The Inspired Garden

  
THE INSPIRED GARDEN 

July 4-27th, 2014
Columbia Center for the Arts
Hood River, Oregon
www.columbiaarts.org

Tom was asked to create a

table and chair for the garden show.

After some consideration,

Tom decided to make a very different

kind of table and chair.

 

Finished chair frame

 

Ta Da!
TOM'S TIKI LOUNGER
The chair is 'tacked' with small welds
and is now ready for final welding along all of the seams.
 

Tom says there were 50+ feet of welds on this chair...

(moving 7 1/2 feet of 1/8 inch steel plate into position for grinding)

...AND 50+ feet of welds to grind.

TIKI LOUNGER

before its final treatment

 

TIKI TABLE

before its final treatment

 

TIKI TABLE and TIKI LOUNGER

Columbia Art Gallery

 

 Wouldn't this look great on the 

riverside deck

at

PSYCHO SUSIE'S in Minneapolis?

http://www.psychosuzis.com/index.html

 

Fiona and her mother Martha 

 

Fione, who turned 3 this week,

 is demonstrating

her version of TIKI LOUNGER and his red tongue.

 

The solar-powered torches light up at night

to help me find mice in the gardens.

Oh, and I think that red cushion will be a great place

for an afternoon nap.

Yours truly,

JUNIOR

SPRING REFLECTIONS



LEICA MAN
Happy Easter!

Friends Steve and Vicki sent us a photo of

Tom's sculpture 

decked out in his Easter finery!

(See 07.25.2010 and 08.01.2010 blogs)

Look very closely at the 'camera lens' Tom made

and you will see a reflection of Steve and Vicki.

Daffodils in our April garden

 

Our dictionary says that a mirror is:

Something which gives a minutely faithful representation, image or idea of something else; or  

a reflecting surface, originally of polished metal but now usually of glass with a silvery, metallic, or amalgam backing; or such a surface set into a frame, attached to a handle, etc., for use in viewing oneself or as an ornament; or any reflecting surface, as the surface of calm water under certain lighting conditions.

 

While visiting friends Ken and Holly last year,
Tom and Margaret were impressed

by a beautiful steel frame
Ken had made to encase a large mirror for their home.

After considering the possibilities of including
whimsy in a mirror frame,

Tom created 

Mirror, Mirror On the Wall
for Margaret's office.
Every time she looks into the mirror,
she feels rather regal!

MIRROR, MIRROR, ON THE WALL

reflecting the sky over the
Columbia River

 

Tom also made a simple steel-frame mirror for
our kitchen in order to bring more light
into a dark area of the room.
The mirror gives a very unique feel to the
kitchen reflecting both the overhead stove light
as well as the east window of the kitchen.
It almost seems like we have
another window in the kitchen...
just the effect Margaret wanted!
The kitty magnets at the top
 to make it extra special.
I'm waiting to get my picture up there, too.

KITCHEN MIRROR

 

 A framed mirror for friends,

Holy Mackerel, It's a Flying Pig!

reflects Linda's love of the whimsical flying pig

 as well as Greg's profession

in the field of fish habitat and stream restoration.

I think Linda liked it!

HOLY MACKEREL, IT'S A FLYING PIG!

 

 Tom

Beautiful double white daffodils in the back garden 

I'll be hunting for goodies in the garden tomorrow!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE

and especially to Grandpa John! 

JUNIOR

 

 

 

TEN APPLES UP ON TOP

Recently, Tom and Margaret attended

Maryhill Museum's 2014 Opening Day

with friends Pat and Dick.  

While sipping a glass of wine and enjoying the
expansive view of the Columbia River,

they reminisced about

TEN APPLES UP ON TOP

created by Tom for their home up in
Hood River valley.

 

"When our children were little, (Julie, now 49 and Allen, now 46) their favorite book was Ten Apples Up On Top by Theo LeSieg (alias Theo Geisel) who became the famous 'Dr. Seuss'. The story we heard was that Theo Geisel made a bet with Bennett Serf, an editor at Random House, that he could make an interesting book for kids with only 75 words. The book, Ten Apples Up on Top, illustrated by Ray McKie, was published in 1961 and its publication marked the beginning of the famous 'Dr. Seuss'. 

