THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Kites and Strings is a podcast about creativity, hosted by US-based Stephen Ploum and Catherine Chinnock.
Back in March they asked me to come onto their podcast and talk about topiary, my past writing plays, the stand-up I did and how creativity can fit into your life.
The Kites and Strings podcast was great fun and Stephen and Catherine are fantastic hosts. Listening back today I am surprised by some of the ideas I talked about (somehow I even started to describe a future where I run a ‘School of Creativity’ by the sea…. where did that come from?!) but it all felt comfortable and open enough to discuss ideas that just came up, in the moment.
Near the end of the podcast, Stephen even mentions using some of my words, words I wrote inspired by the talk we had, and turning them into a song. Haha of course! Topiary to lyricist….? That seems a… direct link.
But somehow it all makes sense when you listen.
So please do find just under fifty minutes to take a listen to the Kites and Strings Podcast.
Listen here
Check out the other episodes in series one and be inspired to get creative!
Find more of the Kites & Strings Podcast here.
And you can see more of my topiary work made here in the snow…
Or for a little brighter, warmer photos of my work, go here – topiary work.
Box Hill – Novella by Adam Mars-Jones
I picked this book up back in 2020 because of the title – Box Hill – fabulous, I thought, a book about boxwood. I’ll peruse this for its respective thoughts on the plant I clip most when I make topiary. I didn’t read the blurb on the back. Didn’t know the author (although I knew the publisher, Fitzcarraldo Editions, as I love many of the essays they have published… so trusted the author would be worth spending time with.) By page 2 I realised this novel wasn’t quite what I had expected. I started the book at 10pm, after getting …
The Henderson, Topiary Art Interview on Instagram
In a suit… eek! View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Henderson (@thehenderson_hk)
Topiary, The Art Garden at The Henderson
The Art Garden at The Henderson in Hong-Kong has now opened to the public. I joined the project last March, to work with Gillespies Landscape Architects on the topiary that had been designed for the Art Garden, which gives a calm, green space below the extraordinary Henderson skyscraper designed by Zaha Hadid Architects. The garden has been designed with butterflies in mind, so lots of nectar plants, and has other art projects and installations within its footprint. The history of the site is interesting too – it was originally the first cricket ground in Hong-Kong! So still a green space….! …