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Thomas Sayre sculpture in the Finkel garden

April 25, 2012 By 4 Comments

Duet by Thomas Sayre/Clearscapes

Wild turkeys cleared the gravel path as I entered the Oxford, North Carolina, property of Alan and Marty Finkel on a cold January day in 2007. The sky was blue—that Carolina blue so typical of the region in winter. I was visiting the Finkels’ garden for the first time; what I thought would be an enjoyable morning visit lasted well past dark.

Marty Finkel is a known plantswoman in our area. I heard about her garden through friends from the JC Raulston Arboretum and I wanted to visit. What I didn’t know when I got there was that on this particular day Thomas Sayre, a man I had admired from afar, was also planning to be there. Sayre, an accomplished artist from Raleigh, was arriving with a crew. They were there to install a sculpture called Duet, which is the prototype for Axes, a sculpture commissioned by the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon.

Duet consist of a pair of oval shaped sculptures measuring approximately 11-feet tall by 6-feet wide and consists of two sides—one side is of concrete roughcast concrete and the opposite side is of sanded and polished cementitious terrazzo. Duet is set on a footing with a three-inch diameter rod that has a bearing system on the top as well as one on the bottom to keep movement smooth and stable, allowing the position of the two sculptures to be changed either with a determined push or a gust of wind at 20 mph or more. According to Sayre, “The two sides [of each pair] reflect light and create shadow in very different ways in relation to the sun, making the piece significantly different visually depending on what surface is facing what direction in relation to the sun.”

There was no fanfare, no press to document the occasion—just the Finkels and me. The morning turned into evening as I spent the day watching Duet being installed. Moving tons of concrete and positioning into place takes time. While I waited between the unloading from the truck, the crane lifting, and installation of Duet, I toured the property—the gardens, the fields where the Finkels raise goats, the water views. But the garden art struck and surprised me. Their acreage wasn’t chock full of garden accents clamoring for attention. Although there were a few nicely placed accent pieces; their garden mostly housed large, magnificent pieces of garden sculpture.

One of the other sculptures in the garden is River Reels, named for the Tar River property boundary and for its reel shape. It was cast on the Finkel property and was Sayre’s first attempt at a full scale earthcasting. He used a backhoe to dig two round trenches that were fitted with steel reinforcing rods and then filled with concrete. After the concrete cured in the earth for a month, a crane birthed the reels by raising them to be installed where they today grace the land as 18-foot diameter frames that offer a changing view of the surrounding landscape with every step. The birthing area is now filled with blue lyme grass (Leymus arenarius ‘Blue Dune’). Alan shares, “As with all site-specific pieces, Thomas [Sayre] wished to appropriately complement the Reels with the birthing site to connect them unmistakably. The locus of the actual molds is marked with a torus of river stones. The grasses beautify and bridge the transition between the hardness of the piece with the natural gentleness of the landscape.” Sayre adds, “Visually, the significance of the grass is to mark the two birthing places of the castings. There is still the original steel pin marking the center of the circles from which the entire project flowed.”

Pump House Thomas Sayre/Clearscapes

The Finkels have several additional pieces of Sayre’s works, including the prototype for Wapiti, commissioned by the City of Portland, Oregon, called Tree. There was another piece called Pump House and serves as the Finkels’ well cover. Various vessels and smaller pieces, such as a model of River Reels (a personal favorite of mine), serve as accents as well.

As I left the property and the company of new friends, I saw Duet off in the distance illuminated by soft uplighting. I smiled at my good fortune for being there on that particular day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Helen  Yoest is a writer and speaker through her business Gardening with Confidence ®.

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Helen’s book,  Garden with Confidence–50 ways to add style for personal creativity is due out this fall.

The book launch will  held at the JC Raulston Arboretum, Thursday, November 1, 2012, 7:30 p.m.

