Lately I have been reviewing my photography from previous months, creating new collections for printing. This particular one stood out. I took this photograph last March while camping in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. It's such an intimate image of a plant we typically think of as unapproachable.
I feel like I am right there, close. It even feels comfortable.
I learned to love asters while living in England. It was my first visit to Great Dixter and Sissinghurst that did it for me. They are a wonderful fall flower, and every garden should have at least a hint of these positive perennials.
- attributed to different sources, including Einstein...skeptically.
Eleven years ago I was talking with a good friend and classmate from university about starting an independent design school. It would be the Taliesin West of landscape and garden design. I was in my final year of my undergraduate studies and as we walked around campus, the plans for the school became more grand and more exciting. Around the same time we had contacted Dudley, a caretaker for a castle in Ireland whose gardens we were going to spend the summer restoring. Our ambitions were definitely running high though the castle project never happened.
Over the past few years I have felt a shifting was needed professionally but I haven't been sure what to shift to or from. Several weeks ago the idea to teach again came up in conversation and then I remembered my plans for a design school. And so the dream moves forward!
To start, I will begin teaching 3 day workshops tailored to the homeowner who wants to create a design themselves rather than hire a design professional. My minimum for a design is $5,000.00, but by providing a workshop environment, I can teach you how to create a design for yourself at a fraction of what it would cost to hire me to create a design for you. The workshop will take place in my home studio in Salt Lake City and will be capped at 10 students per section. My goal is to teach you how to think about your spaces, and how to make wise design decisions. I give you the tools to create your own landscape or garden and I will be there to guide you throughout the workshop. Workshops will be part-lecture, part-studio time, part-discussion. If you take WORKSHOP I, you will have a solid foundation from which to grow and build once the workshop is completed. If you add on WORKSHOP II you will receive more in-depth teachings and I will be there to guide you as you work through your design in the studio. For participants who don't have their own property yet, or who simply want to learn more about landscape and garden design (students and professionals alike), I will have a property for you to use for your design.
I will spend the fall and winter writing my curriculum and will begin teaching workshops March 2017. Below is a tentative breakdown of what is to come, subject to change. I will teach two WORKSHOP I's for every WORKSHOP II.
WORKSHOP I Section A and B
WORKSHOP II
WORKSHOP I Section A: March 18th 10:00-1:00 PM, March 24 7:00-9:00 PM, March 25 1:00-4:00 PM. Cost $200.00 plus materials.
WORKSHOP I Section B: March 21st 6:00-9:00 PM, March 27th 6:00-8:00 PM, March 28th 6:00-9:00 PM. Cost $200.00 plus materials.
WORKSHOP II: April 8th 10:00-3:00 PM, April 15th 10:00-3:00 PM, April 22nd 10:00:-3:00 PM. Cost $300.00 plus materials.
There must be a minimum of 5 students registered for the workshop to take place.
I have worked as a professional landscape and garden designer for 11 years and have taught Intro to Residential Design at Brigham Young University for several semesters. I received my Postgraduate Diploma in Garden Design from the prestigious Inchbald School of Design in London where I was awarded the Society of Garden Designer's award. I was a participant and also a TA for Mike Lin's internationally-attended two-week graphics workshop, and have been a presenter twice at the Green Conference for the Utah Nursery and Landscape Association. I have studied garden design in Japan, and completed the Japanese Garden Intensive Seminar from the Kyoto University of Art and Design. For the past nine years I have overseen the gardening at the private estate, Rivendell. I designed the grounds and gardens in 2007, and have worked as the head gardener for one of those years. I travel extensively to visit gardens and landscapes around the country and world from which to draw inspiration and increase my understanding of my craft. I love to teach and share my knowledge with others, empowering them to create more beautiful lives through well-designed landscapes and gardens.
One of my favorite services I offer as a landscape and garden designer is to consult with the homeowner on their personal landscape. Last week I was reminded of this once again as a woman expressed her gratitude for my time and ideas, "this has been so wonderful, you have painted a picture and have given me a place to start and a lot to think about!"
I give consultations for any size or scope of project and I spend as much time as you'd like walking through and talking about your landscape. I don't provide any drawings or plant lists, but I teach you how to think about your spaces and guide you in how to make certain design decisions. We talk about what could be, throw out a bunch of ideas, and see which ones resonate most with your specific circumstances.
