Monday, May 21, 2007

What does Harry Connick Jr. have to do with gardens?


Actually, not much--at least on the surface. But I could stretch a wee bit and talk about how I live in two worlds of creativity. Though I spend more time as a landscape architect than I do as a musician, my heart is with the music first. So last night was a solid 2 hour performance by one of the most humble, sincere, sharing jazz and funk musician's I've experienced. Harry and his immensely talented crew were all about having fun, taking chances, and sincerely receiving joy from each other's efforts.

How can I morph that spirit into my designs?

The "have fun" part is a given--I always try to explore something that excites me, or there's no reason to sit down at the drafting table.

"Taking chances" is always in the cards, but depends on the sense of daring of the client. Lately I've been blessed and lucky!

"Joy from each othere's efforts" is a stretch, but I think it has to do with the collaboration between client and designer--there's no way I would force my design intent on them, and there's the part about helping them express what they want and me giving it physical reality. I try to hear and see what truly excites them, then turn it into a garden they can love.

Let's see if I keep that in mind on the next design. Meanwhile, my band has two gigs this week and I'm SOOOOO ready to play.

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