eauty is in the eye of the beholder. There are no right ways or wrong ways when it comes to incorporating art in your yard. The only thing I try to avoid is the number of pieces I will have to bring inside for the winter. Ideally, I would like to leave most of it out in the environment. This not only cuts down on my trips to the basement, but it makes an interesting winterscape to view from my windows that also overlook the garden. Several years ago, I tore all the grass out of my small backyard and installed pathways and beds. This allowed me to turn my back- yard into an outdoor art gallery. If you are a hands-on do-it-yourselfer, there are classes you can take to experiment making things. Gardeners Connect member Steve Hess offers classes in hypertufa. I have taken classes in welding and casting at Johnson County Community College. You might check out other lo- cal community colleges and art schools. Red Cedar Garden Center of- fers classes in yard art. The Clay Guild in Waldo offers pottery classes. It’s an opportunity to make something fanciful for your patio or yard. If you tend to be a “shopper,” there are numerous venues to encour- age the “creative artist” in you. Thrift stores, garage sales and art fairs are some of my favorite venues. A fairly easy piece of art to make is an inexpensive glass totem. I buy several pieces of vintage glass at thrift stores and stack them on top of each other. Epoxy glue will help them in place. You can start with a rebar pole and build from the ground up. For photos and inspiration, go online to see what others have created. Remember, when decorating your outdoor art gallery, the sky is the limit — literally. Go high and low. I put an old blue wooden chair up in a tree. Behind the tree is my privacy fence lined with colorful wine bottles. When the sun hits the fence, it is like a stained glass mosaic. I have lined the top of my detached garage with 21 birdhouses. Most of them were purchased on sale at a huge dicount at summer’s end. I found an art student on Craigslist who was eager to make some extra summer money. He painted murals on the side of my garage underneath pieces of Haitian metal art I collect. Utilize all your spaces. What to do with empty picture frames? Collect all sizes, shapes and colors. Hang them on a bare fence or up in trees. I put mine together with dowels and ribbons, mobile style and hung it high in a tree. They are ever changing “natural pictures” depending on the changes in the yard. I’ve tucked mirrors and stained glass pieces into green settings. I found an old-fashioned sampler that said, “The Flowers of all the Tomorrows are in the Seeds of Today.” I had it reframed, and it hangs on an outside wall facing the garden. I have scrounged flea markets for old plates, platters and cups. They hang all over the back of my house facing the garden. If I lose one in a windstorm, I’m not devastated. I, like many women, love shoes. I went to a thrift store and bought a whole family of shoes: wingtips for dad, sneakers for mom, pink Barbie boots for sis and miniature sturdy work boots for brother. In subsequent years, I added faux alligator pumps for a visiting aunt. I planted them with annuals and perennials and set a pair under each patio chair. Tree stumps are wonderful natural pillars to place art on. With the advent of LED lights, you can highlight certain areas of your garden. If it all seems confusing or overwhelming on how to get started, start with a theme. It may be as simple as collecting unusual stepping stones, bowling balls or kites. Because I am not a painter or photographer, I purchased an all- weather photographical canvas to adorn a space on the back fence. I think the key to successful yard art is: Think outside the box, and have fun. Nothing is off limits. It’s your outside art gallery. Plant it with things that please you. Teede Stipich is a master gardener of greater Kansas City and member of Gardeners Connect. Your Garden, Your Art Gal lery B By Teede Stipich, excerpted from Gardeners Connect
VintageKC / Spring 2014 25
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