Out of the Box and into the Fire

Class completed and wonders never cease.....

Joanne the welder

Yes, I have a new medium; steel.

This summer I took the Introduction to Welding and Creative Metalwork class at South Puget Sound Community College. It was a hot summer intensified by time behind the torch, but what fun! The ten week class just ended and I will definitely miss the time spent under fire. I was allowed to dumpster dive in the scrap metal pile at a local company. The pieces I found said, "wings and then, dragonfly." So with the help of the class instructors, Ken, Mary, and Dave, I created this sculpture which now lives in my garden.

I found the eyes at a antique store at the Oregon Coast; they are painted knobs for cabinets.

Mary demonstrated how to use the forge and made a calle lily. I decided to make a few for yard art. It was not as easy as Mary made it look. I really like the way the leaves turned out.

I like the look of the steel, but am toying with painting the lillies white to make them stand out more. What do you think?

Additional Bird to the Flock

I love Arts Walk in Olympia, Washington, especially the Spring one which is two days and includes the Procession of the Species Parade.


I actually quit showing my art because it is more fun to see other artist's creations. One artist, Ray Evans, who calls himself "Old Geezer" was my favorite pick this time.

I could not resist adding his peacock to my collection of yard art.



The shadows are wonderful too!


Unfortunately, Ray's website is not up, but you can view his unique creations at his home in Olympia: 8813 Old Hwy 99 SE in Olympia or e-mail for his next show; geezerevans@comcast.net

Regal Bird

How many times can you just drive by before stopping?

For me it was three times. On my way to Belfair, Washington, to visit with a hospice patient for art therapy, I pass George Kenny School of Chainsaw Carving. His sculptures are displayed outdoors and definitely make a statement. You can get a glimpse driving by, but it is well worth a stop.

The day I stopped George just finished carving two bald eagles one of which caught my eye. Two weeks later I could not resist stopping to see if the eagle I liked was painted, burnished, and finished.

Yes, and I am happy to report he made his way home to my yard.


Check out the details he achieves with a chainsaw!

More Garden Art

Last week I enjoyed the beautiful fall weather at Lake Chelan here in Washington.

Perfect days of sunshine relaxing, kayaking, hiking, wine tasting, farmers markets, and SHOPPING! Between the town of Chelan and Manson, there is this fun guy, Bill King, who sells whimsical metal sculptures at Red Duck Nursery.

I could NOT resist this little character!

Garden Art

The last two weekends in September, Southwest Washington entertains art enthusiasts with ARTrails. About 60 artist participated in this year's studio tour through the region's historic communities and the back roads of Lewis County. The studio tour is free and self-guided.

What I have learned over the past few years is that you can only do a handfull of artist's studios in one day as each one is a delight and requires time to visit. I do find myself visiting several of the same artists, but always add a couple of new ones.

This year my new artist is a rare gem; Ron & Victoria Smith. They create metal yard art welded from recycled "found objects" collected throughout the West which include farm machinery parts, garden tools, car parts, horseshoes, ranch items, antique items, and the list goes on......

It was love at first sight! I saw the sculpture I wanted as we entered their driveway. The bird has found a happy home in my front yard.

Is that cool or what?!?!?!

The wings move with the wind!

Seagull or Penguin?

Before Thanksgiving my friend, Elaine, and I spent a few days at Rockaway Beach on the Oregon Coast. It was stormy at times, but we managed to get in a couple of beach walks despite the weather.

I enjoyed watching the huge waves and was delighted by our frequent visitor we named, Arthur. I think he wanted to come inside out of the storm.


For additional entertainment, we decided to visit some of the thrift shops in the small beach towns nearby. My unique purchase was this metal sculpture; at first sight I thought penguin. He became our table center piece. Arthur would join us at the table (we pushed it next to the window), and it became clear to me that the sculpture was a seagull.

What do you think? Seagull or Penguin?


Elaine asked me if I found this metal sculpture at a thrift store in Olympia, where we live, would I have bought it? Probably not!

Or.......maybe as a humorous gift for a friend or relative?

Guessing Game

Creative people alert!

I love sculptures and came across this one recently.

Try to guess in the first three photos what it is made of.



Any ideas?

Okay, for those of you who need more help......


Did you guess right?

FLIP FLOPS

Thousands of pairs of recycled plastic flip-flops live on in a large-scale outdoor art installation in San Paulo, Brazil. Local art students created the Giant Flip Flop Monkey Sculpture community art project.

Driftwood Sculpture

As we was walking the beach at Fort Worden, the northeast tip of Port Townsend, Washington, there were fabulous piles of driftwood.

I was talking about the addition of a tall sculpture in the orchard at home. My good friend, Shelley, suggested that I make one.

As we walked down the beach through the driftwood maze, I came upon a piece of driftwood that looked like the body of a bird. It was rather heavy, so I stood it up hoping that we would find it on our way back. At least a mile down the beach I found the perfect head for the bird. The picture was formulating in my mind. I needed two flat, small driftwood pieces for feet.

Carrying the driftwood selections, we traced our steps back hoping to find the body part. I was about to give up when, amazingly, Shelley found it!

