CHARLIE'S GARDEN

A mixed media assemblage of found objects.  I have been wanting to do a "recycled garden" for a long time.  I have a nice pile of collected things..  been saving odd bits and pieces for years.  Yes, it piles up.  Yes, I should clear it out.  But being an artist who loves to repurpose it just is hard to get rid of the treasures.  In my dreams, I would love to spend a week sorting and categorizing everything.  Then store in clear containers clearly labeled.  But then I wouldn't always experience the serendipitous discovery of reaching for an element (not knowing what I was looking for) and ta-da there it is. 

 Perfect!  

This is done on a cradle board.  I painted the background then started compiling the flowers.   I have a lot of the old molds that I have collected from thrift shops and garage sales.  I hammered these flat, snipping some 

to allow the bowl shape to spread out... which added a petal look.  Old spoons were hammered as well and I had a nice stash of red bottle caps to pop a little color on the spoon flowers.  An old zipper, an old

electric cloth covered cord, some carpenter's rulers and wire created the stems.  I decided I needed some dimension at the base of the flowers and found an old purse at the thrift shop that was green with printed

xoxo's  and hearts.  So I cut out strips and nailed them to the board creating the depth I was looking for.

The one flower with the red bullseye is special to me.  And it does stand out prominently.  The red disk was something I found in my husband's garage trash.. he had cut it out of metal.  The center white is a big old washer from my dad's stash that I gleaned from his garage after he passed away.  He was a tinker and had boxes of goodies that I have been rationing into my art.  The blue and yellow pieces of tin are from a windmill that Dad had made.  He made several of these.  When I got them, the little motors no longer worked, but I knew I would find a use of the propellers someday.  The leaves on this flower are old screen

from some old screen door with lovely old paint and rust.  So after I was done with this piece, I decided to

call it Charlie's Garden.. for my Dad.  He loved to garden after he retired.  

I have a show coming up in a few week with some very fun talented ladies: Whimsical Women of the West.  It's our Spring Show..and I need to pump out as much fun art as I can.

wish me luck..

I need TIME to create.  And that is not always an abundant commodity for me!!!!!