 

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Sculpture in the garden walk – NC Botanical Gardens, Chapel Hill, NC

October 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Gathering (left) by Michael Waller, Best in Show, and Cotton Light Column (right) by Jim Gallucci, First Place.

Each year, I anxiously wait to see first time and returning artists with new works of art.  Going on now through November 19, 2011, is the 23rd annual Sculpture in the Garden walk.

This year’s Best in Show (photo on left) was Michael Waller for Gathering and First Place (photo on right) went to Jim Galucci for Cotton Light Column.  I plan to visit and photograph these along with 51 other original works of garden art, by 30 artists using a wide variety of media, including clay,concrete, granite, marble, mirrors, steel, and other materials.

To see more photos of the exhibition, visit the Garden’s Facebook photo gallery.

An Advisory Committee was formed early in 2011 to plan the exhibition and suggest a list of local and regional artists to invite for the annual show. The committee includes artists Thomas Sayre and Mark Hewitt, Ackland Art Museum Director Emily Kass, and the 2011 Honorary Sculpture in the Garden Chairpersons Lex and Ann Alexander. For more information, please contact the curator of the show.

The NC Botanical Gardens was included in the area gardens to share when Garden Writers Association held their annual conference, September, 2009. I was particularly pleased the Sculpture in the Garden walk was occurring at the same time. I may be biased, but I do believe we have one of the best sculpture walks in the nation. Mind you, I’ve not seen them all. Please let me know about your town’s tours so I can add them to my bucket list.

 

 

 

 

 

Helen  Yoest is a garden writer, speaker and garden coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

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The Garden of Christopher D. Mello, Asheville, NC

August 3, 2011 By 10 Comments

The best gardens always come word of mouth.

As I was finishing a photo shoot at the Biltmore Estate’s Tiffany exhibit and the gardens inspired by the lamps for Country Gardens magazine, I had some time to kill before needing to get to my next appointment.

First on my list of places to go was The Hop, recommended by my friend, Frances at Fairegarden. Here is a post Fairegarden did on Christopher.

After chatting with The Hop’s owners, Greg and Ashley about gardening, I asked if they could suggest a garden for me to visit. They did, recommending Christopher Mello’s garden.

With a belly full of Salted Caramel on a homemade waffle cone, that was the best ever, I headed to Christopher’s garden.

I’m not the best with directions, but I did manage to find Christopher’s garden. It’s fair to say, “You can’t miss it.”

When I arrived at a garden, I did my usual and sought permission to enter, first. Entering one’s garden, is not unlike entering a ship, it’s always best to ask for permission. Calling out, I heard a voice, echoing my hello. Meekly, I ask if it’s OK to visit the garden.

Hidden in a secluded area, on a hot summer day, Christopher Mello stands to greet me. I introduced myself and after getting all the niceties out of the way, we began touring.

When someone learns I work for gardening magazines, I feel the need to manage expectations; no, I wasn’t there on some official capacity; I’m just a girl who loves gardens. But in the case of Christopher, he had no expectation. He was as calm and casual as a cucumber. Sporting a straw hat and wearing killer smile, he was just happy to share his garden with me.

As we chatted and toured, Christopher pulled seeds from plants I admired and as we chatted,  we shared our love for J. C. Raulston and the arboretum bearing his name. In the spirit of J.C., my pockets bulged with seed to spread in my own garden, Helen’s Haven™. Christopher even shared a red clover I admired.

The best gardens I visit are those that express the personality of the gardener. In my mind, you can have the finest from all that the gardening world has to offer, but if it isn’t you , it shows; it’s just another garden…but one without a soul. Christopher’s garden had soul.

The man is an artist, so his personality showed in an artistic way. We gardeners, although have a shared love of the act of gardening, come at gardening in very different ways. I come to gardening through wildlife; Christopher comes to gardening through art. While I collect garden art, Christopher’s garden is art.

I found Christopher to be an enchanting and gifted story teller. I could have spent hours in the 100 degree temperatures, hearing more of his gardening tales; but alas, I needed to get going, and besides, my photo card (and pockets) were full.

