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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Thursday, July 6, 2017

Lucy and Ethel Play With Concrete Part Twenty-Something

Over twenty years ago, for the Fourth of July, my friend Chris and I decided it would be fun to make something for our gardens.  She'd read a magazine article about making hypertufa pots and we thought it would be fun to try. We had a great time but the results were less than stellar as we really didn't have the right supplies or forms to do such a thing but we tried anyway and decided to also make stepping stones.   This was before the internet and before taking then teaching classes on making stepping stones.  We both still have the sad products of that experiment in our gardens which make us smile when we see them.  We'd unintentionally started a Fourth of July tradition of creating yard art.

Another Fourth, after seeing the fabulous Little and Lewis Dinosaur Eggs, we thought we should be able to make them as neither of us could afford to buy one.  Having little experience with cement and apparently a limited understanding of the law of gravity, we purchased  concrete mix, which includes gravel and simply tried throwing a wet mix of this on an exercise ball.  Thinking that the aggregate in the mix was what was causing the problem, we thought of making a trip to Home Depot to pick up some sand mix but we were both pretty filthy by then so decided instead to sift the stones out using a colander which took forever. It was hot as hell and the dust was sticking to us and everything around. Anyway, mean old Mr. Gravity seemed to still want to pull the sides of the sphere to the ground. Chris named the bowls we were able to make dung domes.  Since that attempt and after reading a book about making concrete objects, I did make a couple of semi-respectable spheres.  You know, do it first, read the directions after making a total mess of everything, the Lucy and Ethel school of yard art.

Projects over the years have included leaf castings, glass flowers, and mosaic bowling balls.  This winter, Chris found a concrete hand project online and we decided it would be a great craft for the Fourth.  There are several  tutorials online about how to make these.  If you're interested in making them, look here or here.  Again the concrete and fun flowed.  When we were finished...

Yellow concrete-filled gloves were everywhere.



A bird in the hand is worth three hands in the bush?  Wait, I never get those proverbs quite right. 

Because it's a handrail. 

Chris wisely is waiting an extra day to come and un glove her hands but I couldn't wait to see how mine turned out.  Laid down, they could hold a small succulent.

This one was meant to hold a pot. 

This pot to be exact. Now, what should I plant in there? 

Where will these end up?  

Another enjoyable Fourth of July playing in the mud with an old friend. Aren't traditions fun? 

20 comments:

  1. Fun and doable project. What a delightful July 4 tradition.

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  2. What a fun tradition. I like these, yet they're a little creepy, as disembodied hands always are. The one in particular where the hand holds the pot--that's cool. You just sort of pressed the pot into the hand form while the cement was wet to get the proper size and shape?

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    1. In the first picture, the one hanging over the pot is the one that, when turned over, is holding it. Just pressing the pot wouldn't work unless it was weighted and then you'd have to support the fingers in some way to get them to stay up around the pot. Easier to just let gravity work for you.

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  3. What a hoot. This would be great fun and having an extra helping hand, or half dozen, always makes gardening easier. I see some hands as greeters at the front door.

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  4. What an excellent tradition, Lucy (or are you Ethel?) And now you're early for Halloween -- what fun, and just a little creepy, Peter, only because I can never forget seeing The Beast With Five Fingers starring Peter Lorre when I was very young and impressionable.

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  5. It reminds me of the Tom Lehrer song..."I hold your hand in mine, dear..."
    I love your posts, btw. I enjoy them each morning with my coffee. :)

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  6. Those are freaking awesome! And the photos of the yellow hands laying all over everything gave me a fit of the giggles.

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  7. Looks like the two of you were having too much fun, bravo!

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  8. Well done! Messing around with concrete doesn't hold much appeal for me (I imagine it ending up in my hair) but I admit I've admired the hands I've seen in tutorials on-line. I may need a hand to keep my 'Cousin Itt' company.

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  9. I gotta hand it to you, these are pretty sweet! The last image is a bit creepy though...

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  10. Those are a hoot and what a fun tradition.

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  11. Fabulous, though the whole group is a bot unsettling. You have to plant something gray in the hand pot! I like the fact you never have to wonder what you're going to do on the 4th.

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  12. The hands all over the garden, so cool!

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  13. One of my favorite yard art installations was a sea of baby tears with hands rising out of it like drowning persons: macabre though it might be.

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  14. How fun! I might have to try this one. I tend to keep the garden ornaments simple, but a few of these tucked here and there might work with my style. How fun that you and your friend have a tradition of doing garden art projects together. :)

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  15. Your hands are very cool! They go with all of the body-less heads you have around. Can't wait to see what next year's project will be.

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  16. What a great 4th of July tradition! Much better than fireworks. Hands sticking out of the soil like zombies digging their way out would fit right in with your severed baby heads and such.

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  17. I can picture the two of you goofing around and laughing the whole time, what a great tradition!
    btw I'm on team creepy as far as the hands go... and I'm also concerned you're setting yourself up for trouble with all the potential 'give me a hand here' jokes.

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  18. These are great - so many fun ideas you have, Peter. I like the ones for holding pots. One could do all manner of holding positions - grasping a cylinder, pinching, etc.

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  19. Do you think you could lend me a hand?

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.