Richard Richardson runs an antique stove shop
in Goshen, Massachusetts.
Behind it, Richardson has spent the better
part of his life creating a sprawling art
environment he calls Three Sisters
Sanctuary. It combines perennial plantings,
butterfly gardens, works by local artists,
and a fire breathing dragon.
Connecting Point's Dave Fraser takes us
there.
Sometimes in life, it's clear what your
purpose is.
In my particular case, destiny drove me to
the land of Goshen, and my purpose in life
has been to build these gardens as a healing
gardens for the public.
My name is Richard M.
Richardson. I am the creator and caretaker of
the Three Sisters Sanctuary in Goshen, Mass.
Destiny brought me to Goshen.
Within 24 hours of being in Massachusetts, I
drove through the town and I fell instantly
in love with it. And I thought if I could
live anywhere, this would be it.
Unfortunately for me, I lost my eldest
daughter 15 years ago and she gave me the
vision to call it the Three Sisters and to
continue to build it.
Nature itself has been my collaborator
through the entire project.
So, everything that I do as an environmental
artist takes so long that by the time I'm
done with that one section, something is
dictating what I'm supposed to be doing
next. I'd like to take all the credit for it
being my imagination, but I feel like I'm
being channeled and it's always pretty clear
to me what I'm going to be doing next.
I believe that this is my purpose in life,
and I keep putting it out to the universe,
with the belief that somehow it's all going
to fall into place.
Physically doing it -- good thing I started
it when I was 44 years old, that's all I got
to say! You know, because as I am getting
older, I am discovering that it's a little
bit harder, physically, than it used to be.
But on the other hand, I love -- I love
creating with nature and I love taking these
beautiful stones and standing them up.
And so, it really inspires me to to put in
whatever labor and whatever money it takes
to -- to make the magic happen so that the
sanctuary can be a gift to the Pioneer
Valley. Most people come and they are very
moved by it, and they feel that this is a
gift that they couldn't imagine was here and
that they've discovered it.
And then some people come and they just
think, I'm a very eccentric man and they
don't quite get what it's about, and they
shake their head, and usually they don't
spend much time here.
It's kind of like going to a museum, you
know? Go to MassMOCA, you know, either you
get it or you don't get it, but the more you
go, the more you get it.
And that's how art is, you know, you can't
-- the first time you see it, it doesn't
necessarily talk to you, but the more you
get exposure to it, the more it does speak
to you. In this particular case, I don't
know how nature can't speak to you.
It's a beautiful, beautiful collaboration
that is happening here.
I'm not done.
This will probably go on for the rest of my
life. This piece of property, I hope, will
be a gift to the Pioneer Valley, to western
Massachusetts. I hope other people will come
and enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed
building it. It's a magical space.
No matter which corner you turn around,
there's something to see that'll take your
breath away.