From Page to Pattern
Temple Studio, the lovely showroom that represents Mazy Path here in New York, recently asked me to share my favorite gardening books for a summer reading list. As I pondered titles to contribute, I reflected on how most of my design ideas come from books. My creative process begins when words on a page capture my imagination. Once my curiosity has been piqued, I begin a journey of discovery that leads to a visual outcome. Here are some examples of favorite books that have led to Mazy Path patterns (and sometime prints too):
The Heirloom Gardener by John Forti broadened my understanding of plants grown from heirloom seeds, and inspired the pattern Virginia Strawberry. Available as wallpaper and fabric in color Leaf Green, Virginia Strawberry is also available as wallpaper in color Ochre.
Through a series of essays on plants and gardens, The Heirloom Gardener: Traditional Skills and Plants for the Modern World by John Forti celebrates what's worth saving: seeds and skills. Each chapter illustrates how a humble herb, fruit or craft- something that might seem modest in contemporary culture- holds the key to transformation, whether from apple to cider or consumer to maker. The Heirloom Gardener makes me want to connect with my roots, in the garden and the studio.
How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan piqued my interest in psychedelic plants and inspired Panel of Perception II, wallpaper panels that feature the yagé vine, an ingredient found in Ayahuasca.
Writing as a journalist and a consumer, Michael Pollan provides a mind-expanding account of new frontiers in psychedelics in How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence. In my favorite chapter, "Natural History: Bemushroomed," Pollan shares his experience communing with a climbing hydrangea while under the influence of psilocybin, a psychedelic compound found in certain mushrooms. Pollan's account of seeing the world through the hydrangea’s eyes is every bit as strange and magical as it sounds, and reason enough to read the book.
The way in which some mushrooms can help trees share resources is celebrated Richard Powers' novel, The Overstory, and brought to life in our wallpaper Willow Talk.
The Overstory, a novel by Richard Powers, explores relationships among people and trees. This theme reaches its apex in the story of Patricia Westerford, a dendrologist who studies how trees share resources with one another using an underground fungal network (the Westerford character and her “wood-wide web” are loosely based on Dr. Susanne Simard, a Canadian biologist, whose research has revealed how trees communicate). Drawing threads between natural science and spirituality, The Overstory sheds light on the interconnectedness of all things.
Pawpaw: In Search of America's Forgotten Fruit inspired our pattern Pawpaw. Available in color Leaf Green as wallpaper and fabric, Pawpaw is also available as a wallpaper in color Deep Blue.
Andrew Moore's book, Pawpaw: In Search of America’s Forgotten Fruit, is the compelling story of a neglected national treasure whose star is now on the rise: the pawpaw. Part mystery, part field guide, Pawpaw is a page turner that reminds us of nature’s precious gifts and how we often know little about them even as they contribute to our culture and our well-being.
Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist helped inspired the Food Forest collection, a new collection of wallpapers and fabrics which will launch this September!
The subtitle for Michael Judd’s gardening book Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist says it all: “how to have your yard and eat it too.” This how-to guide shares how to create a bountiful garden in the green spaces that surround your home, however expansive or modest they may be. Judd’s teachings around food forests, groupings of native, perennial plants that center around fruit and nut trees, struck a chord with me- and you’ll see where that led this fall!
North Woodshas set the table for linocut printmaking: stay tuned!
Photo at L by Alexandra Rowley.
Sometimes a book lingers with me long after I’ve read it. Such is the case with North Woods, a novel by Daniel Mason. North Woods offers up many genres, from literary fiction to nature writing, but, at its heart, the book is a ghost story. Gliding across seasons and centuries, the plot traces the fates of myriad characters- puritans, painters, panthers- all of whom cross paths in a remote patch of New England forest: the North Woods. Some characters make brief appearances while others take up eternal residence. Since I read this otherworldly tale this past winter, the story has haunted me in the most pleasant way. It’s only a matter of time before the ideas sparked by North Woods find an afterlife in my art.
May your summer be filled with books that lead you on creative journeys!