new garden residents

Yesterday, as I busily worked to prune and weed the garden for my show here this Saturday. I discovered a whole crew of new helpers! The praying mantis sack hatched that was ironically attached to “Elvis Angel” the resident protector of the garden.

Elvis was a gift I made my Mom for mothers day about 15 years ago. He was lovingly named Elvis because of his high collar made from a plow blade that flares up behind his head and also because he is just pretty darn cool. He stands over 15 feet high with at least a 6 foot wing span. Last year my Mom gave him back to me to showcase at my studio garden shows. Now he is covered with sweet pea, honeysuckle and morning glories…and hundreds of baby praying mantis. Get busy little buggers you have your work cut out for you!

new ideas are in bloom

In the spring the plants push through the surface of the earth making my mind whirl with all the new creations that I must make. This year was particularly inspirational as I created a line of flowers from the many years I have spent in the garden.

The idea of incorporating recycled glass into my metal sculpture has always been very appealing to me. Since I am part magpie, anything shiny seems to drawl me in. Shiny and full of color can almost make my head explode! Each flower I have made seems to take me off on another tangent.

Here are some pictures of the bounty as of yesterday..there will be many more to come as the garden grows!