Flowers and Hosta Leaves Garden Totem

Description

This garden totem is what one might call mixed media. The flowers and leaves are made from stoneware clay, that has been glazed the

bright and cheery colors of red, yellow and orange. Planted in the garden, the totem stands out against a background of green. There are 15 ceramic pieces in all on the totem – 7 flowers, and 4 leaves, and a few stem parts.

The ceramic pieces are all mounted on a threaded steel rod. Every 3 pieces or so are anchored with a washer and nut, so the weight is distributed on the rod. The bottom flower is a large yellow flower, the center of which has melted glass. As the glass cools in the kiln it cracks. Once you put your totem out the garden, you will see how the glass catches the sun allowing it to sparkle. The leaves that separate the flowers were made from hosta leaves from my garden. 

Clay was rolled over leaves, leaving the imprint of the leaf. I then glazed it to look like the actual leaf.

The second flower from the bottom is about 16 inches wide. It is vibrant red and yellow, and where the two glazes overlay, orange. The flower at the top has bright red petals on the bottom layer, and the center petals are a more muted red. The top piece of the totem is bulb shaped and has four yellow and orange bell shaped flowers suspended from it on heavy duty copper wire. As the wind blows the flowers move and the beaded filaments of the stamens move. The filaments are seed beads on a plastic coated beading wire, with a frosted clear glass ball/anther at the bottom. The top piece is suspended on the rod itself, and can pivot, as a result. 

The cheery bright colors of the totem will add a vibrant focal for your garden. The rod on which everything is mounted in 6 feet tall. About 1.5 feet of the rod has no pieces so that it can be planted in the garden.

Because of the glass in the flower, and the ability of water to permeate the glass, I do not recommend leaving this out over the winter. There are also places where water could collect, and if it frozen, would cause the ceramic pieces to break. If the totem is completely dry, a garbage bag, or other watertight covering, could be placed over the piece, and tightly secured for winter storage.

In terms of planting in the garden, I would suggest taking a large flower pot, securing the rod in the pot, and filling the pot with cement. The pot could then be planted in the garden. I did this with the two other prototype totems I made, although I filled the pot with gravel and not cement, and even with a less stable footing, they have survived some very strong winds, including the remnants of a hurricane.

I think this could be shipped, but the person who buys this will have to pay the additional shipping charges. If you are local, I would consider delivering the totem and planting it for you, for an additional charge.