Yard Art

Wood scaps & a jigsaw,
blood lathe & cement go a long way.

Patience please while photos load!  
Maneki Neko is almost 2' high, and is hollow cement over metal lathe, with a veneer of Milestone, colored with latex paint pigment. The project was started in a 3 day workshop, and completed at home. The color and surface should be very durable outdoors year round. The beckoning cat brings good luck, and welcomes people to my home.
 

A gift tile and some fragile fossils are mounted, "framed" and incorporated into my eccentric eastside art "fence"!

Above is the Spring view of my "Tree in Four Seasons"; Summer is on the other side. All views include a raven. The tree is not green in all seasons, so not Yggdrasill. Fall and Winter are on a gable above an adjacent "window" mounted on the same retaining wall.

This insulated and stripped electrical wire weaving over black recycled plasic mesh is in the form of a stylized hanging kimono. It is mounted to a bamboo frame to form a six foot high trellis over a large planter box on the north boundary of my garden.

I don't know if the hardy red-leafed grave vine has survived the winter yet; if so the kimono will support it.

“They are Waiting”

OK, this is a virtual piece; it is actually a digital image from a photo of a single wooden silhouette!


Isle of Mann Symbol
I have a modified Isle of Mann coat of arms in the mixed media project on the left, of painted plywood, jute twine, & brass tacks. It was an overdue birthday present to my brother, who is still somewhat bewildered by it. A simpler cutout sits atop my garbage can cage.

 
 

RoseWind Garden Shed: this concrete tilt-up and rastra block 10'x12' shed houses the RW well holding tank.

It was built as a community art project. Doug Milholland was our lead in this experiment, with Michael and I as the primary work crew. Everyone contributed favorite materials and creative energy in laying out the wall decorations. This side features my devilfish. John Liczwinko served a critical function as our technical consultant; his concrete work is wonderful. I would like to replace the "gryphon" on top, which was a last minute attempt created in about 20 minutes in a howling gale, at the end of a long work day!


Funky Plant Stand: this outdoor stand is a hollow column of cement over a lathe armature, with a curving top. I cemented a slate tile onto the top for a flat surface. The column sides have broken marble, small pieces of lava rock, and selected beach pebbles grouted with Milestone cement for strength, alternating with loops of red and white standard cement with acrylic liquid additive instead of water for durability. Color is from latex paint pigment. A fun project, but time consuming, rustic, and quite heavy!