Spheres

They're not painted yet but here they are.

Those are really cool!

Gwen

hmmmmmmmm ....... where is dat baby dinosaur hiding ?

Heeeeeeee !

Very nice herpst, I have been wanting to make a couple myself but it still is on my to-do list ;-)

The baby dinosaur has undoubtedly found my favorite hostas & stomped them, broken off all the brittle stems of the Begonia boliviensis, shattered my favorite plant pots & drunk all the water from the pond - or maybe that was the dog :) In any case, I told the dinosaur that you want to see him & last I saw of him, he was headed for the midwest. Hold on to your hemerocallis.

LOL *snort*

Your photo made me think of Chantal's SG pattern of a baby dino hatching.

Here is the smaller (30" ball used on the inside) one finished & just filled with water.

This message was edited Jul 18, 2006 3:56 PM

another shot

I like !

ARRGG! I almost missed this thread! Great eggs, Herpst! Plus I get a little view of the rest of your lovely garden in the first photo!
Okay, I really have to get moving and try these before the summer ends. Oh and the big leaves again,, too. But I'm still working on the pixy rocks. I think I need to quit my day job in order to have enough time for my hobby.

By the way, I did try mixing the powdered tempera paint with the concrete refinisher and it is awesome color! Very dense and rich. But I would like to try to find a cementous product that dries white instead of grey. i can get it, just have to go down to the tideflats to do it. The color will be clearer if it's mixed with something white rather than grey.

Yes, you must quit your day job! And find an extremely rich patron who realizes your genius and wants to pay dearly for your pixy rocks and set you up in your own business with a catchy name like Everybody must get stones (o.k. so the reference dates me). Because of your wild success, you will then hire fabricators who will do the actual pixy rock work & free your time for other concrete pursuits.

You'll either get to it this year or next. That's the wonderful thing about gardens & projects - there's always something to look forward to.

Herpst, great looking eggs, I want to make some, what kind of hardware cloth do you use? and how many layers does it take to finish? oh and the coloring, is it just stain? hostajim1

They're magnificent! What creativity you all have ....

hostajim1,

Hardware cloth is like chicken wire but is a smaller, square metal mesh. It's sold right next to the chicken wire and is often used for the bottom of rabbit hutches. I just did one layer for the bottom & then another for the top. If you mix the concrete patching mix just right, you can get a fairly thick layer. The color is just thinned (1 part paint to 4 or more parts water) exterior latex paint. It came from the oops paint area at a big box store. The black interior is black oil based rustoleum.

Herpst I will test your dinosaur eggs in my garden and see how well your prototype hold up in cold climates. Have you workers send me a dozen in varied sizes you don't need to paint them I can do that here. LOL Very beautiful and creative. I am going to make a huge nest out of logs at the top of my biggest Ponderosa and put some of these eggs below you know that will stimulate dialog in the garden. Maybe some background Teridactyl sounds.

Shall I air freight those?

herpst, well I just got back from Ace Hardware, with some hardware cloth, I can't wait to do this, I have all these trails and plantings on 2 1/2 acres that they will look good in, thanks, hostajim1

I'm excited for you! Please post pictures! I've learned a lot making these & if I ever do it again, I'll spend more time to make a more refined product.

Herpst,

Love your idea for a new business name -- even if it dates me, too. lol

Don't know if I like this one as much as the smaller blue one. Perhaps I need to tip it up a little or perhaps a sledge hammer, a dumpster, and a fresh start are in order.

Don't destroy it!!! If you don't find a use for it at your place, let me know!!!

MzWeazelle

It currently has water in and spilling out of it into the little pond beneath.

Oh, my - absolutely wonderful, Herpst!! As usual, I am thinking, "I want to try that." Yeah, right. i still haven't even tried leaves and my rhubarb leaves are about done.

Maybe next year things will settle down?

Pixy, yes indeed - time to quit your day job!

No no don't destroy it!! Send south please!! Seriously, you should start a small buisiness.

I wanted to create a Faery Garden but it looks like it will have to be next year...

I love it herpst but I would paint it to tie into the lower rocks to make it more natural. The dark grey ones and then paint the inside a light color and then the blue gazing ball would be more visible and the motion would be captivating.

I'm thinking you can work with it, Herpst! What is it you don't like?

Hi Pixydish

Because of the angle at which it's tilted, the black interior is a little overwhelming. I think that tipping it up will solve the problem. However, I've used roof patch stuff to seal some flat rocks & pieces of broken pots to the area where the sphere touches the ground to assure that the water that trickles down the side goes into the pond and not onto the ground beneath. So, if I tilt it up, I'll have to wipe off the roof patch & repaint that area, play with the water flow again, & then re roof patch/rock the new bottom area. I'll eventually get to it but since this is working o.k. water wise, I'll just let it sit for a while & perhaps catch up on some planting, weeding, etc.

Soferdig's idea about painting the interior (I'd do just above the water line) a light color might work. In the meantime, I've substituted a silver gazing ball for the dark blue one.

My neice suggested leaving it in this position but mosaicing the interior above the water line with mirror. I may be a little too lazy for that right now.

Hm. I think I would leave it. Maybe it will grow on you. I like both the painting with lighter tone and the mirror ideas. Maybe doing the paint, then doing small scattered mosaic mirrors on the inside? Like stars in the sky? That would be pretty, but I'm feeling pretty lazy myself these days, so leaving it sounds good, too!

those are really cool! What did you use to form the hardware cloth around?

Kiddie play ball 15" $2.95 at Fred Meyer, K Mart, etc. (one-time use - pop the ball when you're done)
Exercise ball - 30" $12.95 at Fred Meyer & elsewhere (comes with a pump and a plug use again and again)
Exercise ball - 40' - 60" $29.95 at a sports store (multiple use, comes with pump and plug.)

so tell me how you made them?

There is a thread on page 2 of Pacific NW Gardening (another view) that has some more info.
Full instructions for the project can be found at the following site.


http:// [HYPERLINK@www.the-artistic-garden.com]