The Garden is looking for sculptural works for temporary or semi-permanent display.
We’re trying to beautify MakeICT’s courtyard (please come and enjoy yourself anytime btw!) and would love for our general Maker community to be a part of it!
The Garden Committee meets every Sunday at 11am, please come with any inquiries or if this time does not work DM either myself or Garden Chair @SeanSandefur
All sculptural submissions must be approved by the garden committee before installation (assume that unapproved submissions will be thrown away, scrapped, or otherwise discarded).
Is there any criteria we should consider? Such as size, material type, theme, etc.
I’ve been making these little houses from scrap wood and I’m getting pretty quick at making them now. I could bust some out at the shop one night and just leave them on the free to take display outside the shop. I have a post in the “what are you making” topics with a couple I’ve made already if you want to see what I’m talking about.
I’m open to suggestions for other stuff or if somebody wants to collaborate on something bigger that would be fun too.
Size (and form) should be appropriate for stand-alone installation (or include base or mount to make it thus), and should be of such that it won’t topple or pose any other excessive risk. Materials should be such that they will withstand the elements. Theme may be considered at some point (if there is enough interest) but is not presently much of a concern outside the family friendly element.
I don’t think that stuff on the free table would fall under this call for submissions, but we kindly thank you for the heads up and may possibly avail ourselves of your offer.
I second the birdhouse idea. I think that would be great.
Also, your little houses remind of the gnome houses that I’ve seen around town. People will fit old stumps will little doors and windows to make it look like a gnome house. Maybe you could do something like this for our communal raised beds. Below picture for reference.
lol I literally just commented something similar in my other post. I’d love to make some neat stuff like this.
Birdhouses are a great idea @URUKim ! I used to love having bird feeders at my house but unfortunately the racoon family loved it too so we had to stop. There are some really cool looking birds in Kansas.
Here’s a random photo dump of things I have in mind. I think we should use found objects as much as possible. For instance, Botanica currently has a traveling exhibit of sculptures made from plastic waste found at beaches and in the ocean to bring awareness to pollution and littering. The more “out there,” fun and goofy, the better. I’m still trying to source old clawfoot bathtubs to make an herb planter, in case anyone knows of one on the cheap.
I’d also like to utilize the old radiators that are currently rusting out on the side of the building. We have a million ideas for those. Please let me know who they belong to and we can talk. Thanks.
Wow these are awesome! If it helps, pretty much 90% of my workshop is reclaimed wood and my little house projects are pieces of scrap. But I’d be more than happy to try and get creative. I have cats and go through these giant plastic containers pretty quick. They’d make for some cool craft projects I bet.
It’s not a sculpture, but at Universal in Seuss Landing at the Once-ler’s house there was a sign I thought would be appropriately adapted to our garden. It read:
Because someone like you
Cared a whole awful lot,
This park is alive
Where before it was not
If we changed “park” to “garden” it would be perfect. I thought maybe we could cut it on the CNC plasma cutter and powder coat it? I don’t know how large of items we can powder coat though, that’s not something I’m authorized for yet. I’m open to ideas.
Will our insurance cover damage or injury caused by a falling or wind uprooted sculpture? I ask this because many cities require artist to insure their own sculpture work.
I was thinking something along those lines. I was thinking a ceramic totem pole. Different people make a piece. If we used PVC pipe we could even make it into a water feature to show off on Maker Mondays and other events.
After that absolute BANGER of a storm this morning that so rudely woke me up, I would assume we really need to consider Kansas’ random crazy storm weather when making something for this.
And I like the idea of a totem pole. We could make a piece for each shop/trade that is available at the space.
We should probably not call it a totem pole but that sounds like an awesome statue.
Or maybe we should consult our local Native American center for their thoughts in naming. They stopped me from getting some native tattoos that would’ve made me look like a racist.
I don’t think we need to consult the local Native American Center for permission to put up a segmented garden sculpture. I called it a totem-pole because that is what I was told these type of things were called when I asked someone about their segmented garden sculpture with different pieces stacked on top of each other on a pole in their flower garden. Totem is a natural object or animal that is believed by a particular society to have spiritual significance and that is adopted by it as an emblem. