I find inspiration everywhere and in everything...

I always carry a sketchbook with me because an inspirational moment can be found anywhere and anytime – from the texture of a plant to the shape of an old twig or the colors of seashells.

Trees inspire artists and touch our souls...

Like those in the drawings of van Gogh and the prints of Hokusai, trees are the inspiration for sculptors, painters, photographers, and designers alike. They are the living ‘bones’ of the works of landscape architects… they reach to the skies and provide homes for the gentlest of creatures… they whisper in the breeze and speak to me. I am humbled by the responsibility of planting trees today that will hold secret conversations with the hearts of others.
Vincent van Gogh, Winter Garden

I love the form... I love being able to see through the trees... to see the structure... the topography, the brown and the blues, the graphic quality of the branches.

After the snow fall...

The snow is so incredible on the trees - it outlines the form in a way that one would normally never see – it defines the deep contours and separates the individual branches… Icicles glimmer in the winter light illustrating the bone structure of each limb.

I’ve learned that the landscape can contain all one’s activities or fantasies and become places of spiritual contact.

The site can tell you where to define little rooms, where the micro climates are… It’s a way of thinking: the site gives you the constraints and opportunities for design.

Creating "rooms" within the landscape...

My early perceptions of gardens as rooms is a concept that I still feel is the essence of the landscape. I design gardens with defined spaces which mirror the rooms of a house. The floor is the base plan... lawn is carpet... hedges, shrubs, fences and stone walls create corridors and walls... changes of grade are stairs... framed views are windows... trees, trellises and umbrellas are the ceiling... Furniture, sculpture and lighting are all included as the elements that give the space an animated use.

Elemental Pressure

What keeps the design process moving is the awareness of multi-dimensional pressures being exerted into the solution/design. What is the overall concept? What elements are part of this space? Who should have the loudest voice? Which geometry is the overriding force? As factors such as wall lights, lighting, manholes, planting, seating requirements bend to each other the design evolves through a sequence of connected permutations. The trace overlays tell the story of how loudly the voices speak, how immutable the pressures. The winning solution reflects either stasis – balancing of forces – or the surprise of a new birth, forced into being from unresolved conflicts.

To get back to the "Yin/Yang" or the "Mars and Venus"... the world of a landscape architect is constantly trying to bring beauty into the solutions that we structure involving the landscape - we are trained to combine our logic and creativity to be gentle stewards of nature's bounty for generations to come. It is a wonderful vocation and honorable profession that is at the same time ephemeral and timeless. It has been a great ride so far and I feel truly blessed to work my passion and be passionate about my work.

But here is the rest of the story:

I grew up in a family where my mother was the original Martha Stewart, my father an engineer, and my Grandmother a wonderful gardener who taught me what a weed was. My two sisters were very, very artistic. While they drew, painted, and etched their way through school, I played varsity sports and studied advanced calculus and college chemistry. I was participating in my own family "Yin/Yang".

Then it was off to Penn, where I planned to major in pre-med bio. I soon discovered that I was never going to get over my repulsion to the smell of formaldehyde and I switched to a double major in Architecture and Fine Arts. The change was as uninformed as the fact that I had a job working in the campus bookstore managing the art supply section... I now think of it as divine intervention... For the next two years I was required to draw buildings, landscapes and architectural interiors every day, our sketch books were the training ground for visual thinking. On the home front, my world was always overflowing with plants, mostly cuttings of begonias and impatiens from the summer's end garden beds, and I carted these plants back and forth with me from home to school.

Towards the end of my junior year, upon sage counsel from my father, I discovered that my lifelong love for plants could be combined with architecture. I believe my Dad said something like, "isn't there a Field of landscape architecture?" - no pun intended - After graduating from Penn I went on to the University of Arizona where I earned my degree in Landscape Architecture. I am a registered Landscape Architect in Rhode Island and Massachusetts as well as nationally certified to practice throughout the country.

People often ask me how I came to be a Landscape Architect, and as I look back on my journey here, it seems to make perfect sense... It is the perfect combination of science and art, and appeals to the Mars and Venus levels of the heart and mind.

Landscape Architecture has two very distinctive sides, embodied by the very words: LANDSCAPE -and- ARCHITECTURE.

*Landscape: artistic and emotional.
*Architecture: logical and technical.

Whether it is the intensely golden light at dusk highlighting branches, giving the tree tops soft washes of color that define their shape...

Or the cool light of my car's headlights that create a black and white landscape in motion...

I want to photograph, paint, write poetry, and capture the moment when I saw perfection in the landscape.

Given the transient nature of light, a vignette lasts at the most 10 to 15 minutes, and then it is gone. It makes what I see and understand all the more precious. In my work I just borrow the pieces and try to rearrange them to form new compositions for the spirit. My goal is for my clients to have a spiritual gift each time they are aware of their surroundings.

In design, I am trying to create an environment with vignettes in series, so that as one moves through the space or views it from a specific vantage point, these vistas unfold and drawn one through space.

