Tulsa’s Garden Deva reminds us, “Home is where the Heart is” – I don’t know if every town has a “Garden Deva,” but we have one in Tulsa. And we’re darn proud of her.
Tulsa’s Garden Deva is local artist, Lisa Regan.
Lisa began cutting metal twenty years ago and after becoming somewhat successful touring art shows, she finally quit her “real job” and plunged into her art business full-time. She now owns a large studio east of downtown, which doubles as a venue for other local artists to show their wares from time to time.
We have Devas all around Tulsa, as our community has embraced her spunky, cheerful, whimsical creatures, almost as a symbol of who we are in Tulsa. Her work can be seen all over Tulsa; in schools, libraries, parks, shopping centers, schools, restaurants, youth centers, and private collections. Lisa designs trash can covers used in our city parks and attention-getting Devas used in shopping centers. Libraries and educational centers proudly display her work. Devas can be seen all around my Goddaughter’s school, Montessori. Lisa is as much a part of Tulsa as Tulsa is a part of her. We appreciate her creative spirit and the blood, sweat, and tears that go into hand-crafting Garden Deva’s wide range of iron sculptures, from her whimsical $20 cat statues to $3,000 landmarks.
Lisa donates a lot of work, which is how I became familiar with her Devas. It didn’t matter if it was a Silent Auction for a domestic violence group, the Resonance Center for woman or any other charity I support, a Deva donation was included. My husband quickly learned to just sign on the auction sheet for the price required to obtain the donation – we always took the Deva home.
President Obama (then U.S. Senator Obama) visited Tulsa’s Educare Center to discuss issues surrounding early childhood education and was impressed by the Deva artwork encompassing the facility. I wouldn’t be surprised if our Tulsa Deva winds up making a splash in the White House rose garden!!
Our Tulsa Garden Deva has been featured in Tulsa People, the Oklahoma Magazine, Urban Tulsa, and Southern Living magazine. We are proud of her!
I buy most of my real estate closing gifts from Lisa, because I love to share her whimsical sculptures and the smiles they bring to my clients in their new homes – but also because Lisa gives back so much to our community. She really does pay it forward.
Tulsa’s Garden Deva reminds us, “Home is where the Heart is” – The most amazing closing gift she made for me was a 3-1/2 foot sculpture of a boy and girl holding hands with a banner above connected by the two reaching hands. The inscription on the banner was “Welcome” in both Choctaw and Creek. This amazing engaged couple (dear friends also) sent me a note while we were house-shopping and signed the note, “Yakoke – Wado,” which is “thank-you” in Choctaw, followed by Creek. So, when ordering their closing gift, I knew it had to represent the culture and heritage of which they’re so entrenched and proud.
I e-mailed my custom order in as usual, then ran into Lisa two days later at a fundraiser, and we had a minute to discuss the project. She wound up researching and finding a symbol of friendship in Creek which she put on the banner between the two “welcome” translations. Don’t ask me why I didn’t take a photo of this piece, but I’m seeing Kalyn tomorrow and will snap a photo and insert later.
Most of my friends have Deva artwork in their homes, offices or gardens. In fact, if I meet someone without a Deva, I give them one – I think it’s bad karma not to have one!
If you don’t have a Deva in your town, we’ll share ours – you can shop online!
