Planted another Bottle Tree Flower in the garden today. This one reaches to more than eight feet tall. The crest of the sculpture is an old farm implement (tiller?). You can spin the spiky wheel by hand, but it is too heavy for the wind to move. A few more bottles and it will be ready to show itself off.
Today, the temperature rose to 102°. This has been a rugged stretch of heat and humidity. Most of the plants here at Fossil Gardens seem to be doing OK, though. The tallgrass prairie plants look great, especially ones planted a few years ago. The huge black walnut tree, that towers over the garden, has been losing leaves and walnuts for a couple of weeks now. I pick up dozens of the ankle-turning nuts daily.
The pond is thriving. Lots of insect activity. Beautiful blue dasher dragonflies joust for position. The resident bullfrogs let loose with their deep drones at night. Birds visit the cool water constantly.
The hot days have made for shorter work times in the shop. But I found some time to make a few more Window Words. These letter sculptures are hand cut from 12 gauge steel with a plasma cutter. I will finish each word with the grinder and then attach a cool piece of slag glass for color and sparkle.
Had a good morning installing the matching trellises. A big thank you to my brother for a helping hand. The install went smoothly. Luckily, we did not run into any obstructions under the ground. I really look forward to how these will look covered with a beautiful vine.
This is the trellis on the right side of the entry door.
Here is the one on the left side.
A close-up of the finish.
Finished the paint job on the matching trellises today. Each is painted with a gloss black enamel paint. With such humid air, the paint took a while to fully dry. Tomorrow, these twins go into the ground at their new home. Check back for the finished installed photos soon.
The hot temperatures weren't enough to slow down the progress of this metal spider. This steel arachnid found its way to a new garden home today. How about those molten red eyes shining in the heart of summer?
I am honored to be working on a really cool project this month. This is my first year as a contributing artist to the Kansas City Art for Arthritis benefit. Here's how it works: A local child, who is affected by arthritis, is paired up with an artist. Together, they work on an art project that will be part of a auction to benefit the Arthritis Foundation. I am working with Leigha on a metal sculpture. I will unveil the piece when we are finished. Needless the say, it will be a very special piece created by a very special girl. For more information on the Western Missouri/Greater Kansas City chapter, go here.
Another leggy spider is in the works. This metal arachnid will come together this week and be in a new garden habitat by the weekend. These sculptures begin with the legs. I cut eight sections of old rebar in three different sizes. These metal sections are welded together and then attached to the body. After that, eyes and other details are added. Check back in a few days for the finished spider!
Nothing like a little welding to ratchet up the heat in a sweltering shop. The hot summer temps and humidity make it a start and stop workday. Lots of stop. I think I drank about two gallons of iced tea, water and Powerade this afternoon. But the work must go on. The trellis project is coming together. Here are some shots of the metal lattice work being welded to the main frame. I have to add the post finials and finish the circle details. Then a nice coat of glossy black enamel paint to finish them off.
Today, I began working on a really cool trellis project. The projects consists of two matching steel trellises that will flank the entrance of a home. The pieces will stand approx. 7 feet tall and 3.5 feet wide. And be plenty sturdy to welcome any type of climbing vine.
Above, freshly cut steel. Below, a diagram of the project.
Here are some photos of a fence I installed late last year. We left the fence unprotected, that is no paint. Now after a few months in the rain, snow and sun it is taking on a beautiful rusty finish. Imagine the fence in a few more months: a warm, natural brown flanked by the garden.
Here is a simple little Window World I made for my sister-in-law. She has been so busy directing a big conference that is coming up. This sculpture might be part of a silent auction or raffle. Either way, I hope it finds a good home.
Came back from the rock shop with a couple boxes of beautiful slag glass. This glass was shimmering under the summer sun. Now, it will wait patiently until I use it in a future sculpture. By the way, I was told most of this glass is castoff remnants from Fenton Glass Co. in West Virginia.
The latest Bottle Tree (Thank You, Ruth!) to emerge from Fossil Forge has a fantastic new setting. The sculpture perches on a deck overlooking the skyline of Kansas City. Even on a hazy afternoon, the blue bottles glisten against the background. The crest of this Bottle Tree is adorned with a castoff fence finial and some hand-wrought tendrils of steel. These are welded to a chunky gear from an old Ford. Set into a bucket of concrete, this tree should stand tall in the Midwest weather.
This sculpture follows in the footsteps of a sculpture I created last year. This piece is made entirely of found and recycled objects. Materials used include: gears from an old car, metal grid from leftover political yard signs, printing press parts, old fence posts, slag glass and it is crowned with a pressure gauge from my grandfather's basement. This sculpture will look beautiful year-round, wet or dry or cold or hot.
Here is a simple little project I finished last week. A neighbor needed something to span a gate opening that would allow a clematis vine to continue its climb. This arbor-like structure spans about 4.5 feet and is attached to the top of each post. In the summer, the plant will likely cover the metal grid, but in the winter the design of the piece should show through.
The garden behind the gate is pretty cool. Lots of wonderful shade plants around some water features.
This spider just left the shop. It will stand guard in a clients' 'Horror Garden'. What is a 'Horror Garden?' Well, as far as I know, it is a garden filled with plants that are poisonous, bristly or have blood red flowers. I bet it looks pretty amazing. This sculpture is made from lots of recycled stuff, including rebar for legs. These photos were taken before I added glass eyes to the steely arachnid. Eye color: blood red!
Another bottle tree is under construction. This one is planted in a really cool old bucket. I filled it with a couple of bags of concrete and leveled the main trunk of the tree. This sculpture will stand outside on a patio and needs to have a heavy footprint. Check back in a few days for the finished piece.
The newest expansion of Fossil Gardens is underway. The garden will nearly double in size as we begin to use the space near the front of the house. But, of course, you can't have a new garden without a sturdy new fence. So, the past couple of weeks I have been setting posts and making railing sections. This simple structure stands a shade over three feet tall (city regulations) and runs about 60 feet. Eventually, the fence will enclose the entire yard, complete with a entry gate and some cool garden sculptures.
Imagine wildflowers and other prairie plants spilling over this portion of the garden and fence. In the background you can see the shop building.
Like most of Fossil Gardens, shade is the common theme. However, this portion of the front gets a bit more sun than the rest. Plus, the soil is pretty darn good.
The other day as the sun was setting, my daughter noticed a cool shadow being cast by our Fossil Forge sign. Pretty neat, huh?