As I find myself here today, I see all the paths I took, the choices I made, and I am grateful for each one of them. Without the combination of the science and the arts education, I would have no understanding of the components of the landscape that make up my palette. I am not afraid of engineering or science. It makes it possible to use the topography as a part of my sculpture of the landscape. Painting taught me color. Ceramics taught me about the circle. Environmental biology gave me an understanding of the systems and inter connectivity that is so critical to sustainable design. Chinese and Japanese literature turned out to offer insight into Asian souls as expressed in art, architecture, gardens, and poetry.

It's always nice to hear from a satisfied client -
"Kate's ability, foresight, and talent transformed our properties not only into picturesque landscapes, but they look as if they have been this way for generations. One of my favorite things to do with Kate early in a project before any drawings are made, is to simply walk the property with her as she gets inspired and begins to suggest ideas. She walks and talks while constantly creating, designing, and describing the most beautiful, incredible, and creative vision that are topped only by the finished project itself. She is not only a gifted landscape architect, but she is also a truly gifted artist."

"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished."
- Lao Tzu






Photo by Jake Mather

"The Finishing Touch"

Published each summer, New England Home's Cape & Islands magazine salutes the finest home designs on the Cape. We received a lovely mention in this year's issue:

"The swimming pool existed when they bought the house, but after they engaged landscape expert Katherine Field, it became the centerpiece of a lushly beautiful outdoor living space." - New England Home's Cape & Islands, Special Issue: Summer 2008, pages 60 - 67.

Plant picks

See what the designers at Katherine Field and Associates are recommending this month for their "Plant Picks of the Month".

Fall Foliage in Vermont
Photographed by John Eastcott and Yva Momatiuk

"Winter is an etching, spring is a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all." - Stanley Horowitz

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

What we do is a miracle...

Here we are the entire property has been virtually stripped; it's mountains of shale and you can't even see the water. There are five backhoes on the site just sitting there waiting and ready to go... The pit looks like a meteor landed on the property then boom!


Fruition, beautiful landscapes, ground covers, habitats for wildlife - I use my imagination, walking this future landscape. I'm in the creative mode, and once you get in the design groove you don't want to stop. Honestly, when I'm in that place nothing else is there. I just listen to the site. Each person gets there in their own way, there is a different trigger for each of our creative spots and my advice is to stay in that design groove as long as you can.

Calculations

I calculated that if I work 2,000 hours a year, spending 60% in design, and averaged 5 'rips' an hour, over the course of my career, including grad school, I have done approximately 204,000 rips totaling 3,672,000 inches of trace.

Tools of the Trade

Bright yellow trace, Pentel Sign pens, back Sharpie extra fine, red, black and blue Flair pens, drafting dots and a black plastic scale - these are the tools of my trade.

Years ago, I stopped needing the parallel ruler, although I still have it attached to my drawing board. No more plastic triangles, occasional use of a circle template, the same one I had in school. I can freehand draw an almost perfect circle and parallel curving lines.

I have perfected the art of ripping a sheet of trace off the roll using my triangle scale without shifting the layers beneath. Each trace layer represents the sequence of my thinking - as I create, I rework what is beneath, a fluid and connected process. The trace layers represent the preservation of the process, saving the design as layers until a final plan has emerged.

"Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile." - William Cullen Bryant

Colors of Fall...

The beautiful hues of fall are always vibrant and energizing. There is no doubt that this is a wonderful time of year. The weather is still warm, the leaves are turning, and there is still enough daylight left to enjoy the outdoors!

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." - Albert Camus

Natures inspirations...

Part of what inspires me most while creating landscapes is my constant interaction with nature, this is what drove me into such a career. Inspirational beauty is all around us and bringing it to life is my passion.

Dogwood: Look great just about any time of year! They are mostly admired for their white or pink springtime flowers, but don't overlook the gorgeous purple-red tones they bring to your fall landscape.

Ginkgo: A slow-growing tree that adds grace to any landscape. In autumn the fan-shaped leaves show breathtaking shades of luminous, golden-yellow.

Sugar Maple: A wonderful tree that makes a big statement in fall, sugar maple offers gorgeous red, orange, or yellow end-of-season leaves.

Top trees for fall color...

This week's posts are dedicated to the beautiful trees of fall - each day a new tree will be posted. Any of the picks will add an explosion of fiery hues to your yard this fall!


Sweet Birch: A beautiful tree, you'll love the sweet birch for it's cinnamon-colored peeling bark and triangular dark green leaves that turn a beautiful golden-yellow in fall.

Natures Gift...

I live my life with a simple ethic... when you give to Nature, it gives back to you. It is a simple rule and one I hold very close to my everyday practice.

I consider my design work and interaction with clients as a way to teach people about Nature. In a way, I do a small part to help restore beauty to the land and help bring Nature back in balance through the landscapes I design.

"The work we do is a reflection of who we are. If we're sloppy at it, it's because we're sloppy inside. If we're late at it, it's because we're late inside. If we're bored by it, it's because we're inside, with ourselves, not with the work. The most menial work can be a piece of art when done by an artist. So the job here is not outside of ourselves, but inside of ourselves. How we do our work becomes a mirror of how we are inside." (p. 199, 200, Gerber, 2001)

Gerber, Michael E.: (2001). The E-myth Revisited: Why most small businesses don't work and what to do about it. New York: Harper Business.