A consultation will last minimum of an hour, but usually it ends up taking 1.5-2+ hours depending on the size of the landscape. My rate is $100.00/hr and if I need to travel for 30 minutes or longer I do charge for travel time.
Fall is a great season for consultations. We get all the ideas flowing now so once spring rolls around you have had a few months of winter to make some decisions for your landscape. To arrange for a consultation, you can call or text me at 801.231.4199, or email me at hello@lorienhall.com.
For the more intense DIY homeowner, consultations pair very well with my design workshops, which I will be starting Spring 2017!
Seed Cloud, Round 112 buds
I don't remember why I first came across the work of OCHRE - I was browsing images a little less than two years ago, maybe for a design project, and came across an interiors scene which enchanted me. I printed it out and pinned it to my cork board. The image above is not the one I have pinned - I haven't been able to find that one again. But the name OCHRE was associated with that image and it wasn't until many months later as I stood staring at the image on my cork board that I looked up the company's website to learn more about them.
As I did more research into the company I was increasingly impressed. Mostly because all three partners are women. And that is inspiring to me. Also I love their aesthetic, just the right amount of interesting with a calm created by simplicity...beauty of the understated.
Here is text from the about section on their website:
OCHRE designs furniture, lighting and accessories for the interior. Their designs place equal importance on harmonious proportions, luxurious materials and matchless craftsmanship.
British designers Joanna Bibby and Harriet Maxwell Macdonald, who shared an aesthetic for the beauty of the understated, founded OCHRE in 1996. Solenne de la Fouchardière became the third partner and fellow designer four years later. Along with selling directly to individuals, OCHRE’s clients are leading international interior designers and architects. OCHRE has worked on many custom projects for private residences, boutique hotels and restaurants throughout the world.
Today, OCHRE is acclaimed internationally with showrooms in London and New York and continues to grow organically whilst staying true to its considered design roots. It is the destination for those in search of discreet glamour - the hallmark of OCHRE.
I stumbled across the Seven Elements of Shibusa/Shibui last week while researching the term, Shibusa. I vaguely remembered reading about it years ago when I was doing plenty of research on Japanese gardens and Japanese design aesthetic.
The seven elements are simplicity, implicity, modesty, silence, naturalness, everydayness, and imperfection.
During my Google search I came across this bit of writing and loved it:
Simplicity An aesthetic experience
producing quietude. Implicity Depth of feeling through spare surface
design manifesting the invisible core Modesty exalts excellence via understatement
and silence concerning oneself Modesty Silence A sanctuary of silence is non-dualism...the resolution
of opposites, is intuition coupled with beauty and faith Naturalness Roughness, irregular asymmetry wherein the center
lies beyond all particular things in infinity Everydayness A framework for an artist's oeuvre
to be a unit not a process Imperfection Beauty with inner implications...beauty
that makes an artist of the viewer.
Shibusa, or Shibui, is different from Wabi-Sabi. But I am not going to explain that right now. You can look it up.
Grace and beauty. With all my love...Lx
Every September I fall in love with the Japanese Anemone. They seem to fly below most people's plant radars in Northern Utah, but they will grow here and are so, so lovely.
Cheekwood Museum and Gardens, Nashville, TN. Field of Light by Bruce Munro, 2013.
I had an image similar to this one on a mood board for a project a few years back. For some reason it came to my memory tonight. I suppose if I lived further East I might go watch the fireflies for a while before going to sleep. But for now, I'll listen to the crickets outside my window, reminding me we still have time for fall, and for beautiful days in the garden. Winter is not around the corner yet.
Imagine being able to walk into a plant nursery and walk out with this tree scheduled to be installed into your landscape or garden next month.
This is from the nursery, SOLITAIR, in Belgium. The quality and size of plant material available in nurseries throughout Europe really does stun me, and makes me envious as a designer. I have seen a few massive trees planted here in Utah. Those trees must come from the Pacific Northwest where I have visited a nursery or two and was quite impressed. I'm sure there has got to be more nurseries state-side which offer similar specimens, but I still don't think they match the magnitude of what is in Europe. I would love to be proven wrong, of course.
It's the season for beet cake, and who doesn't love beets and cake in the fall? This ingenious recipe delivers delicious results. I love to bake beet cake and share it with others...looking forward to doing so soon!
