Marianne's Three Favorite Things: August 2018

August comes with warm weather and offers a final full month to delight in nature before the fall season is arrives. Whether you are busy preparing for another school year or are seeking to plan one last summer road trip, I encourage you to cherish the month before it is over.

ART: Julie Speidel

Julie Speidel is one of the Pacific Northwest’s great art treasures. Her public art can be seen in many significant locations throughout urban Seattle, as well as in various places worldwide. Speidel began as a maker of jewelry many years ago and as her scale grew the pieces moved from body art to three-dimensional sculpture. She recently published a book about her work. Some of her recent work calls to the geographical formation of our region through sculptural imagery intoning our glacial past. An incredible example of this is Petros, which is nestled at the entry of Amazon’s Doppler Building in downtown Seattle. Discover more about Speidel here.

Design: Bloedel Reserve

A thirty-minute ferry ride from Seattle to Bainbridge Island will take you to the Bloedel Reserve. This wonderful retreat lives by it's vision statement, which is: "To provide refreshment and tranquility in the presence of natural beauty." It is a visually stunning landscape with many different venues to enjoy and contemplate the moment in the beautiful surroundings. Open to all most days of the year, it is truly a place to rebuild one’s spirit for an afternoon. Take a day for yourself and make a visit! Click here to explore upcoming events at the reserve.

Botany: Best Greenhouses

Greenhouses provide the unique opportunity to evoke your inner gardener regardless of the season. Architectural Digest offers a glimpse at some of the most extravagant greenhouses across the world—from New York to Ireland and back again. The structures featured here exemplify elegance and serve as large scale inspiration for your own space, no matter the size. Wander in the offerings from Architectural Digest here.