UFO patio

Thankfully, summer and fall have been busy with lots of interesting projects which I'm hoping to share in the next few weeks.  This first one is perhaps my favorite, maybe because it is in my own yard and I had the artistic liberty to do as I pleased.  I was hoping to have the patio done last year, but it has dragged on as most of the projects do at my own house.  This time procrastination was supremely beneficial, because the idea did not come to me until this spring.  I had been thinking about it for a year and wasn't quite satisfied with my ideas yet, but this one lit up my mind in an instant.  

I'm not quite sure the inspiration, except that i wanted a metal element, and a feeling of enclosure on the patio by using an overhead structure.
Enter 16' and 8' diameter metal circles, that were referenced as the "flying saucers" in our design meetings.  Luckily, I had a highly skilled welder and artist, Adrian Haley, to do the installation for me. Check him out at addesignspdx.com. They were incredibly heavy and cumbersome, to say the least.  
I'm hoping to run some cable cross pieces in the small one to grow a vine up and over it.

The planter box and bench are in progress.  The facing for the box will be the reclaimed Doug Fir leaning against the fence.

Patio project next:  paint neighbors garage, build bench and planter box structure for the big patio and a small platform/deck underneath the small one. 
I'm also hoping to find some single person hanging chairs, something like this, perhaps, to hang from the big circle. I want it to look and feel like little cocoons hanging from the sky.

  

Desert Terrarium

I just made this terrarium for a friend and am super excited about it.  Of course, the desert theme never escapes me.

I was thinking  about walking through the desert and of all the random objects that I have found.  Everything is in plain sight where it is exposed to the harsh sun and wind, and washed clean by an occasional late summer monsoon. It's not hidden under inches of forest duff and decaying in the flash of an instant like it does here in the Pacific Northwest. The story is right on the surface, so to speak.

In the desert, you are almost certain to find elements of metal, glass, jagged rocks, and bits of old bones from times past.  I used glass eggs, an old metal lock,a piece of petrified wood, and a skunk skull.

POLYGONS - Geometrical nature

A regular hexagon has all sides the same length and all internal angles are 120°.

Honeycomb

Bee's use the hexagon in their hives because it allows the most efficient use of space. Circles in a grid create spaces, and no polygon with more than six sides will be interlocking.

Octagonal patio

This is the patio that I am currently building at my house.  It is in multiples of 8 - 16'x 16' with an 8' diameter octagon.  When it is complete the cut out spaces will have planters with a bench spanning it and a 10' tall metal circle on wooden posts over the top.

KA-POW!

I took the day off to help install Bob's mom's graffiti art show - KA-POW.  This work is so vibrant and expressive, just as the woman herself, Kirby Kendrick.  Check out her website Kirbykendrick.com to see all of her fabulous art.  The show is at PRESENT space (presentspace.org)939 NW Glisan 97209.  If you are in Portland come down for 1st Thursday, June the 2nd.
Kirby is a true inspiration, following her heart and coming to her prolific art career later in life.  I always remind myself of her when I'm feeling unaccomplished and that the lifetime clock is ticking too fast. 

This is a video of the show up at the San Diego Art Institute Museum.

from scraps...

With help from Bobby, I made these coasters out of scraps from a patio made with Montana Hot Springs flagstone. They slivered off pretty easily, then I backed them with cork.

Tucson spring

Carnegiea gigantea,
Saguaro Cactus

The Saguaro cactus is native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, Mexico, and a small part of Baja California.  It does not grow anywhere else in the world. They can live up to 150 yrs., and don't grow a side arm until they are about 75 yrs. old.  Their maximum height is about 50 ft.
Being surrounded by the spiny arms of a Saguaro forest is a surreal and majestic place to be. Arms up, arms down, these plants dot the horizon like beacons of resilience.

Saguaro skeleton

Living in the Pacific Northwest, I forget that wood is not the go-to building material.  Tucson is replete with beautiful rusty metal.  This was one of my favorites. Total genius! Think about how many old box springs are tossed aside to head to the dump. 
  

box spring fence

solar system gate

PLANT LOVE

These photos were taken at Azure Gate B&B, a 5 acre oasis located about 30 mins. from downtown Tucson. It is teaming with birds, desert wildlife, and plants that I love.  The hosts are incredibly friendly and the breakfast blew out all of my preconceived notions about B&B breakfasts. I would highly recommend a stay here!

BUILDING FENCES IN THE RAIN...

Cedar fence with corrugated metal gate built by LBK "Chips", Bobby, & me.  It rained the whole time except for about 2 hours.