Paper Gardens

I was working at an architecture firm where I was helping with an exhibition of models made by elementary school children. The models were proposals for a redesign of their school's garden. In a moment of inspiration I saw the basis and title of Paper Gardens. The brightly colored construction-paper models were wildly different from each other, playful and wonderfully imaginative. Some were only flowers on a bed of green, while others sported swing sets or skate ramps. When aligned in a grid, I was struck by how they suggested a path, despite the spaces between each model and their diversity. I set out to create my own musical gardens, and composed many blocks of various textures. Some were simple, while others were more complex, more like a playground, including improvisation and expansion. I then laid out the sections in a grid delineated by time and silence. As with the children's garden models, I began to see a path that could lead them from one to the next. - Matt Bauder.