 

With a promise to stay in touch, I left Christopher’s garden. I plan to share with him Bobby J. Ward’s book, Chlorophyll in His Veins, J. C. Raulston Horticultural Ambassador. In the spirit of sharing in the garden, which J. C. was so famous for, and as Christopher did for me, I will do for him. Until we meet again, Christopher…

 

 

Helen  Yoest is a garden writer, speaker and garden coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

 

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Brugmansia engaged as garden art

January 10, 2011 By 6 Comments

January can be cold and bleak.  Even during these types of days, the kids still like to play outside.  I try to set the example by being outside with them, when I can.

Often the winter lacks color to engage children, but that shouldn’t stop you from adding your own color.    A recent project I did with my children to add color to our garden, Helen’s Haven, was to paint last year’s growth of the Brugmansia.

Brugmansia, a.k.a. Brugs or Angle Trumpet, named for the shape of the flower, are big and bold sub-tropical plants from Central and South America. Brugs are perennial in warmer climates to Zone 8, but they over winter fine in our zone 7b garden. Clearly, Brugs are a perennial that breaks my zone acceptance criteria mentioned in five garden essentials to gardening with confidence; this is a plant worthy of flexing your zonal denial muscles.

A “southern garden” plant if ever there was one, Brugs reliably return each year. However, the last 2 years, they were late to bloom in Helen’s Haven, with their bloom time delayed (for reasons I can only speculate) coming dangerously close to the first frost and not having a chance to bloom at all.  You see,  once frost comes, Brugs are toast. But they can still be interesting all year long.

Brugs can be cut back to ground level after frost and covered with a heavy layer of mulch or the sticks can be left for architectural interest.  I’m in the camp that leaves them up since I take advantage of these sticks by adding color to the garden.

The image on the left shows the Brugmansia in its natural, blond form.  The image below shows No. 3 engaged in creating garden art with a Brugmansia.

The image above shows the finished project while in the garden.

With a left over can of spray paint from a previous project, in less than a 15 minutes, last year’s growth can go from blond to bling, creating garden art from a Brugmansia.

COLLECTING CONFIDENCE

This truly is a quick and fun project to do with kids.  In very little time, we created art.  After we were done with our project, No. 3 (my youngest child; my 9 year son), was kicking his football through the field goal.  He didn’t seem to notice it much while outside, but when this little guy came in for lunch, he looks out the window while washing up and sees his handy work.  ”Mom, come quick,” I hear.  Fearing something was wrong, I ran into the kitchen.  He says, “You can see what we did from here, isn’t it great.  Wait till Lily sees this?”

We will be enjoying the colorful art in the garden until the spring when the new growth of the Burgmansia starts to emerge. Or we can leave it to mix with the current year’s growth.

Brugs aren’t the only plant we can do this to. Look in the garden to see other semi-woody stems that will be replaced with new growth next year such as those from Lantana. Next time I’m out and about where paint is sold, I plan to pick up a can of fuchsia spray paint since I’m hearing the stems of a ‘Miss Huff’ Lantana calling my name.

Helen  Yoest is a garden writer, speaker and garden coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

Follow Helen on Twitter @HelenYoest and her facebook Friend’s page, Helen Yoest; or facebook Like page, Gardening With Confidence™

Helen is a field editor for Better Homes and Gardens and Country Gardens magazine and she also serves on the board of advisors for the JC Raulston Arboretum.

AND

Helen is the founder, publisher and editor of:
Tarheel Gardening – your online resource for North Carolina gardening enthusiasts.

You can follow Tarheel Gardener.com on Twitter @TarheelGardenin and on facebook at Tarheel Gardening.com.


