- November 24th, 2023, 2:45 pm
#450292
I grew up doing a lot of drawing. As a young child I took mid day naps and as I lay facing the plastered wall I'd fall asleep looking at the patterns in the texture of the wall. Often I'd draw what the patterns inspired in my imagination. It always felt like a faithful translation from what I'd imagined to what I drew and I drew whatever it was whether it made any sense to me or not.
Through high school and the start of college I dabbled in drawing and painting but probably stoped by around the time I turned 30 for no particular reason. But I married a visual artist whose medium is textiles. In fact when we met I invited her over to see some of my work before I knew what she did. I think my sense of composition and balance of textures is right up there with her's but she is master of color whereas as much as I enjoyed trying things the results were rarely pleasing. Maybe I was able to move on because it was in my environment and besides I started to realize a new creative fascination: making a garden.
It started when I visited the Harland Hand garden near where I live; there is a website dedicated to it now that he has died. Before that I'd always disliked gardens and was a snob about nature and the way plants fit an environment of their own accord. What I objected to was that most gardens seemed to be testimonials to the power and sense of orderliness of mankind. But this garden had been inspired by the maker's visits to the Sierras and so he learned to mix concrete reminiscent of exfoliated granite. To that he added exotic and inspiring plants which fit the scale of naturally occurring plants from that region but not at all restricted to plants actually from there. I was hooked and have made my own garden inspired by my own love of natural spaces but mostly not granite inspired, so minimal concrete. More than 30 years later it has a certain amount of gravitas which only age can bestow on a garden. At the time of Gerhard's visit visit only the back half had that kind of age, now even the side area has it too. He writes a blog called SucculentsandMore and if you search it for "pseudonatural freakshow you'll find his photos and write up from that visit and perhaps from subsequent visit as well.
Through high school and the start of college I dabbled in drawing and painting but probably stoped by around the time I turned 30 for no particular reason. But I married a visual artist whose medium is textiles. In fact when we met I invited her over to see some of my work before I knew what she did. I think my sense of composition and balance of textures is right up there with her's but she is master of color whereas as much as I enjoyed trying things the results were rarely pleasing. Maybe I was able to move on because it was in my environment and besides I started to realize a new creative fascination: making a garden.
It started when I visited the Harland Hand garden near where I live; there is a website dedicated to it now that he has died. Before that I'd always disliked gardens and was a snob about nature and the way plants fit an environment of their own accord. What I objected to was that most gardens seemed to be testimonials to the power and sense of orderliness of mankind. But this garden had been inspired by the maker's visits to the Sierras and so he learned to mix concrete reminiscent of exfoliated granite. To that he added exotic and inspiring plants which fit the scale of naturally occurring plants from that region but not at all restricted to plants actually from there. I was hooked and have made my own garden inspired by my own love of natural spaces but mostly not granite inspired, so minimal concrete. More than 30 years later it has a certain amount of gravitas which only age can bestow on a garden. At the time of Gerhard's visit visit only the back half had that kind of age, now even the side area has it too. He writes a blog called SucculentsandMore and if you search it for "pseudonatural freakshow you'll find his photos and write up from that visit and perhaps from subsequent visit as well.
Favorite Philosopher: McGilchrist
Location: California, US
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