A Potter's Garden: An Artist's Approach To Creative Garden-Making

Robin Hopper is an internationally recognized potter, teacher, author, consultant, arts activist and garden designer. He has taught throughout Canada, and in England, U.S.A., Australia, New Zealand, China, Korea, Japan and Israel. His ceramic work is in public, corporate and private collections around the world. He has been a clay worker since the age of three and a gardener for nearly sixty years. His 2.5 acre “Anglojapanadian” garden at ‘Chosin Pottery (Metchosin, Canada) has been featured in many books, magazines and television programs. In 2008, the garden was voted one of the top ten in Canada by readers of Canada’s “Gardening Life” magazine.

This book starts with a brief background about Robin’s life and the role that his unusual childhood had in his passion for both ceramics and gardening. The second section introduces you to his one-of-a-kind “Anglojapanadian” garden, complete with a virtual walkthrough of it with pictures of each area. The third section looks at garden design principles through an analogy to the human body. The fourth section looks at the way that any knowledge of, experience in or appreciation of one or more areas within the art field can be utilized in designing a garden. The final section discusses the importance of the garden as inspiration and look at the role that the garden has played in Robin’s work as a potter.

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