Filed Under: Garden Art, Garden of Helen Yoest - Helen's Haven, Garden Projects for Kids, Gardening With Confidence Tagged With:

Joe Carnevale’s Praying Mantis – Tenodera Pugna

October 27, 2010 By 6 Comments
This year’s NC State fair had lots of new things to see.  Erv Evans took his new role overseeing the Flower Show seriously and spruced it up quite a bit – including adding some worthy garden art.

A big hit was a big bug made from a bunch of donated garden trash manipulated into a a praying mantis. Like a moth drawn to light, I walked towards this bug with no free will.  Finding out it was made by Joe Carnevale, a.k.a. the Barrel Man, I was even more intrigued.

Joe has suffered for his art with, a little bit of a past, and now looks towards his future.   Joe Carnevale will soon graduate from NC State university with a degree in History.  A history major!  I didn’t see that one coming.  For whatever reason, art wasn’t even my first guess for his major; I was thinking something along the lines of robotics or mechanical engineering.  The man likes to work in big, bold, and bodacious medium, while giving his art a little bit of gesturing.

I hated to even bring up his bodacious beginnings since he has moved on.  Joe says, “Barrels were just one medium. After I had done a few barrel monsters on commission I was anxious to distance myself from them. No artists likes to be typecast.  I wanted to stop being Joe Carnevale the barrel guy and start being Joe Carnevale the sculptor.  The Street Knight was a successful departure from the orange barrels and the mantis was the next step.”

Good thing Tony Avent at Plant Delights Nursery commissioned a piece before Joe distanced himself.  I’m not the first to want my photo taken with this monster.

It takes patrons to promote art.  I asked Joe how he went from barrels to bugs?  He said, “Erv [Evans] contacted me over the summer and asked if I was interested in putting something together for him. When I thought “garden center” I immediately thought of doing some kind of large insect out of garden tools. I did some googling for beneficial insects and settled on the mantis. Erv reached out to the local gardening community and got me a bunch of old tools and hoses. I rented a welding machine and got to work.”

TENODERA PUGNA

The head is made with bottlecaps

Joint of the grasping front leg

The thorax

The abdomen made from an old wheel barrel (yes, I climbed under there)

Like most artists, Joe named his art – Tenodera Pugna.   I asked Joe about the naming of this piece art; his reply,  ”Tenodera is the genus for all mantids and pugna is Latin for battle.”

Of course, as a garden art collector, I inquired about a commissioned piece for my garden Helen’s Haven.  My parameters were for something on a “human” scale. While I love his big art for public spaces, I needed something a bit more petite for my garden at home.  ”No problem,” he said.  After sharing with Joe my love for wildlife, he immediately suggested a hummingbird made from recycled lawn mower and weed whacker parts.  Deal!  Stay tuned for a post when I receive my piece.

Joe graduates from NC State University in December, 2010.  A loss for Raleigh, but a major gain for Chicago; that’s where he’s heading.  If he continues with garden related art, he is sure to meet up with a thriving community.  Joe if you are reading this, check out my friend’s blog Mr. McGregor’s Daughter. Barbara took up welding to make her own garden art.  Her latest piece, Becoming Green Women, is a piece I admire greatly.

Joe says, “I’ll be leaving Raleigh for the greater Chicago area. History degrees are quite useless in the job market, especially these days. So I plan to work whatever job I can find until I can get together enough money to take a certification course for being a rope access technician.”

What the heck is a rope access technician? I had to look that one up!  When I did, I saw the fit – big, bold and bodacious!  You go Joe.

I look forward to following your art…wherever you go.

Helen  Yoest is a garden writer, speaker and garden coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™. Follow Helen on Twitter @HelenYoest and her facebook Friend’s page, Helen Yoest; or facebook Like page, Gardening With Confidence™ Helen is a field editor for Better Homes and Gardens and Country Gardens magazine and she also serves on the board of advisors for the JC Raulston Arboretum.

Helen is co-founder and contributor to: Beautiful Wildlife Garden You can follow Beautiful Wildlife Garden on Twitter @Wildlife Garden and facebook at Wildlife Garden.

