With the sculptures generated by the stick drawings of the kids for Autoglow came the idea to fill the event space with ladders. Why? These ladders symbolized for me the leg up a donation to the Children’s Center would provide to the kids they help, but also the process by which all of us climb into our lives, and get to be contributing members of our community-one step up, at a time. In the dance floor/foyer I hung from the ceiling what seemed like an endless number of ladders- borrowed from everyone I knew.
I have had a leg up from others plenty of times, just like most people. I could have never done without this. All any kid needs is a leg up from a set of parents, a greater family, a good school and a focused community and a fair world. When any part of this goes awry, all of us who are able, need to step in.
We cut what seemed like a zillion stars from thin masonite, and painted them gold. Gold stars-this a simple visual representation of the achievement of my babyhood. I still remember the gold stars I got-don’t you? My figures were happily floating in the airspace-as any kid should be.
I did all of the figures, save one. The interior designer Charles Dunlap donated a figure, walking a dog, on his own. His dog went up the ladder and was already crossing over to a new place-his version of an enabled child not far behind.
The tables were not fancy; the not fancy chairs were every version of black we could find. The tablecloths-collages of photographs of kids printed on giant sheets of copy paper, overlaid with clear acetate. The centerpieces? Flashlights-shine the light wherever you can. Bottled water energy drinks-water, essential to life. Some of the steel ladders we welded up crossed over from one table to another-fun.
Its important with any fundraising event that the message be simple. There are those in need. There are those who can help. Helping others is the best possible time anyone could hope for. My job is to put together a visual telegram from those in need to those who can help. Let some visual sparkle do the rest.
The few moments before an event designed to raise money for a cause begins- I treasure. No matter what works or falls short, in the end, everything is about the sincere energy of the effort. The lighting people, the catering people, the entertainment people, the Children’s Center staff-so many people came together on this day, to a worthy end. I am lucky to know and have worked with all of them.
Those figures whose creation delighted me so much were not the star of this event. They just took their place along with the efforts of a lot of other very creative and energetic people. Once the room filled with people, there was a party going on. I am a member of a big group whose names and particulars may never be known-fine. We were just all hoping for the best, for the kids.
Not so long after this picture was taken, this room was jammed with people, every one of them a gardener busy nurturing the landscape.
Everyone in my town knows the Auto Show is in progress downtown in Detroit. Not as many people know that the automobile companies have for years sponsored the NAIAS Charity Preview event in tandem with the show-which has raised over 81 million dollars since 1989 to benefit a number of children’s charities in southeastern Michigan. I had occasion a few years ago to be involved in an event to benefit 
The ting ting was tightly zip tied to the flexible wire-but I was still able to pull individual ting pieces away from the wire-giving this figure a curvy shape. She had a curly ting head, hairdo, hands and feet. The legs were wrapped in ribbon, and studded with small cream colored paper roses. Her outfit-a tee shirt covered in paper hydrangea petals. The velvet ribbon at the neck and wrists-can you tell I was having a good time? 
I use dried and preserved natural materials for lots of projects-bringing the garden indoors is an activity I like. Invariably there are bits and pieces left over-I keep them. Who knows what might come up where a couple of green rope balls, or a few bunches of preserved grass might come in handy? The idea that this might help someone felt great.
I wanted all the kids to have a sense of lively animation-just like any real kid. As each one got finished, I hung them from a bar on giant S hooks in the greenhouse. Each one had a different set of materials, and a different personality. 
This figure made a lot of some green floral foam cones I had left over from a party for a client. A spool of metallic peach wired ribbon made fast work of a hairdo, a necklace and some bracelets. Though it took the better part of 5 days to make them all, the time flew by. In retrospect, the occasion to design and play with materials, shapes, volumes and colors was the gift of this project to me. Should I ever decide to give up gardening, I might consider making hats. Outlandish hats. 
I was able to hang my figures on a convenient fence at Mocad-the venue for the event. 
This ting man got his whirling dervish look from multiple strands of curved aluminum wire. The wire is very light, making it possible to make the wire appear as though it were floating. One pierced aluminum hanging votive made a great starting point for a head. 
There are plenty of ways to think about white. If you take red, blue and yellow light and mix them up in equal amounts, the result is white light. White snow or dense fog on a sunny day appears blindingly white, as they reflects all every color, and appear devoid of any color. Devoid of color is one way of talking about white. This snow looks gray, as it was photographed on a cloudly sullen day-no light making for white white. Scientific discussion about exactly what constitutes the nature of white-there are lots of theories. No designer needs to understand the physics or chemistry of white as much as they need to observe what white does in a composition. 
I never think about white without thinking about light. Water is transparent, or colorless, it transmits any color behind it. The water in the air from this Italian fountain is reflecting all the colors of the light spectrum. This clear water appears white- in bright light. “White water”, or churning airborne water, looks just like snow. If you squint at this picture, so all the individual details drop out, the white will seem close to your eye, and grab your attention. The green seems to recede, and hang back. A landscape is very much about the creation of a sense of depth. There are actual spaces, with dimensions you can measure. A physical space that is very shallow can visually appear to be quite spatial. How you use back and white, or light and dark, is key to this. 
White has strong emotional connotations-as any color does. Imagine how you would feel arriving at a hospital for surgery where everyone was dressed in black? Or red? Or anything but white? White looks pure, fresh, crisp and clean. This white annual phlox brings all of the above to mind.
Pairing white with some sharply defined geometry can be clean and contemporary, and on the edge of glaring. My main objection to contemporary landscape design has to do with the lack of any attendant and contrasting softness. Mid century modern design does so well expressing a contemporary point of view, without being pitilessly stark. How this container gets planted will be key to its visual success.
White furniture in the landscape is cool and inviting, not cold. This black and white furniture, set on a bluestone and concrete aggregate terrace draws the eye, and invites company to gather. The attendant landscape is softer and looser, without being messy or disorganized. The invitation to sit is the most important visual element here; the landscape follows up with the suggestion of soft enclosure. But the invitation issued in white reads first. 
Many antique garden ornaments, whether stone, iron, or concrete, have been painted white. Perhaps the origin of this practice has to do with an effort to make those ornaments stand out. Vintage white paint on an object has a feeling that enchants those who love classical gardens, as well as those who love cottage gardens. In one of my lives, I would like a house with white limed floors, white walls, and white everywhere. How serene and beautiful this would be. 
Though the only thing on my mind come spring is some color, I do love white tulips. These Maureen tulips, paired with the black blooming Queen of the Night tiulip, is a different sort of spring display; stately and formal, I would say. Though white flowers attract visual attention from afar, and can light an evening garden, I like what white does to direct your attention to the form. A white tulip will permit you to see more about the shape of a tulip than any other color. Color can be a distraction. Sometimes if ideas seem scarce when I am designing a landscape, I print all my study photos in black and white. 
My life is all about the white now. Far from being a stock color, the character of white is so influenced by whatever light I might have delivered to my door in the morning. I especially appreciate how it defines, and then blurs the shapes of everything outdoors. I like how it makes me see big forms and shapes in clean relief. This makes me understand how a gardener could be very keen for a white garden. 
Any person who has ever had a mind to cultivate a garden has a love for all of nature’s creatures. Even the aphids I squish, and the Japanese beetles I whisk into bags for the trash, the rabbits, the white flies on my dahlias that enrage me, the bloody slugs-I still have a tough time not welcoming any of nature’s creatures to my garden. I might as well put up a sign: Any natural transient welcome: room and board available at no charge and please, stay as long as you like. No wonder that sculptures of bugs, birds, dogs, are every bit as interesting to gardeners as sculptures of the human sort. 
Gardeners understand that people don’t own the planet, they are but one species among a whole planet of species. My shop has always been friendly to all manner of fauna. The corgis have been here every day for the last four years, and MCat maybe 7 years; these three came during the reign of Hoppy the toad, Jojo the cat and Jack and Libby, the mini schnauzers. Who knows who or how another creature might be added to the current Corgi administration; anything can change. The place would not seem right without them; many people know them by name, bring treats, or pitch the ball down the driveway for them. These astonishing cast and wrought iron armatures are all that remain of a pair of eagle sculptures from France, some several hundred years old. Though made of iron, they have an unmistakeable air of power and vitality. The little faux crows-we like these too. 
Troy’s sculptures of birds and animals speak much to his respect and love of nature. His work has great appeal, for good reason. I so love how directly he sculpts. Some garden sculpture is more about the technique of the sculptor, rather than the feeling of the sculpture itself. People readily sort this out, and gravitate towards that which strikes a chord for them. Whether it be for fun, or in memory of something or someone, an appreciation for art in a garden comes naturally. 
Mary Hode is an English sculptor of formidable talent. Her husband fashions garden pots I treasure. But her stoneware sculptures of cats are so beautiful, I would be confident asking any person to consider adding her work to their collection-whether for inside or out. Their faces have a distinctly human look about them; I understand this. I do believe my Corgis are people in dog costumes. 
No lion lives in my zone, but the lion is a very popular motif in garden sculpture. They are on duty every day, holding court, standing watch. This English cast stone lion has a very British culture feeling to it. 
This finely detailed lead hare comes from the English lead ornament company known as Crowther and Sons. What gardener in my zone has not shared their garden with the rabbits? I do love the expression-you think he ate the lilies??
This handmade Italian terra cotta sculpture of a dove is beautifully rendered. I like small terra cotta sculptures like this, keeping my pots company over the summer. I have spots for them indoors, for the winter. 
This Belgian concrete terrier circa 1930 has a sassy terrier expression, indeed. I gave him a rope collar for the winter. I never had much interest in the doll thing, but I do like dressing my sculpture for an occasion. Just for fun. 