Developing your Natural Environment

Whenever I start a new project I always ask the client: "What is most important? How do you envision yourself (or family) in this space?" I'm there to develop the natural environment to compliment their personal living style... To create rooms and livability outside the house.

Like the garden, there is no set time or milepost that indicates one is complete. We keep evolving.

"The richness I receive comes from Nature, the source of my inspiration." - Claude Monet.
Claude Monet, Water-Lily Pond and Weeping Willow (1916-19).

Learning from Nature...

A student's commitment to learning signifies how I feel every day at work - Not only am I learning something new with each job, but newness is the hallmark of nature, always evolving, always dynamic.

Finding the Heart and Soul of your Land

Your home - and its land - is where the heart is. Essential to the comfort and beauty of your home, your outdoor living space should both welcome you home upon return and beckon you outdoors no matter the season.

Every day is a new day...

And every second in the garden is a fresh gift. The real thrill for me is always when my heart is touched by the spirit and magic of the land. And it is in the listening that I have learned my land lessons.


It is said that "working in the garden means working hand in hand with God." Perhaps this is what ultimately appealed to me and drew me to landscape architecture.

I love the dynamic qualities of the landscape, how it is never ever the same from moment to moment, therefore making each moment a gift waiting to be opened. I have always been inspired through the natural environment, its power, majesty and beauty. We are all drawn to nature on one level or another and respond positively to natural beauty. I am truly blessed to work my passion and be passionate about my work.

In the details...

Everything is in the details... If we do a stone edge, the client is going to notice the beauty when they sit out on the patio, sipping their martini, that it has a quality to it that captures the light. It enables them to see that , yes, this is a hand carved piece of stone, there was detail put into this. Someone actually sculpted this piece and we laid it here on our property - it's not just something off the rack. It is custom to our property. The details are what make people feel good.

"What artist so noble... as he who, with far reaching conception of beauty, in designing power, sketches the outlines, writes the colors, and directs the shadows of a picture so great that Nature shall be employed upon it for generations, before the work he arranged for her shall realize his intentions." - Frederick Law Olmsted, father of American landscape architecture

Exploring the Challenges...

Every garden is unique and has its own set of cultural, architectural, environmental and spiritual conditions. I love the challenge of exploring a new site and finding out about its wonders and mysteries.

Note: the above photo illustrates these challenges wonderfully - it's
surprising there could be so much pleasure in a reclaimed parking lot!

Visualization

I'm a very visual person. I'm always looking at the patterns of the natural world - the compositional elements of color, light, texture, hard lines...

"Work is passive without you. It can't do anything. Work is only an idea before a person does it. But the moment a person does it, the impact of the work on the world becomes a reflection of that idea - the idea behind the work - as well as the person doing it." (p. 200, Gerber, 2001).

Gerber Michael E.: (2001). The E-Myth Revisited: Why most small businesses don't work and what to do about it. New York: Harper Business

What I see...

I see the setting sun, the sun coming down at an angle and reflecting up into people's eyes... their face... and the golden light that comes there. And for me this is one of the over-arching qualities of the site that will play out into the late afternoon.

Speak to me...

So am I the conduit for the site to speak to the building? What does it want to be? How does it want to be at it's best?... "Speak to me!"... I find that meditating before I jump into a design really helps. I sit and I just let these images pass over me. I quiets me enough to let images come. I project myself into that space...

Practical Magic…

The circulation and functionality of what the client intends [to do in their home] and how they intend to experience the space also gives rules to how we solve the problem or provide the resolution. I envision them there and ask myself: what would be the optimal, most magical moment when the light would be perfect? When the sunsets will be glorious and that golden light reflects off the back drop. Whether or not you want to look through vegetation and have the grasses or the hydrangeas back lit - to give it that added boost of mystery - or stare straight out the sea. I work to envision the space with all of my senses before I have even drawn it.

The Art of the Practical…

I have to identify what the problems are. In this plan [sitting on the desk before me] there are a lot of challenges…they are not so much problems as they are all moving parts. They each have a set of rules that guide how the game [of design] is played - so there are a lot of little “games.” The game of how you bring your cars in [into your home], the game of how people arrive at the front of your house and what they see as they come in. The rules of that game are turning radii, the distance to the front door, how much space it takes to park. . . how big is the Mercedes, how big is the Porsche? If a UPS truck came into here would it be able to make the turn? How many cars can you fit in here for entertaining? For parking and for entry there are different rules.

For the private living area of the house - I call it the overriding geometry of the space. What is the most important thing to the client? Is it the views to the lighthouse, or is it the views to the water? Does the prevalence of the Southwest wind over ride that? You have to work to put your different pieces into priority as you sort this out and understand all of the connections between the pieces. . . swimming in the pool, where do people sit? For me, I feel very strongly that someone should sit facing south or west, looking over the water or to the view or to the sun so that the seating should always be on the North or Northeast section of the pool; or on the East.