AND Helen is the founder, publisher and editor of:

Tarheel Gardening – your online resource for North Carolina gardening enthusiasts. You can follow Tarheel Gardener.com on Twitter @TarheelGardenin and on facebook at Tarheel Gardening.com.

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The Art of Hans Godo Frabel at The Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

July 7, 2010 By 1 Comment

During a recent visit to The Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden , I was delighted to find the Glorious Glass in the Garden exhibit:  The Art of Hans Godo Frabel.  The exhibit featuring hundreds of exquisite glass sculptures by Frabel were freely displayed through out the gardens.

SIGHTINGS

AT The Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden


Helen Yoest is a garden writer and coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™

Follow Helen on Twitter @HelenYoest and her facebook friend’s page, Helen Yoest or Gardening With Confidence™ Face Book Fan Page.

Each week, Helen host’s a garden talk WebTalkRadio.net show called Gardening With Confidence™.

Helen also serves on the board of advisors for the JC Raulston Arboretum

Filed Under: Garden Art, Garden Travel Tagged With: ,

One Fish, Two Fish, Three Fish, Four – Building a New Bottle Tree

January 28, 2010 By 4 Comments

IMG_0112
Bottle Trees are a great addition to the garden.  I’m currently in the process of creating a second one in Helen’s Haven™.  The new tree is made of fish bottles.  To date, I have 4.  Just four.  They are suddenly hard to come by.  No doubt, I would easily find them if I was looking.  If you see any, please let me know….

One fish, two fish, three fish, four.

Five fish, six fish, seven fish, more!!!

Helen Yoest is a garden writer and coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™

Follow Helen on Twitter @HelenYoest and her facebook friend’s page, Helen Yoest or Gardening With Confidence™ Face Book Fan Page.

Helen also serves on the board of advisors for the JC Raulston Arboretum

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Six Places Your Garden Gnome May Go

October 16, 2009 By 16 Comments

garden gnomes 001

Some friends we know keep chickens, others keep dogs, cats, or hamsters. We keep garden gnomes.

Our garden gnomes, ‘Chrys’ (Chrysanthemum), Poppy, and ‘Larky ‘(Larkspur), are great to have in the garden – not only for their entertainment value, but they can also be a big help. They won’t tell you, but weeding is one of their many talents and loves.

Going on 4 years old now, our gnomes have entertained us in many ways; they have also shown a pattern of traits. We found, on occasion, they can get into mischief; but honestly, that is part of their charm.

By their very nature, garden gnomes like to travel. Most days, they travel about the garden. Occasionally, one will leave for an extended period of time. When they leave Helen’s Haven, they always travel alone, never in pairs. It may be days before we discover one has gone off. However, they usually let us know their whereabouts by sending a post card. Once, while we were traveling in London, we actually saw Larky on the BBC with other gnomes on holiday he hooked up with. This is just like something Larky would do.

Invariable, when one takes off, the other two miss their companion and will even pine in his absence. On such occasions, one or both will act out to gain attention. A couple of times, we found them inside the house. We didn’t let them stay though, even when they said, “pleeeeeeeeaaase.” Their place is in the garden.

We only have male gnomes. This is probably not good feng shui, but garden gnomes need space to fully thrive. Too many in a small area may restrict their good nature. We have only read this as fact. We don’t want to test the theory in the event the literature is right. Some things in nature just shouldn’t be done. If we had females, we are likely to have babies and then we may not have enough space to support them. Besides, three is a good number. At least it works for us.

My kids have found Chrys, Poppy, and Larky in the most interesting places. Here are six of their favorite places in the garden:

  1. Under the bird bath in the Mixed Border. They like feeling the splash the birds make.
  2. Sitting on the table on the back porch. Here, they like to look inside the house. This was kinda creepy at first, but we got use to it.
  3. Near the butterfly mudding dish. Note – they will not hurt or eat the butterflies. They just enjoy them up close and personal.
  4. Under the fig tree. They do like their figs.
  5. Under the bird feeder. One of their favorite past times is to sneak up behind the squirrels and say “boo.”
  6. Near the speakers so they can hear the music. They can do a mean electric slide.

