Sarah Price

DESCRIBE YOUR APPROACH TO TEACHING:

I draw on my wide experience in real world landscape and planting design situations as well as my own fine art practice.

WHAT WILL STUDENTS GAIN IF THEY COME ON ONE OF YOUR COURSES?

I encourage students to reject staid, formulaic approaches to design and to pay attention to the specificities of form, space and place.

I propose an approach to planting design based on the appreciation of the overall character of plant communities and the whole composition of planting rather than looking at plants as individual species. I encourage students to pay attention to how the play of light and shade affects composition and how repetition and variation in plant forms and structures can be used to generate particular visual effects.

ARE THERE ANY PARTICULAR TECHNIQUES/PROCESSES YOU USE IN YOUR TEACHING?

I encourage students to look closely and to make use of drawing as a fundamental tool both for observation and for planning a design approach. As well as drawing I encourage use of new technologies for experimentation and visualisation.

WHAT INSPIRES YOUR OWN WORK?

I am inspired by the beauty of natural landscapes and ecologies and my work draws upon my own close observation of natural plant communities. This ‘naturalistic’ approach to planting is developed among a group of Dutch designers such as Piet Oudolf and Henk Gerritsen, both of whom have been early inspirations to me. I am always open to new ideas and strive to keep my eyes fresh to the world.

WHERE DID YOU GAIN YOUR TRAINING/EXPERIENCE? (INCLUDE ANY QUALIFICATIONS)

I have worked on a diverse range of projects from large-scale public parks such as the Olympic Park in East London to smaller private gardens. I have exhibited show gardens at RHS flowers shows at Chelsea and Hampton Court.

I have a first class degree in Fine Art from Nottingham Trent University and a postgraduate diploma Residential Landscape Architecture and have worked as a gardener at Hampton Court Palace.

WHAT TEACHING EXPERIENCE HAVE YOU HAD?

I’m a visiting lecturer in Planting and Landscape design at the Department of Landscape at Sheffield University and at KLC School of Design. I have lectured widely at landscape and horticultural associations.

HAVE YOU WRITTEN ANY BOOKS/HAD ARTICLES PUBLISHED?

I write regular feature articles for Gardens Illustrated magazine.

DO YOU BELONG TO ANY PROFFESSIONAL GROUPS/SOCIETIES?

No.