Environmental Arts Legacies: Trella & Ray

Long before the Terradise Environmental Artists’ Residency or the Tunes at Terradise plein air concert series, Terradise was home to flourishing interdisciplinary environmental arts through the spirited contributions of Trella & Ray Romine, who used this land along the Whetstone as a primary muse. Trella & Ray Romine were both photographers & home movie filmmakers; & Ray Romine’s “light verse” poetry — published across the nation — often celebrated the glories and the tribulations of Trella & Ray’s unconventional “back-to-the-land” lifestyle. Ray also was a talented watercolorist & cartoonist, with work showcasing the close attention to detail he paid to the intricacies of plant & animal life.

Terradise was also home to horticultural arts. While best known today for its remarkable biodiversity — a fact that led to Terradise’s recognition as an Ohio Natural Landmark in 1994 — Terradise was once equally renowned for its cultivated gardens. From Ray Romine’s dozens of varietals of hybridized iris to Trella Romine’s annual spring Open Garden, the confluence of horticultural arts & conservation can still be felt at Terradise today.