Garden Artistry: An interview with Debbie

I met up with Debbie Spurling, a gardener who creates art that is woven into the landscape of her yard in inventive ways. Using driftwood, metal, glass and stone, her backyard has magical mini-landscapes that delight and draw the viewer in. We sat down and discussed what she does, what inspires her, and how anyone can add a touch of whimsy and heart into their garden.
 

Ingrid: How long have you been gardening?

Debbie: I worked in my yard for the last 15 years. I've gotten interested in this kind of creativity in the last 4. This is where I can spend my creative energy, and my creative time. And where before I'd think I've got to weed everything, or I've got to mow all the grass. I now like sitting in one spot, and playing around in one spot. It's not so much of completing a task, as it is of just seeing what happens when I sit in a particular area.

Ingrid: What are your favorite plants?

Debbie: Sedum, hostas, ferns. And fuschias, or any other plants which attract hummingbirds. The other thing that I learned is that whenever people were thinning their perennial gardens, they'll give me starts. So if I see something, like, in a neighbor's yard, and it's like, oh, if you thin that out, can I have a bit of it?. Also, by going to your neighbor's, then you have an idea of what grows in your area. I've never learned about my soil or anything like that. I just see what grows in other people's yards that live on the same block that I do, and then, go from there.

Ingrid: How long have you been adding art into your garden?

Debbie: I was in San Jose, and I saw someone else's yard, I think she was an artist. And she had these posts with these mosaic circles on top. So that's where I got the idea of standing things up, rather than laying things down. Having height. Of things in the yard that aren't plants. That's where I got the idea of taking my driftwood and putting it upright. But what happens is that when you put it upright, it gives it a different dimension.

I also went to the Phoenix Botanical Desert Garden and saw Dale Chihuly's glass art outside. That was another inspiration.





Thrift store glass and handmade metal hook
from a class Debbie took at
Pratt Fine Arts Center



Candleholders make decorative

bases for old light covers





Ingrid: I know that you do one other kind of visual art, I've seen your cards that you make. Have you always been a visual artist?

Debbie: Never. I never thought of myself as being artistic. I've dabbled in a lot of things. But creating different visual areas in my yard is where I find my interest has stayed.



Her kids' old swingset, moved and converted with a porch swing to enjoy in the shade of her evergreens.

One side of the porch swing has a river of blue rocks. The blue theme continues with a mosaic vase turned upside down, boulder and flower in the distance.



Ingrid: Where do you find the materials?

Debbie: Goodwill, Fremont Market, Ross (housewares section), Tuesday Morning - they've got good metalish stuff. Ross has a lot of metal stuff, made for indoors, but you can put it outside. It lasts. It's coated or painted, or it rusts beautifully.

Also from neighbors, friends, or found outside.

I get a real kick out of getting things free (legally), or cheap, and then going from there.



It's like Chihuly, can you imagine how much Chihuly's stuff is? I can go to Goodwill and find these really beautiful vases. And turn them upside down, and it gives that feel. It's not a Chihuly, but it gives me that feel of 'you can put glass...in your garden.'



Ingrid: What is your creative process? Do you start with an idea, or with a piece of material?

Debbie: I start with materials first. I like to wander around Goodwill or other kinds of places and I see something that I'm really drawn to and it's that piece that then gives me an idea.

I like working in my back yard, because I'm by myself. I can play in my backyard and nobody's watching me. So when I'm left to myself, I find that ideas just kind of start flowing. And then I will try something and then I either like it or I don't like it. Things change all the time. I will re-design a corner just by maybe moving some rocks around. Bring all of your stuff out and then see where things that you weren't putting together you can put together.

Ingrid: What advice would you give to someone who was just starting out doing this?

Debbie: I would say just start and find something that you particularly like. A piece of rock, a piece of metal and just put it out in your yard, and look at it. And then you'll find, you'll go 'ohh, that looks pretty cool. I wonder if that would go with that?'



Another idea is when I go to Goodwill. I will pick something up and I will turn it upside down. Because it gives it a completely different look. So it really is just, get yourself to do something, and then things evolve from that. But it's something that you like. And then go from there.

You really can do different things in your yard besides just planting. And that you can do things where you can sit on your rear end. Like a lot of weeding I do on my butt. Because I just sit and I'll work around the area where I'm sitting. And then that kind of creates.

You can do something that's just a little different than what you'd typically see in landscaping magazines.



And I have, it really brings me joy. Because it's a personal expression. It isn't about what it looks like from the street. It's really about the area that I want to be in when I'm outside.

______________________________

Debbie is reachable at spurldes@comcast.net. If you have questions about her creative process, or want further advice or to share ideas as a fellow outdoor artist, don't hesitate to drop her a line!



Debbie in her garden



  More pictures can be found here.



Driftwood "Whale"



"Old Man"



Trumpet