One of my fondest memories from childhood was visiting my Grandmother Jean’s home in Alabama.  A talented architect, she had designed her house with plenty of character, including a living room where a large pine tree grew up from the floor, and right through a hole in the roof.  It was pure magic to a girl of nine.  Every once in a while a squirrel would squeeze through the weatherizing that circled the tree, climbing down for a looksie.  Next to this tree was a window seat, where I would spend hours curled up, reading stories like “A Secret Garden”, imagining how I would one day have my own home where the outside was invited in.

If I ever do build that home of my imagining, I will ask artist Laura Spector to make me a stairway as enchanting as this one she created for the Singer Home in Pound Ridge, New York.

Crafted of Oriental Bittersweet, a beautiful but invasive vine found in the neighboring woods, this stairway took over four months of on-site labor to create.  It’s fluid shape was born of the artist’s passion and willingness to work within the vine’s gnarled and twisted limitations.  Because she was using found material, there was no ability to plan, making the entire stair rail truly organic in form.

Working in the European Rustic tradition, Laura Spector brings the whimsical nature of the outside in, to stunning effect.  Self taught, she works intuitively with her materials, guiding them into shapes that provide sound structure, without changing their natural grace.

When asked about her work, she said…

“Nature is all about energy.
Its not about “capturing”
Its about “embracing”

So take a moment to embrace nature.  You never know when a squirrel might run down that tree you’re hugging to say hello!