Description:
Anyone who has ever yearned for a garden more expressive than the usual beds, borders, and lawns should look no further than the nearest visual artist's home garden for inspiration. That's just what Valerie Easton and David Laskin do in Artists in Their Gardens. The authors profile 12 artists--glass blowers, ceramicists, painters, sculptors, and architects--and show that artists don't just break all the traditional rules, they approach the act of gardening as if there were no rules to begin with. Their stories and ideas provide multitudes of inspiration for the rest of us. The artists featured have come up with decidedly different ways of doing things. For instance, painter Robert Bateman--famous for his paintings of wild animals in their environments--has created a garden so "natural" that it feels almost ancient. What is surprising is that he has done so using painstakingly fabricated fake rocks to create cliffs and a meandering stream that provide the backbone for this stunning space. Ceramicist Anne Hirondelle uses every horizontal space--indoors and out--as an opportunity for display. A stone bench, for example, holds a series of vessels that collect rainwater, reflect the sky, and provide a shimmering surface for floating blossoms. Glass artist Ginny Ruffner, not satisfied with an unadorned 4-foot stone head that rises out of the center of her garden, devised a canopy of bright pink blossoms that suggests a colorful bonnet or a cascade of flower hair. The authors provide lovingly intimate portraits of the artists and their gardens. Stunning photographs by Allan Mandell show off these gardens for the works of art that they are, while a section in each chapter called "The Artist's Eye" shares tips and inspirations that readers will surely want to use in their own home gardens. After reading this book, you'll come away with not just inspiration and a few new ideas, but a whole new way of looking at the act of gardening. --Robin Donovan
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