My Artist's Date With Frank Lloyd Wright

A stroll down the streets to the Darwin Martin House

I just enjoyed another Artist’s Date — as per “The Artist’s Way,” the book by Julia Cameron. You go on Artist’s Dates by yourself, choosing activities you love. I went to the Darwin Martin House, a Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece that is about a five-minute walk from my house.

The Darwin Martin House has been on my Artist’s Date list for a while. I had been there before, but not much. You never see stuff in your own back yard, you know? So I purchased a membership that would allow me to tour it whenever it is open.

What inspiration! Having just gotten rid of my wall-to-wall carpets, and now enjoying the sight of these bare wooden floors, I feel my domestic situation is a bare canvas. I like to look at great houses! And the Martin House is one.

They do not like you taking pictures within the house so I took pictures without.

Here are umbrellas beneath which I plan to relax in the future, fountain pen and notebook in hand, sketching out my next Substack post.

The expansive prairie-style house. Wright called it “his Opus.” Our tour guide, Michael, was wonderful and I still remember everything he told us.

That reminds me, I did not know I was going to be on a guided tour, but I was. I purchased a membership to the Martin house a few weeks ago. I cannot exactly go roam the house alone, however I can go on tours whenever I want. I joined this tour and immediately I loved it. I felt as if I were on vacation! When you go on guided tours you are always on vacation. You are never just a five-minute walk from your house.

Not only that, but there were a million things I had to do that day. Without the tour, I would have felt rushed. Now, well, I was on someone else’s timetable. I could feel myself relax and enjoy that feeling. There were two tours going on and I felt lucky to be placed in the smaller tour. Our little group included tourists from Iowa and from England.

Back to my photos. Here is a very weird sculpture block.

And the gardens.

A Wright planter. He loved circles within squares and many elements in the house reflect that.

Aren’t these beautiful? They are Garden Peonies. I thought they might be some exotic variety but no, my Seek App said consistantly they were garden-variety Garden Peonies. Amazing.

The garden and planters inspired me. I have been having a great time decorating my little upper back porch and now I have one side lined with plants and flowers that I got on an earlier Artist’s Date, when I went to our beautiful historic nursery district, Gardenville. I will have to write about my porch. As I told my husband, this porch is like Planet Mary, full of candles and plants. He felt like a foreigner when I invited him out there for coffee.

Why am I writing about the Frank Lloyd Wright house? I should be writing about my porch. But anyway.

You would think I would have sneaked some photos inside the house! However they were pretty vigilant. Once I leaned over a railing looking down from a stairwell, and oh, Michael admonished me. Don’t touch! I had touched the railing.

Also now that I am an, ahem, member of the Martin House, I am proprietary toward it. I want it impeccably maintained, protected, and preserved.

It is my house!

And I will be back!