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Q: If you could walk in any garden with any person which garden would you walk in and with whom would you walk? It would be Robert Irwin at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. He is one of California's most important abstract expressionists and he designed this phenomenal garden. All of the elements have been created to celebrate color, light and reflection. It's so dynamic: always changing with the seasons. A delight for the senses. Q: Besides aesthetics what role does a well designed landscape play? HGTV just filmed my house and garden for the show "What You Get For the Money" that will air in 2008. It's a given that the work that I did outside my house drastically increased the value. Most people are savvy about upgrading a kitchen or bath when they're thinking of selling a house, but a landscape/garden renovation can add substantial dollars onto an asking price. Q: How does color influence your work? It's my inspiration. Our eyes recognize color before anything else. I've done post-graduate work in color, and am looking forward to teaching classes to designers and artists in the art of color mixing. Q: What's your favorite design trick? I work from the outside in, which is opposite of how we're taught to paint. I first layout the shape of the property and work my way in. Q: You're mentors are artists, and you reference painting a lot. Do you paint? I dabble. I do gouache renderings for my clients, it brings the project to life, and gives them a sense of the end result. I studied art so it informs everything that I do, and I became active in the contemporary art community in Seattle. I worked on tours of artist's gardens and initiated a series of lectures on "Gardens as Art" for the Seattle Art Museum. Q: Do you use a computer for your final drawings? I guess I'm a bit old fashioned. I don't generate computer designs, but work on my presentations by drawing and painting. They're charming and clients appreciate the ephemeral look of them. It's one of the ways that I become engaged with the project. Each client gets a copy of the original when the project is complete. Q: How do you choose your projects? I've been lucky, because they tend to choose me. Most of my business is referrals from past clients, so they're usually familiar with my work, and that's a helpful talking point. We have an initial meeting to see if it's a good fit, and then we go from there. Q: How do you describe your dream client? Of course, that would be the client who's familiar with my work and gives me carte blanche. I love working with clients who trust my sensibility and let go, that's how I do my best work. Building that trust, however, is integral to everything that I do. Clients want to know that I will hold to our agreed budget, work with enthusiasm and great skill, and in the end, will give them more then they dreamed. Q: What's the most important step in your design process? The ability to visualize the end result and communicate that to the client. Q: What do your projects reveal about you? A passion for color, garden elements that reflect my love of art, devotion to exquisite design, and ultimately a garden/landscape that is sensual and celebrates the senses. |
