“Oak Spring” The Upperville, Virginia garden of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon

A visit to this legendary garden was the source of inspiration for me to revisit some earlier concepts for projects executed in ceramics. Although I am not a potter, I, like every other resident of the Ohio town of East Liverpool, claim a part of the rich heritage of the pottery industry that was centered here in the 19th Century. Throughout my life, I have preferred to draw rather than to paint, and for that reason, my work, when associated with ceramics, has been in the form of decals. Renard’s trompe l’oeil paintings in the conservatory at Oak Spring are of prosaic garden implements in a garden filled with living examples of the highest forms of the gardener’s art. It occurred to me to reverse that concept and provide trompe l’oeil espaliers and architectural features for gardens that would not likely possess such features. While embarking on this exploration, I drew upon my childhood memories of exceptional gardens that had belonged to the East Liverpool homes of Will L Thompson and R. L. Cawood. These memories, in turn, called forth other aspects of the past that have influenced my designs and caused me to realize how so many aspects of the creative process are able to be combined in the formats now available. This site, while featuring my work, should be seen as a reflective companion to davidbkelly.com which will be a conventional portfolio.

“APPLE CORDON ESPALIER”

At Oak Spring’s garden, certain portions of the planted beds were edged by low espaliers of apples and pears. I was inspired to create this series of tiles replicating this imagery. I designed this as a symmetrical arrangement of tiles moving to the left and right of the center “trunk” tile. For each tile to the left and right of the center, I designed a terminal upwardly pointing shoot. Thus great dimensional flexibility is possible. Without any customization, the dimensions of 40″ to 120″ are readily available.

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