The charming film (2011) was created by husband and wife team, TIGER IN A JAR. They are local to Salt Lake City and produce nostalgic-feeling films. I find I need to be in a calm mood when viewing their work, otherwise it may seem to pace a bit slow.
In the meantime, you should really give this recipe a try. I recommend buying your beets from your local farmer's market, unless they are already growing in your garden, then even better!
Deep Perspective Into Nothing by Alexandru Ionita
Lately I have been thinking about mood boards and their place within the design process. A mood board is a powerful visual tool to keep your thoughts and expressions focused and deliberate. Right now I am loving this image by Alexandru Ionita. It matches the mood of today... it is still the middle of September, but it feels like we've jumped to mid-October with a crisp autumn night, brown leaves curled up on the cold, damp lawn, freezing overnight temps, and dark by 5:00 pm.
I would love to be able to include this image into a mood board for a garden design. I think it speaks volumes about an experience one could create with layers, corridors, hedges, directed vistas...My imagination is enjoying the parallels. There are not very many requests for structured or formal gardens here in Utah, at least I have had none in my 11 years as a designer. Which saddens me sometimes. Maybe someday.
Bhutan, Himalayas. Terraced river valley. Just an incredible and stunning use of land.
In three days it will be September and Summer is slipping away.
I am not ready for Summer to end. I need more time, just a little more time for one more adventure, one more sunset, one more time feeling the fluidity of a carefree experience. Tonight and tomorrow night are practically committed. But Wednesday, August 31st, let's go on that last Summer adventure.
Photo is from my Desert Wander to Stansbury Island two Saturday's ago.
I first saw images of this phenomenal installation a few months ago when it opened to the public and I haven't been able to forget about it since. It is the creation of Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson and I couldn't be happier that something this wonderful and this beautiful is in existence right now.
The 2016 growing season has been a different one from the past, well, all other growing seasons. Normally it is dedicated to landscape and garden design. This year it has been dedicated to gardening.
Last fall I lost my head gardener at Rivendell, the private estate whose landscape & gardens I designed in the fall of 2007. I started working there last September to fill the gap and after the winter thaw I rounded up some under-gardeners and began again.
This unexpected professional shift has been a wonderful and scenic detour. Many of the great designers in the UK have a background in gardening, which was one thing I realized while living in London. I felt a lack in that area as I knew it in theory, but not so much in practice. This year I have been developing personal relationships with the plants I placed so many years ago...understanding their needs and strengths, and what they have to offer a design on a more intimate level. Paying closer attention to flowering times, overall habit, color combinations, what pairs well, potential problems...I feel strengthened as a designer and am the better for it.
Spending so much time in the gardens of Rivendell has encouraged me to work towards my goal of having and developing my own garden to enjoy, care for, and grow with over the years. I hope it happens sooner than later.
Some recent photos of the gardens and landscape:
The online shop is open! This is a momentous occasion for me as I have been working on this for over a year. A long year of testing and trying out a variety of papers, image sizes, finished paper sizes, print methods, etc, etc. etc. Every decision made has been a deliberate one and I look forward to developing my career as an artist.
Back to preparing prints!!
Lx
These are important dates for me this month. And here's why:
On May 7th*, this coming Saturday, I have been invited to participate in a local Avenues art show. I will be displaying ten of my black and white photographs from The Great Salt Lake Portrait Series. I have been going mad trying to pull everything together in time for this event.
This free evening will be from 6:00-9:00 pm at the LDS church building on the corner of 2nd and J Street in Salt Lake City. I have heard that live jazz music will play from 6:00-8:00 followed by a harpist from 8:00-9:00. Also, light refreshments will be served. So if you are in the area, please come and enjoy an evening of local art!
On May 17th, a Tuesday, I launch my online shop where I will be selling prints of my Great Salt Lake photography. (!!!). Mostly my black and white work will be for sale, but there will be a few color prints available. The process to open shop has been more involved and time consuming than I had imagined, plus I become OCD and get hung up on all the details to figure out, and there are so many details! But it's finally coming together and more info about the shop will be shared as we get closer to the 17th. And actually, it feels great to have a deadline, though there is still a lot to do pre-launch.
Wish me luck!
*May 7th also marks my 9th anniversary of starting my landscape design business. There is much to celebrate this weekend!