A week filled with Stylish Sheds
December 13th, 2008
About a month ago, while reading Alex Johnson’s wonderful blog, Shedworking, I saw his post about an artist named Sarah Lynch. She has spent 2008 posting an original painting EVERY DAY on her blog.
Alex had discovered one of Sarah’s posts from July, featuring a charming garden shed entitled “Shed with Hollyhocks.” It was enchanting and I immediately went to her blog and subscribed to receive her daily artwork. Sarah is an English-Canadian woman living in Southern Ontario. You can find her work for sale via her blog (where there are links to some online galleries also selling her art).
I don’t know her at all, but Sarah has brought me a small dose of happiness every morning. Opening the link to see her next piece is one of the very first things I do after making my cup of tea and sitting down to read email at the start of the day.
I think Sarah may love sheds as much as I do, because today she offers a charming piece entitled: The Lonely Shed (7″X5″ WC pencil on paper):
The year is almost over and I’m worried that Sarah may stop posting her artwork. I like reading her brief, personal artist statements that accompany each drawing, illustration or painting. She has alluded to her readiness for a slower pace, perhaps creating three paintings a week instead of seven. Get in on the last few weeks of the year and subscribe to this little piece of joy that will arrive in your in-box each morning. I, for one, am hoping for MORE SHEDS!
IN OTHER NEWS. . .
On Sunday (12/7) we received a mention in Irene Virag’s column in Newsday. She included Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways in her “Gift List,” featured at the end of her longer piece on Ken Druse.
Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways (Clarkson Potter, $30): Author Debra Prinzing and photographer William Wright showcase 28 sheds from Southampton to Seattle. From clematis-covered potting sheds to writers’ retreats, these structures enhance lifestyles and landscapes.
On Wednesday (12/10) Blogger/Twitterer Jayme Jenkins posted an enthusiastic review on her “Nest In Style” blog.
What I personally love about a book like this is how Debra explores the decision making process of brainstorming, construction and decorating a backyard getaway. This book is perfect for the do-it-yourselfer who is looking for more than just a pretty picture book with inspirational stories about people you’ll never meet. She even lists the materials used in every chapter and the shopping resources in the back of book. How easy is that?!
On Thursday (12/11) Rachel Foster reviewed Stylish Sheds in The Eugene Weekly (Oregon):
Need a special place to meditate? Another West Coast writer, Debra Prinzing, has published a lovely book titled Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways. It is a series of studies, in text and photographs, of various interpretations of the garden shed idea. Not all their owners and designers call them sheds, of course: There are pavilions, tea houses, pods and even a chapel. Most are highly functional for their intended job, while a few are pure whimsy.
On Friday (12/12) blogger Amy Stewart recommended Stylish Sheds in her “Garden Gifts” column:
And if you know a gardener who longs to undertake a construction project in the backyard, consider giving Debra Prinzing’s new book Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways. She visits novelist Amy Bloom’s backyard writing retreat, and describes an awesome glass shed that seems to float above a shallow moat-perfect for dangling your feet on a hot day. We can’t all build an art studio/potting shed/guest cottage in the backyard, but we can dream. It’s a cool book. Check it out. And of course, buy it at your local independent bookseller.
Today Lisa Albert posted a wonderful review on Sunset.com’s garden blog, “Fresh Dirt”:
As I leaf through Debra Prinzing‘s Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways: Big Ideas for Small Backyard Destinations (Clarkson Potter, $30), it occurs to me that “shed” in its traditional sense is a four-letter word. It’s an undeserved descriptive for the wonderfully unique structures that populate the pages of her book. Ignoble, utilitarian outbuildings hidden in backyard corners have given way to something so much better-and much more fun.
Debra and photographer William Wright take readers on a journey to discover 28 inviting garden dwellings, sharing the personal stories behind each creation while divulging tips, ideas, design challenges, and solutions, including cost-cutting suggestions, along the way.
There you have it, a week filled with reviews of Stylish Sheds! We are grateful for the time each one of these writers took to share their good words!
December 13th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Wow, I am overwhelmed by your flattering comments. I promise to keep posting almost every day in the new year, I just may give myself a day off every once in a while. You are right though, I suffer from chronic shed-envy. I don’t even own a shed, at least not a proper one, just a lock-up for storing bicycles and lawn-mowers. One day I dream of having the perfect shed, complete with north light and lots of easel space! In the mean time I have found another blog I must subscribe to, isn’t it wonderful the way the blogosphere brings us together?