welcome to part two of my 3-post sunny garden art series!
today i'm sharing the fun sunshine 'sculptures' that i created outta' old metal...
things.
i honestly don't know what they are. i found them at a junk shop.
they were galvie, so i bought 'em and brought 'em home.
then i never used them.
until i imagined them alongside the sunshine 'wreath' from my last post!
continue reading to see the start to finish details...
not to mention a COMPLETE RE-DO of these with a Disney theme!!!
these started out as metal disks on long poles (removable) from IKEA -
i know that cuz' there was a sticker on the back of one!
i've looked online to find out what they were meant for - to no avail.
i'm stumped.
but hey, i'm always using things for purposes OTHER than they were originally designed,
so this is not a deterrent for me!
i sprayed them all with yellow paint, then began adding details using other... things.
tho i had a plan, this one really evolved as i worked on it...
i painted only the center with spray paint, then added 'sunrays' out to the edge with craft paint.
it needed detail, and i had a brainstorm to use painted magnets to add them!
i have a stack of old 1X3 magnets from my Dad's old warehouse that i used for that:
i sprayed two of them yellow, cut them into triangle shapes,
and stuck them around the edge and in the center.
then i cut a round section of magnet, painted it white,
and added dots in yellows and black to make it look like a painted mandala stone.
the second one went according to plan... well, the design did, anyway!
it also has a magnet mandala in the center,
as well as a detail that adds motion in the garden to deter the pigeons:
my last post included a photo of a broken plant roller and a metal ring...
that ring was the top ring from a tomato cage, and i used it on this piece.
after painting both the ring and the disc,
i zip-tied it to the stake so that it encircled the 'disc',
then i tied a bunch of ribbons that would evoke 'sunrays' and move in the breeze
around the ring.
sadly, the pigeons aren't afraid of the motion and land right smack on top of the sun. bleh!!!
this one? he was a TOTAL fluke!
i knew i wanted to make at least one 'sun' backwards -
meaning the actual back of the disk would appear as the front.
but i didn't have a plan past that!
after the paint dried, i went to put the stake back on....
and realized that if i put it on in a different way than the others,
this would sit at a different level in the garden.
so rather than the straight part going all the way thru the disk,
then the handle being at the top like the other two,
i just put the handle on at the bottom of the disk.
so now there was a circle in the center of the disk instead of on top.
i looked at it, and saw.... a nose.
(call it Disneyitis - i see faces in all KINDS of things!!!)
well, what's a nose for in summer but a place to put your sunglasses?!
so i painted the stake and circle yellow,
then grabbed an old broken pair of sunglasses (i save everything, i swear)
and zip-tied them to the top of the stake/circle/nose.
i liked it, but it needed more detail.
the 'more' i found was a cheap plastic 'lei' sitting in a nearby basket...
i twisted it around the stake, slid it up and wrapped it around the disc,
and it became a sort of corona on the 'sun'.
sometimes, the best results come from not having a plan and just playing!
i really like the way they tuned out!
all of the details i added
can be removed later to return these to their original simple form
AND will withstand the wind and sun and sprinkler moisture.
the 'things' can even be painted to look galvanized again!
(or painted orange + brown with tiki faces for our tropical backyard...
which is likely what their fate is!)
want another idea for something like this?
make them flowers. simple fun 'kids drawing' flowers in bright happy colors.
imagine those in your garden, yard, or planters!
even if you can't find these mysterious metal 'things',
you could use large metal pot lids, old DULL circular saw blades, or enamelware plates
and epoxy some old curtain rods to the back as stakes.
then paint and embellish for a garden that blooms year-round!
stay tuned for the final post with the last of these three projects - comin' up next!
but first....
up there, where i said these would come apart easily so they could be re-used? changed?
uh huh. already did that!
just LOOK what i came up with!
if you're a Disney fan like me, those might look a bit familiar!
these new versions are inspired by a Disneyland attraction,
and it all started with this guy from my LAST post:
the 'BIG sun' from Disneyland's "It's a Small World" attraction inspired this sun door decor,
and i gave it a RE-DO to add more Disney details!
and i figure, if you're gonna' go Disney, go ALL THE WAY...
the 'sun' on the left is the 'Tiki Sun', seen in the Polynesian 'room' of Small World.
in re-creating him, i took some artistic liberties - because he looks a bit mad,
and we only like happy tikis around here!
all of the details on this one are more magnets -
i cut them into shapes and painted them for this project:
the small yellow triangles are from the first version, plus the eyes & mouth.
the facial areas with dots are magnets with gift wrap pasted to them,
and the diamond-shaped 'spear' sunrays were hand painted with lines
just like the ones on the wall inside Small World (shown above).
i call this one the 'Spinning Sun' because inside Small World,
the sunrays on the back of this one spin and move.
my version doesn't do that,
but i cut the magnets into triangles just like the ones on the left,
and they help give a sense of movement.
they eyes, nose, and cheeks are also magnets covered in gift wrap paper.
and his smile is just painted on with paint pens!
this one is my own original idea!
i love love love the 'clock face' on the front of the Small World facade...
i just can't see him without breaking into a smile.
i've turned him into a 'Ticking Sun' by going with a yellow background
and painting magnets to create his face.
the sunrays around the edge are a bit like clock markings, and they are magnets, too..
you can also see the yellow ribbon 'rays' from the first version of this sun!
i just can't stop smiling at these!!!
my Grandpa Ward was an electrician who helped to build It's a Small World
in 1965 at Disneyland Park (after it came back from the NY World's Fair),
and i'm pretty sure he would smile at them, too...
links to previous related posts:
garden art,art class,DIY,diy decorating,salvaged,re-purposing,up-cycling,trash to treasure,painting,summer,garden,Pantone color of the year,colorful home,junk makeover,outdoors,diy garden art,summer home decor,summer decor,re-purposed garden art
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