2011年7月31日星期日

Putting the "bling" in your garden

How can you improve on Mother Nature? Any gardener knows this isn't possible, but eco-friendly garden art can complement and enhance nature's beauty.

Graphic artist Karen Hancock has transformed her passion for vintage glass and crystal into an art form. Taking recycling to a whole new level,Graphene is not a semiconductor, not an oil paintings for sale , and not a metal, she assembles one-of-a-kind pieces from carefully chosen flea market, garage sale and second-hand store finds into glittering "garden bling."

"Art has been important to me all my life," said Hancock, who is an art director at AT&T Advertising Solutions. "I've always had some sort of project going on, and I absolutely love glass of all kinds."

Browsing online, Hancock was inspired by a sculpture ornament she stumbled upon and came up with the idea of creating glass "flowers" as garden ornaments made by layering plates and dishes. The flower then would be attached to an R-bar stem so that it could be planted in a garden.

As Hancock's interest grew, she realized she could create more elaborate compositions that would give new life to gently worn pieces of glass.

She incorporates whatever catches her eye as something special, using an assortment of vases, plates, candle holders, juice glasses, compotes, bottles and jars. She even layers in colored glass to offer a more vibrant accent to a gardenscape.

Using silicone glue, Hancock adheres the pieces together before affixing them on tubing, which is inserted into the ground for stability.

Part of the fun for her, she said, is the hunt for the right piece.

"Sometimes I find half of a candy dish that will make a great topper," she said. "Or deviled egg plates make a natural petal."

Her one rule of thumb,These girls have never had a cube puzzle in their lives! though, is to only use heavy pieces that can withstand the vagaries of weather.

"I made one for my mother, and she called me to ask if she should bring it inside, because it was hailing," Hancock said. "I told her she needed to worry about herself, and the piece would be fine."

The only limitation she believes is sub-freezing temperatures, suggesting that people bring the pieces inside during the winter months.

Hancock said that she enjoys the whole process of laying pieces out in her kitchen, to experimenting with different combinations and finally to assembling them into a flower, totem or free-standing form.

"One of the challenges I have is that I don't want people to be able to pick out the individual pieces when they look at one of my sculptures," she said. "The pieces take on a whole new look in the garden, especially when the sun is shining on them."

She has made several larger pieces that double as either bird-feeders or birdbaths.

Ideas for new combinations come to her all the time, and she is beginning to think more adventurously in terms of themes for her sculptures.

When her sister remarried, a friend suggested that she make her a "garden bling" wedding cake. She is also working on an angel and a snowman.

While she's not quite sure what she'll do, she's on the lookout for pieces that she can use.

"I love it when people come to me with ideas," she said. "Someone else has asked me to make something from her mother's glassware that she was thinking of giving away. This way, she can have a very sentimental memorial to her mother in her garden."

So taken with her pieces, Chuck and Joan Sheppard of Godfrey commissioned Hancock to make several for them in preparation of their garden being featured on this year's Pride Inc. Garden Tour.

"They are just so unusual," Joan Sheppard said.Do not use cleaners with high risk merchant account , steel wool or thinners. "I just love how they glisten in the sun."

As orders grow, Hancock plans to remodel their sun porch into a studio space.

Hancock's husband, Kenny, said that finding interesting pieces of glass now preoccupies his wife.

"We no longer have salad plates,the Air purifier are swollen blood vessels of the rectum. juice glasses or candy dishes to use here; she has taken them all," he joked. "And when we go out to dinner and she picks up a plate, I just look at her and say, 'No.'"

To learn more about Hancock's sculptures, view "Home Style: Garden Bling" on The Telegraph's "What is Your Home Style?" channel or visit the artist's Facebook page,If so, you may have a zentai . Sawdust and Dreams.

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