THOSE WHO LIVE along the shores of the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick harbour a deep respect for its powerful tides, called the highest in the world. With a twice-daily tidal range of 15 metres (49 feet), this unique body of water sets the rhythm for life in and around it. The beauty of the bay and its restless tide were part of the mystique that coaxed Karin Bach from Ontario more than 15 years ago. Here, at the edge of a wooded promontory overlooking the bay, she crafted a place of serenity, a forest hideaway that inspires her pottery and sculptures, and gives them form and function and a stage. An Artist's Garden B & B, studio and gallery, located an hour's drive south of Moncton, New Brunswick, appeals to the soul as well as the eye. There are two self-contained guest suites available, and the place is promoted as ideal for nature lovers. The weathered buildings seem to sprout from the earth and rock anchoring them, illuminating Bach's affinity with the landscape and blurring the boundaries between natural and manufactured. The setting enhances her artistic style and in a gentle, mindful way, she shapes her lifestyle to the environment instead of moulding the surroundings to her whims. Her paintings, sculptures and pottery reflect the textures, colours and forms she encounters within her secluded 10-acre haven. Just inside the door of her rustic home, an irregular pattern of floor tiles mimics the sand and sea. Bach juxtaposed wavy lines and the gentle aqua of lapping water against rippled sand, marked with the footprints of sandpipers that frequent the beach below. In the garden, she integrates natural elements with her own clay figures. She uses water features to calm, colour to catch the eye, graceful shapes and forms to suggest movement. Guests delight in the discovery of a small stoneware wren, chickadee or nuthatch tucked beneath a branch. Elsewhere, a turtle sculpture lounges at the pond's edge and a turtledove perches on a stump. Bach has no master plan for her garden. As with her pottery, she prefers to start with a central idea and let it grow on its own. "I might start with a meandering pathway. From there, I'll work a few beds on each side, then wait for this to grow to the next stage. Once I can see into it - how it settles into the landscape - then I know what will complement it." Even the purchase of the land was unplanned; it was an impulse during a vacation. It was completely wild, except for a small clearing in the forest, actually a local lover's lane of sorts, with an incredible view of the water. Some would have started clearing for construction, but Bach felt it would be senseless to destroy the very thing that had attracted her to the property. "We didn't want to disturb the land, so we made decisions that were the least destructive. The fellow operating the bulldozer was very patient with us, as he had to work around trees and keep watch for lady's slipper orchids and things." The resulting board-and-batten artist's studio is anchored atop a massive rock outcrop, with a lower level gallery and visitor accommodations moulded against it, like a cluster of mushrooms on a fallen tree trunk. The decorative fascia on the gallery delights visitors. In collaboration with fellow artist Tim Isaac, she crafted a stoneware border of fish chasing each other on a cerulean background. Inside, Bach created beautiful door surrounds with her unusual, raku-fired pottery tiles. Beneath a portico, a gazing pool etched with clay fish harmonizes with other elements in the garden. "In many ways, I feel that being an artist and a gardener are closely linked, in that they both draw me in," Bach says. "Once I begin gardening, tend the plants and watch them change, they draw me closer. When I do a sculpture or a painting, I am drawn to look more closely than I did before. It takes this study to notice and discover things I overlooked before. There is no end to the beauty and fascination." Along this foggy, often cool stretch of Fundy coastline, the sheltered garden reaps the benefits of a natural microclimate, extending the Zone 5 growing season and allowing Bach to cultivate wisteria, saucer magnolia, and golden chain vine. Through the winter, she tends to bougainvillea, fig and lemon trees, orchids, bird of paradise and jasmine in her greenhouse. She moves the large plants out to the garden during the summer. "It's a bonus to be able to haul out a tropical plant and plunk it down beside a bed of flowers," she says. "It adds a tropical focal point, a lush feel, a real surprise. I love that look. The delight is that people are not expecting this." The cloistering effect of the trees, buildings and rock also traps and intensifies the scents from the garden. "Being here heightens your senses," Bach says. "People often mention the scents, whether lilacs in the spring, the salt of the sea, or the spruce trees and moss. Scent never fails to surprise me and often draws me into the forest to discover what it is." Forest creatures also find their way into her space. Beautiful luna moths and bats come out after dark while raccoons and coyotes roam nearby; salamanders, toads and dragonflies congregate around the pond; deer and rabbits visit. Once, a small moose chanced upon the garden. "He looked surprised, like he'd walked into the wrong room," Bach recounts with a laugh. She savours the beauty, scents and sounds of this landscape, and credits the garden with fostering her appreciation for nature. "This can be calming and stimulating at the same time," she says. "There is always something to draw my attention and, therefore, something to learn. After my son, Jacob, was born, I worried about the mushrooms in the forest. Well, you can't vacuum the forest, so my approach was to study them and learn about them. We've found many different kinds on the property, edible and poisonous, and it's been fun." An angular archway lures visitors from the light, airy garden to a cool, wooded trail leading past a guesthouse, and down a serpentine path to the beach. Framed by lilacs, rhododendron and a red Japanese maple, the arch is the colour of sand. It's imprinted with ripples and swirls inspired by the tidal patterns on the sandstone cliffs below. Bach says she feels deeply connected to the land and bay. "In the city, you are limited. Here, I am free to let my imagination go. My art changes as the landscape changes. With the bay being so large, the possibilities of seascapes are endless. "I love to walk out here at night and listen as the tide speaks. I enjoy having visitors here when they realize how much the Fundy tide dominates everything." The tide sets the timetable, Bach says. "We all have to work our activities around nature here." See Karin Bach's studio and B & B at www.anartistsgarden.com.