The driftwood pieces were piled by my garage for about a week waiting for assembly. I did have to retrieve one piece of driftwood from the jaws of my dog!

The final product.....


Closer view......


I am thinking of a name for the bird. Any suggestions?

Chicken Wire Art

Chicken wire is used to make fences.

But this British-born artist Ivan Lovatt found another use for it, he makes sculptures out of it.

It takes talent and a big imagination to do this.










Absolutely amazing!

Art and Sculpture

I have returned to reading A Garden Gallery; The Plants, Art, and Hardscape of Little and Lewis to my friend and long time artist, Doris. We began the section called Art and Sculpture and I thoroughly enjoyed the introduction by David Lewis.

He says, "Since ancient times, when the Greeks and Romans adorned their garden walls with painted frescoes and their courtyards with fountains, we have embellished gardens with our personal taste in art. The garden itself is a living work of art. It is a result of creativity and style, shaped by the maker's imagination and courage to take chances. It seems only fitting, then, to want to introduce artwork - whether we purchase, make, or find it - into this dynamic living canvas."

The photography in the book is fabulous! I got this great idea to try out my new camera by taking a few photographs of the pages in evening light. I am sooo impressed with this camera! These are center spreads taken from the book featuring the incredible garden of George Little and David Lewis.

Notice the pomegranate?
One of their many sculptures which they move around the garden.

The blue wall is permanent and the color has become their trademark.

Here is a dinosaur egg........similar to mine that I blogged about.


How about this gunnera leaf sculpture.....



This book is wonderful! A must read for artists and gardeners.

Metal Sculptures

As promised, I will share the unique metal sculptures created by Layne Koina who was one of the artists I met at the annual Art in the Garden show in Enumclaw, Washington this past weekend.

Actually, I met him last year and purchased a few of his whimsical metal sculptures.







This year I could not resist his cat tails. The cat tails are metal and the leaves are stainless steel, so as it ages the cat tails will rust but the stainless steel will not. I look forward to this transformation.



Unfortunately, Layne does not have a website where you can see more of his creative metal sculptures. He is local to Enumclaw and is associated with Arts Alive.

Art in the Garden

Last year I was one of the artists at Art in the Garden an annual art show in Enumclaw, Washington, but this year I went as an art patron. I have favorite artists and Julie Michels is one of them.

Julie paints rocks that are extra-ordinary. Mostly she paints animals, but she added a new dimension to her collection; painting a water scene including koi, lily pads, and a dragonfly on slate. I could not resist!

I just finished installing her beautiful creation in my yard:



Isn't if FABULOUS!?!

Tomorrow I will post the metal sculpture created by Layne.

Stay tuned.......

Paper Sculptures

I came across sculptures of Native American scenes made out of paper by Allen and Patty Eckman.

They are truly amazing!


These stunningly detailed sculptures may only be made from paper - but they are being snapped up by art fans for tens of thousands of pounds. The intricate creations depict Native American scenes and took up to 11 months to make using a specially formulated paper.

Husband and wife team Allen and Patty Eckman put paper pulp into clay moulds and pressurise it to remove the water. The hard, lightweight pieces are then removed and the couple painstakingly add detailed finishing with a wide range of tools.

They have been making the creations since 1987 at their home studio, in South Dakota, America, and have racked up a whopping £3 million selling the works of art. The pieces depict traditional scenes from Native American history of Cherokees hunting and dancing. The most expensive piece is called Prairie Edge Powwow which sold for £47,000.

Allen said: "We create Indians partly because my great, great grandmother was a Cherokee and my family on both sides admire the native Americans. I enjoy most doing the detail. The paper really lends itself to unlimited detail. I'm really interested in the Indians' material, physical and spiritual culture and that whole period of our nation's history I find fascinating. From the western expansion, through the Civil War and beyond is of great interest to me."

Allen explained their technique: "It should not be confused with papier mache. The two mediums are completely different. I call what we do 'cast paper sculpture'. Some of them we create are life size and some we scale down to 1/6 life size. These sculptures are posed as standing nude figures and limited detailed animals with no ears, tails or hair. We transform them by sculpting on top of them - creating detail with soft and hard paper we make in various thicknesses and textures. We have really enjoyed the development of our fine art techniques over the years and have created a process that is worth sharing. There are many artists and sculptors who we believe will enjoy this medium as much as we have."


An Indian mother holding her baby is a favourite of many clients.

Outdoor Sculptures

I have been itching to get some time at the ocean and finally did!

Interesting how a layer of clouds can hang on the beach but two miles away, sunshine. That was the story of yesterday's ocean adventure. But that did not hamper a fun time.

One of the best parts was stopping at Westport Winery. Not only did we have a great glass of wine with cheese and crackers, but also challenged my dear friend to a game of croquet. It was a hilarious time with rules changing constantly since we could not remember from the days of childhood. There were definitely different opinions.

In the garden area of the winery there are two fabulous sculptures. The first one is called Pinot Noirvana by Jeff Vitto of Tokland dated September 2009. As you can see it made from driftwood, metal nails, and cable.



The glass sculpture is called Surfer's Last Hurrah by Opal Art Glass in Cosmopolis dated May, 2009. Looks striking in the sunshine!




Made plans to return to the coast next week :)