Artist of palm frond creations to hold exhibition at Art Ovation Hotel

When Peggy Roberts did something as simple as pick up a palm frond from a Sarasota street one day, it was the start of a hobby that would define her life. 

The former Sarasota resident saw the chance to repurpose a piece of nature that would otherwise have been left to the landfill. 

Her palm frond animals led her to an opportunity to serve as artist in residence at Art Ovation Hotel in an exhibition set for Jan. 14-19.

Roberts, 67, said that as a retiree, she feels lucky to be engaged with something that continues to challenge her mind. 

"It's my medium. I just find it inspires me, and it stimulates my mind to think of new things, and it's different. I haven't had formal art training, and I don't pretend to have had that, but I feel I can manipulate fronds in a way that gets people excited, or stimulates them creatively."

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Roberts gathers most of her fronds from roadsides, private yards and tree trimmers. 

Yet in response to her many art shows, she's also developed a loyal group she calls her "Frond Finders," who will alert her with a text any time a new frond falls in their yards.

"I think people like being a part of it, and they like knowing what I might make from their fronds," she said. "Sometimes they'll say, what are you going to use this one for? But it gets people involved, and it just does make people aware that there is an element of recycling to this particular form of art."

Over time, Roberts has become increasingly proficient at manipulating the fronds. 

Combining different pieces, including ones from different trees, she will dry, cut, sand and shape each component of the artwork. 

From the medium, she derives materials such as "palm mache," the sawdust of sanded fronds used to create components like a flamingo head and neck; "fleather," or thinning edges of royal palm fronds used for features like feathers and manes; and frond fringes that serve roles like eyelashes for giraffes and elephants.

As the Florida resident of eight years grew more invested in her frond art, she decided she'd need to move from Sarasota, where she lived for about six years, to a home in Bradenton that afforded more space. 

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As she works on her creations, they will be spread across about three different tables of the home. 

"It's not everybody's taste, but I'm amazed at some of the comments I do get," she said. "They're the kind of creatures that I get people saying, 'They make me smile,' and a lot of people use the word 'whimsical,' which I use myself in my description."

She said the art has even made its way internationally, with one buyer shipping a lobster piece to Norway.

"I'm very excited by it, and again, I think it's kind of fun to take chances..." she said. "I look froward to meeting a lot of people there, and I will have some new things up that no one has seen, some new things that I have tried, and it's just a great opportunity. I appreciate being given the opportunity to do that."