Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Rectangular Troughs

When I first visited Wave Hill in the Bronx, about ten years ago, I was immediately drawn to the hypertufa containers outside of the alpine house.  As a sculptor, I loved the rough textures, muted colors and subtle differences in shapes.  The effect of the massed containers is not unlike an art installation, with the planters having a visual and physical presence that elevates and frames the various dwarf plants. A viewer is allowed to focus on the small details without feeling overwhelmed.

I've made a lot of different sizes of hypertufa since that first visit, but I return over and over these three rectangular troughs, all cast from my reusable plywood molds.  These troughs were all cast last fall and are fully cured.

Large trough 29 L x 16 W x 12" H
Medium trough 18 L x 16 W x 12" H
Small trough with rim 17 L x 13 W x 10" H

After 20 years as a professional art handler, I have a real appreciation for crates with skids that allow a forklift access.  I like to think of these troughs as having that same sort of utilitarian aesthetic.

Friday, March 11, 2011

So, here we go...

For years I've made hypertufa planters for myself and a few other people.  The other day I tried to count how many I had in the yard and lost track above thirty.  It's time to share what I make with other gardeners:

Gothic planter and bench

Dianthus "Tiny Rubies" in bowl