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for the glowing review! "Go ask Alice ... where all the best vineyard gardens are. She's an erudite charmer; you'll have fun!"
California Wine Country

Andy Cao Hosted by The Garden Conservancy

Andy Cao’s lyrical, dreamlike garden at Cornerstone Sonoma,

Bai Yun : White Cloud represents a stunning transformation of the original Cao – Perrot Studio installation created for the Cornerstone Festival: the Lullaby Garden.

Andy Cao: Bai Yun / White Cloud Detail

As an artist and landscape designer, Cao has achieved renown for dreamlike environments, calling upon vivid memories of his Vietnam homeland, while melding cultural references into aesthetic wonderlands. Having been awarded the Rome Prize Fellowship in Landscape Architecture, and a post at Harvard as a Loeb Fellow, Andy returned to Northern California recently to create two site-specific installations for Cornerstone.

You can hear Andy talk about his work and the inspirations that drive his designs on Thursday, November 17, 2011: an evening hosted by The Garden Conservancy at The Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio.

Full details on the lecture – Incidental Placemaking: Beauty and Dreams, along with registration information can be found on The Garden Conservancy web site.  A Meadowcroft Wine reception at 6 p.m. will be followed by Andy’s presentation from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Bai Yun – White Cloud

The event is cosponsored by Cornerstone Sonoma: Be sure to check back for a new post in the days ahead. I’ll share information on an upcoming free event to coincide with Andy’s visit the following Sunday at Cornerstone in Sonoma Wine Country.

Bai Yun / White Cloud – Photo © Alice Joyce

The upcoming post will feature another  new Cao-Perrot  installation, in progress at this time: Red Lantern is situated on a site at Cornerstone where visitors may remember the Martha Schwartz design had been installed.

Andy’s work is singled out on the cover of the book:  Avant Gardeners

…a book I reviewed when it was first released. It’s filled with a trove of fascinating projects that I often return to when I’m pondering innovative ideas in contemporary garden design.

Andy Cao Photo –  Courtesy The Garden Conservancy

One comment - (Comments are closed)   California Wine Country, Garden Travel, Land Art   , ,  
San Francisco

San Francisco Mosaic Tiled Steps

A community effort to beautify a neighborhood has turned into a popular tourist attraction in San Francisco. There were quite a few shutterbugs from distant lands snapping away on the day I visited.

You’ll find the project at 16th and Moraga ~ the Golden Gate Heights neighborhood, which to a non-San Franciscan (c’est moi!) appears to be on the edge of the Inner/Outer Sunset as defined by the 19th Avenue boundary line. The design emerges on the step risers, revealed in the photos taken when I was walking up the steps.

       SanFrancisco Tiled Steps © Alice Joyce

 The website –  http://www.tiledsteps.org/ – describes the creation of 163 panels in total, set in place by a local company, KZ Tile. The step treads are covered in a rough type of nonslip tile. Check out the web site for the full history of this cool San Francisco destination.

       SanFran Tiled Steps Crescent Moon  © Alice Joyce

The detail above is an especially eye-catching design crafted with glittery bits of mirror that enliven the shape of a crescent moon. The day was heavily overcast, so the sparkle is not very obvious.

             Tiled Steps detail  © Alice Joyce

 Below, you can see the view to the Pacific Ocean once you’ve scaled the stairway. The flat platform areas covered in the neutral tiles are shown here. 

                                 Tiled Steps Looking toward the Pacific © Alice Joyce

Looking at the flat terrain of the Outer Sunset from 19th Avenue extending to the Pacific Ocean, it’s easy to imagine the landscape as a vast sandy swath. I’m not certain if it is landfill. Maybe someone can leave a comment to enlighten me.

6 comments - (Comments are closed)   San Francisco    
Italy

The Romance of Sirmione

Sirmione is a must-see when touring the beguiling array of towns on Lake Garda, although you may want to avoid the weekend crowds during high season especially.

Hotel Sirmione Photo © Alice Joyce

An inviting destination that you might include in a tour of Northern Italy – even if spending time on Lake Garda is not part of your plan – Sirmione is situated at the tip of a narrow peninsula at the southern end of Lago di Garda, where the cities of Desenzano and Peschiera anchor the lake’s edge to the west and to the east.

Villa of Catullus Sirmione © Alice Joyce

In Sirmione you’ll have a fascinating opportunity to immerse yourself in a magnificent historical site.  It’s an easy hike to explore The Grotto of Catullus – Grotte di Catullo – as you stroll away from the bustle of Sirmione’s many restaurants, wine bars, and curio shops to arrive at the town’s archaeological area.

Sirmione Villa of Catullus Ruins © Alice Joyce

Emerging from an expansive promontory, the Roman ruins create a panoramic landscape where an impressive private villa once held sway. Not only do the substructures of countless rooms emerge, but also the remains of an earlier site have been identified; dating to the period of the 1st century BC and spanning 1st century AD. Was this the villa belonging to the poet, Catullus?

Sirmione Ruins from Ferry

Returning to my hotel in the town of Bardolino, I gasped at the views from the ferry, taking in images that are imprinted on my mind’s-eye where they will be replayed for years to come.

Poppies Sirmione Italy  © Alice Joyce

Meandering amidst the romantic ruins … an utterly delightful way to spend a few hours.

Sirmione Roman Ruins  © Alice Joyce

In the main part of town, the formidable medieval Scaligero castle is popular with touring Italians and tourists worldwide.

Sirmione Castle Lake Garda  © Alice Joyce

 The iconic towers and ramparts are much photographed.

Sirmione Castle Wall © 

Sirmione Castle © Alice Joyce

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