Courses in Landscape Design
These courses provide the opportunity to probe with greater depth into the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual characteristics of the landscape serving to support personal and community quality of life. The courses place emphasis on a series of landscape design seminar/studios that integrate the experience of historical landscape space with principles and theory of design. They pass on a gathering of knowledge, wisdom and experience to students, that they might blend the tastes of these classes with their own experiences.
CKLA 735 : The Making and Meaning of Landscape Ryerson University Certificate in Landscape Design
A seminar/studio that explores and considers sources of inspiration for landscape design, providing ways to more broadly understand the meaning of landscape in one’s life, enabling students to develop effective personal design expressions. With an intriguing focus on designed sacred landscapes and the historical evolution of landscape space, the course integrates a study and application of landscape architecture history with principles and theory of design.
partTwo : The Experience of Classical Space
One of the series of private classes in which we probe more deeply into a major aspect of material covered in CKLA735 : Making and Meaning of Landscape. This course looks at how design theory is translated into garden, using historically notable and distinctive contemporary landscapes as case studies. The focus is on the classical organizing and ordering principles that have made them work as gardens, and the historic precedents from which they have drawn.
partThree : Experiences of Naturalistic Space
One of the series of private classes in which we probe more deeply into a major aspect of material covered in CKLA735 : Making and Meaning of Landscape. This course focus is on the discussion between the Nature of Beauty and the Beauty of Nature as translated into design of the garden. It addresses both aesthetic and ecological principles as grounding for the organizing and ordering principles naturalistic landscape design.
partFour : Creating the Art of the Japanese Garden
An introduction to the history of the gardens of Japan, and the distinguishing features and characteristics developed according to their Shinto and Buddhist traditions. The focus will be on the organizing and ordering principles of notable classical Japanese gardens, the features and characteristics that have made them work, and the historic precedents from which they have drawn. This approach provides a foundation upon which to begin to understand, design and make gardens here in Canada inspired by these Japanese features and characteristics.
partSketch
This studio is a direct result of students’ requests to learn how to sketch landscapes like those shown during partTwo and partFour. Since most of what I do is more intuitive and less analytical, I refer to the particular tools and techniques I’ve learned over years that I believe will be most useful during a six-week course. While I photograph to document, and sometimes to make art, I sketch to reveal the magic and mystery of landscape -- structures and processes causing landforms to unfold; forms and spaces making them come alive; paper and ink making them become me, as I become landscape.