Merry Harris Honored by VINES with Sculpture

Connection through gardening was a theme in Merry’s life. Working in flower beds and vegetable gardens with her parents, she learned that soil under fingernails and dirty knees were evidence of time well spent. She firmly believed that human relationships can be built on the sentiments of shared cultivation – the expectancy following planting, and the pride in succeeding blossoms, blooms, and harvests. It is for this that her family and community remember her so frequently and fondly engaged in the development of green spaces. As Director of Economic Development for the City of Binghamton, she was a moving force in the establishment of community gardens, like those of Vines. Her family hopes that this sculpture, Patterns, will encourage others to spend time with one another and the earth in a space that is so emblematic of individual and community health.

The sculpture, entitled Patterns, was conceived by Merry’s husband John Perticone and family along with brother Kent Harris in collaboration with artist Robert Griffith, an internationally recognized artist and Professor Emeritus at Marywood University with home and studio in Pennsylvania. It commemorates the dedication and generosity of Merry Harris demonstrated through her involvement with VINES. It is #1 in an edition of five sculptures in her name being installed at four additional venues in the US. Incorporated in the sculpture is a phrase credited to Merry Harris: “basic patterns that imply the underlying unity of existence.”