Architect Frank Harmon sketching in his Raleigh gardens. Photo by Juli Leonard

The NC State University College of Design is inviting the general public as well as faculty, staff, and students to a special event in Burns Auditorium on Monday, September 23rd. Beginning at 6 pm, architect, author, and professor/mentor Frank Harmon, FAIA, will discuss and read from his new book Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See.

Following his lecture, Harmon will sign copies of Native Places, which will be available for purchase from a representative of Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh. Anyone who already owns a copy is invited to bring it to receive a personalized inscription from the author.

Free and open to the public, Harmon’s presentation is part of the Joint Lecture Series between the College of Design and AIA Triangle. David Hill, head of the Architecture Department, arranged to have Harmon’s event inserted in the Lecture Series.

Published by ORO Editions, Native Places is a collection of 64 of Harmon’s watercolor sketches of everyday objects and places, nature, and cityscapes, paired with brief essays inspired by the sketches. Some new, some 30 years old, his drawings convey the delight he finds in ordinary things. The short essays offer his fresh interpretations of what most of us tend to take for granted.

Harmon’s goal for Native Places is, in fact, to transform the way we see the world, he says. It also promotes his belief that hand drawing is not an obsolete skill but rather an opportunity to develop a natural grace in the way we view the world.