Zion
This edition of WaterShapes EXTRA carries a link to one of my all-time favorite WaterShapes articles: "Living Art" by Philip di Giacomo and Mark Holden. I remember how pleased Eric Herman was to land this particular story for our October 2004 issue. He'd been after di Giacomo periodically for years, and we both looked on Phil's willingness to develop an article as
By now, the thought that watershape and landscape designers need to study nature if they want to replicate it in their projects is basically a cliché. Truly, if you want to mimic nature successfully, you must first know it intimately. What many miss in all this, I believe, is a deeper level of “knowing” that goes well beyond simply observing nature as a source of techniques and ideas. Frankly, I think that as designers and as human beings, we are much better off when we also learn how to become nature – by which I mean letting the sights, sounds and smells draw us physically into the place. In doing so, we engage in experiences so profound that the mere mentioning of that place will set us off with memories we will share enthusiastically – or can use as parts of our latest projects. No matter how often I visit natural places, I’m always amazed at the
Through the years, WaterShapes has published numerous columns and articles that speak to the value of studying and appreciating nature. Time and again, for example, contributors ranging from Brian Van Bower to Anthony Archer Wills (along with others too numerous to list) have waxed eloquent about the importance of getting out and taking good, long looks at the way things get done in the natural world. Those of you who have not been inclined to take that message seriously will get quite a break on September 27, when the Public Broadcasting System will begin
