About Me
I LOVE TO MAKE THINGS
I am composer, pianist, and landscape architect, Paul Sayre. I spent my early childhood on our family’s little farm in Letart, West Virginia — a tiny piece of Eden in the verdant, rolling foothills that border the Appalachian Mountains. Since then, I’ve lived in many places, done a lot of things, and had the great fortune and privilege to know and work with many wonderful and extraordinary people.
Music, design, and ecology are my passions. They’re my life’s work. But I’m also an avid avocational horticulturalist, and I’m keenly interested in conservation, renewable energy, and social equity. I also enjoy teaching, gardening, traveling, wood working, drawing, painting, movies, and reading.
I’ve learned that I’m happiest when I’m making things. The specific mediums and materials are largely of secondary importance. Through my extensive experience with making, I’ve come to believe that the underlying principles involved are surprisingly similar regardless of the medium. To me, writing good music and designing exceptional space have a lot in common, and composing a good sentence and building a good barn are not so different as they might first appear.
I believe strongly in the principle of Verum Ipsum Factum or “truth through making”— that true knowledge and awareness are not acquired through passive transmittance but rather through the process of doing. I take my work very seriously, but not myself. I’m something of a jack-of-all-trades in endless pursuit of mastery of one. At the end of the day, I’m probably best described simply as a maker.
Why Work With Me
EXCELLENCE, INTEGRITY, AND PROFESSIONALISM
I’m more of a doer than a talker, I do quality work, and I get things done. I believe that “good enough” is hardly ever actually good enough, that “shortcuts” are almost always the longest available route, and that “cutting corners” is the surest way to repeat work. My priorities are excellence, integrity, and professionalism. If you view your project/need as an artisan undertaking — and if you’re committed to excellence, integrity, and professionalism — then chances are good you’d be happy working with me.
Portfolio
SELECTIONS FORM MY WORK IN MUSIC, LANDSCAPE, AND ECOLOGY
“Nothing is worth more than this day. You cannot relive yesterday. Tomorrow is still beyond your reach.”
“We must select the illusion which appeals to our temperament, and embrace it with passion, if we want to be happy.”
Thoughts and Opinion
ISSUES THAT ARE ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT TO ME
Let’s Work Together
TELL ME MORE ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
I’m available for employ as a garden/landscape designer, a landscape architect, and a musician. (As a musician, I’m available as a gig and chamber pianist and a teacher of counterpoint, harmony, ear-training, and piano). My website gives good indication of what I offer, the quality of my work, and my aesthetic. If you like what you see, tell me about your project/need. Maybe we can do good things together!