Our gnomes have been to London, Cairo (they said they wont go back, because a camel spit on them), St. Thomas (they said they didn’t want to come home; thankfully, they did) and they have been to NYC a few times. They like the City. In the end, they always came home…but then again, they haven’t been to Paris…if they do go, I fear they will never return; once you see Paris….

Helen Yoest is a garden writer and coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™

Follow Helen on Twitter @HelenYoest and her facebook friend’s page, Helen Yoest or Gardening With Confidence™ Face Book Fan Page.

Helen also serves on the board of advisors for the JC Raulston Arboretum.

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Sculpture in the Garden at the North Carolina Botanical Gardens, Chapel Hill

September 30, 2009 By 9 Comments

In my world of beyond bunnies, art in the garden that is better than a concrete bunny, the Sculpture in the Garden 21st annual garden art show at the NC Botanical Garden spoke to me – loudly!

If I was willing to part with $3,200, she would be mine.

Lady in Yellow by Tinka Jordy

Lady in Yellow by Tinka Jordy

Here is what the artist, Tinka Jordy from Hillsborough, NC says about her work. “I am interested in reflecting the human condition in relationship with other life, in all its fragility yet, incredible perseverance.

The surface of the sculpture is full of cracks, fissures and imperfections that express the earth, the passing of time, our mortality, endurance, and the stresses of life, both physical and emotional.  I choose to work in clay as it [is] the one material, that if I listen closely, communicates these sentiments so beautifully.”
2009 GWA (18)
She is about my height and size and our crackling is about the same…perhaps, that is what has drawn me in.  Not sure the reason, other than her pure beauty…I have just the place for you in my garden.

Helen Yoest is a garden writer and coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™

Follow Helen on Twitter @HelenYoest and her facebook friend’s page, Helen Yoest or Gardening With Confidence™ Face Book Fan Page.

Helen also serves on the board of advisors for the JC Raulston Arboretum

Gardening With Confidence

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Add a Bottle Tree

June 8, 2009 By 12 Comments
Bottle Tree at Helen's Haven

Bottle Tree at Helen's Haven

Ever notice how some gardeners just seem to garden with ease, with not a care in the world?  Their garden grows well – better than yours, in fact, despite all your efforts.  One question.  Do you have a bottle tree?

Bottle trees are the ultimate accent to gardening with confidence.  Think about it, a bottle tree allows you to garden without fear of haints, evil spirits, and other things that go bump in the night. It’s bad enough we have to garden with deer, rabbits, copperheads, voles, moles, skeeters and such.  I can bare that.   But haints?  Ain’t no way!

From Peggy Titus garden open for Raleigh Garden Conservancy Open Days tour 2008\

From Peggy Titus garden open for Raleigh Garden Conservancy Open Days tour 2008

Bottle trees are rich in southern history.  The idea of bottle trees was introduced to the south from African Congo slaves.  Here, bottle trees were used to protect homes from evil spirits whereby trapping spirits inside the bottle, corking ‘em in, and tossing into the river where they could do no harm.

Found on a drive by in Greensboro, NC
Found on a drive by in Greensboro, NC

This African tradition lives on in the south.  Whenever I see a bottle tree, I pause to reflect on the good spirits who started them.

If you want to improve your gardening, garden with confidence, get a bottle tree.  If for no other reason than to add color, conversation, and control  in the garden.

Helen Yoest is a garden writer and coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™

Follow Helen on Twitter @HelenYoest and her facebook friend’s page, Helen Yoest or Gardening With Confidence™ Face Book Fan Page.

Helen also serves on the board of advisors for the JC Raulston Arboretum

Filed Under: Garden Art
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