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| | I received a call one day from a woman named Joan. She was located in San Francisco and I told her I wasn't taking on any jobs in SF at that time. She told me she had a perimeter of trees that was dying and was frustrated at not being able to get help. I told her I'd try and help her out until she could find someone that was local.
It's been 6 years and I am still working with Joan. She is an incredible spirit in the garden and a creative collaborator. The trees she had suffered from Oak Root fungus and had to be removed. In their place Joan decided she wanted a tile wall. The wall is 9' high and 40' long.
The construction of the wall and new garden involved my design services, my assistant designer and my services as project manager. The project also involved a surveyor, structural engineer, attorney, drilling contractor, tile contractor, landscaper, electrician, painter, and blacksmith. There was some final detailing that involved a mason and a handyman. The various workers on this job came from all over the world, represented were Israel, Ireland, Scotland, Jamaica, Mexico, Japan, and Germany. | |
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| | The metal piers arrive weighing in at 200# each. | |
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| | Metal sleeves were required because the location had sandy soil and the piers needed solid support. | |
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| | At the end of the day it is important to cover and secure our work. | |
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| | The skin of the wall goes on. | |
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| | The top of the wall is peaked with a pitch to both sides. | |
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| | Joan and I sampled many different types of tile. We brought them to the site and looked at them at different times of the day, we got them wet. Joan settled on a Italian porcelain, she really liked the chocolate color. The color of the home was changed also. | |
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| | Joan wanted to put some sort of art on the gate to be viewed while inside the garden. She was very fond of iron work and we located a blacksmith who was doing a lot of work in the wine country. He said if we could design in he would forge it.
Joan brought home her favorite leaves and dropped them on her atrium floor to get an idea of how they would look with a tile background. I then researched botanical drawings at the SF Botanical Garden Library to come up with images for the tendrils that Joan was after.
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| | Joan had this lovely metal chair for quite some time. She has a long torso and it fit her perfectly. Several years after the wall went into place she tired of this chair and talked to me about it. I suggested she collaborate with Cynthia who makes furniture from found wood. The chair they created is a perfect replacement. | |
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| | Cynthias work is custom. She meets with her clients to understand their needs and takes their measurements. She goes out into the woods, the beach, and forages wood just for them. She does not hurry or rush. | |
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| | The fine art of joinery. Cynthia does not use any power tools nor does she use any sort of hardware. | |
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