It represents the Year of the Sheep, and signs in the surrounding garden explain the significance of the zodiac in the Chinese calendar.

The sisters also have styled props for various gardens, including Miss Piggy’s gardening gloves in her basket of gardening supplies, spice balls in Morocco, Winnie the Pooh’s honey pots and the three pollinators – a bee, a snail and a butterfly – in Pooh’s garden outside the U.K. buildings.

The Prop Duster Dept. is responsible for this year’s miniature gardens in Japan, as well. Yarborough and Maseman developed a Zen Garden, a Tea Garden and a Mountains Garden based on actual sites.

Guests can see more of the sisters’ work and purchase pieces during the festival’s Art in the Garden weekend, March 27 to 29. Their white artist tent will be located on the Canada side of the World Showcase promenade and will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. all three days.

Can’t make it out to Epcot that weekend? Yarborough and Maseman will be showcasing their fairy houses at a garden tour event, The Private Gardens of Historic Orlando featuring Lake Eola Heights. It takes place in downtown Orlando from noon to 5 p.m. on April 19.

Maseman lives in Central Florida and teaches art to children during the school year and summer art camp at the Mount Dora Center for the Arts. In her spare time, she loves to paint miniature watercolors.

Yarborough lives in Fort Lauderdale with her husband of 36 years and five dogs. She has two grown sons, one who works at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. When she’s not creating pixie dust, she enjoys working with stained glass and other home projects.

Follow @Kristin_B_Ford

Post a Comment