Julie, Allen, Dick & Pat

with Julie's painting of

TEN APPLES UP ON TOP

and Tom's sculpture

 

After Allen was born, Julie painted a picture of the book (notice newborn Allen’s apples are falling in the painting in the photograph above). We lived in Eugene, Oregon then but had a vacation house in Hood River which became our home when Dick and I retired. We have a large pasture and commissioned Tom to create one of his delightful sculptures for it. Tom asked us “What is important to you about your place?”. We thought about it for awhile and took our battered copy of Ten Apples up on Top off the bookshelf. After reading the book, Tom created the pasture sculpture. 

 

We celebrated its completion with a group of family and friends by passing the book around and each reading a passage." Pat

 

They will get them if we let them!

 

The Dog, the Tiger and the Lion

 

Come! We can not let them get them!

The Lion

The Dog

 

 The Tiger

 

When Grandpa John came to visit,

Margaret took his picture with Pat and the sculpture.

  

I like the Tiger the best!

Yours truly,

JUNIOR

  

STEEL SHOP TABLE FOR RAY

 

Today, Ray received his new steel shop table.
Tom made it from the specifications
provided by Ray.
It's perfectly level and ready for the lathe to do its magic.
 

RAY AND HIS NEW STEEL TABLE

 

STEEL TABLE WITH LATHE 

 

Me and my 'trophy fish'

getting a little winter sun on

FLY FISHING ON THE HOOD

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

JUNIOR

 

CHRISTMAS 2013

 

 

 Learning to Play the Ipu on Christmas Day 

with Margaret and Tom 

 

Each Christmas, Tom makes Margaret

a special ornament.

In honor of their appreciation and fondness

for the Hawaiian staple poi,

Tom created a miniature

kalo plant

from wire, foam, raffia grass and a bead.

 

 

Me and My Buddy Tom

and his Taro Root Ornament

It is so pretty...and it would make a great cat toy! 

JUNIOR

 

 

 

TWO PROJECTS

                 

CEDAR AND STEEL TABLE

 DAN AND HIS CEDAR TABLE TOP
Wanting to give his wife a special anniversary gift, Dan asked Tom to build a steel support for the beautiful piece of clear, old growth, salvaged cedar which Dad purchased from a logger on the coast. The cedar had been under water for many years and was beautifully preserved.

OIL-FINISHED CEDAR TOP 

 SEDUM AUTUMN JOY IN OUR FALL GARDENS

  

 

STEEL POST SUPPORT COVER

for ANNALI'S PORCH 

Our friend Annali commissioned Tom to design and build

a steel post support cover to replace the wooden cover

which contracted in our hot eastern Oregon summers

and then expanded in our cold Oregon winters

 resulting in cracks which allowed moisture

to creep into the support.

 

POST AND SUPPORT WITHOUT A COVER

The previous wooden cover was removed and

the tar paper covering was reinforced.

PRIMED STEEL POST COVER

Tom created the post cover
with sheet metal and angle bar.

Eight separate sections were welded together
to form two pieces which overlap
 to prevent moisture from
entering the post and its support.

 

TOM AND THE POST SUPPORT COVER

IN PLACE

He was very pleased with the perfect fit.

 

FUTURE SITE FOR WOODEN CAP

Tom pointing out where the post support wooden cap top will eventually be placed.

The primed steel cover will soon be painted to compliment the house. 

 

 

IGUANA

Annali's mother Earlene is very fond of iguanas.

Created a few years ago for Earlene by Tom, this 6-foot

long steel fellow guards her house.

 

PLAYING WITH MY HOLIDAY RIBBON

JUNIOR

THANKSGIVING 2013

Gratitude refers to feeling thankfulness and appreciation for people, places and events.

An attitude of gratitude can change your life.

As Willie Nelson once said, "When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around."

 

Research has shown that people who wrote down 5 things for which they were grateful during the week for a period of 10 weeks were 25% happier than persons who didn't do this small task. 

These people were also more optimistic about the future, felt better

about their lives and exercised more.

 

I don't know if there are any studies about grateful kitties but

I know that I am very thankful for many things:

 

-For finding my way to my home on Mosier Creek when I was lonely and only 6 months old 

-For the warm woodstove and my favorite box and my blanket on the old rocking chair

-For all of the beautiful Hawaiian slack key guitar and ukulele music that plays all day long for me

-For Tom's warm arm around me each morning

and
 

 -For tasty kitty food, fresh water in my dish every day...
and occasional treats

 

 

HAPPY THANKGIVING!

 

Mahalo, 

JUNIOR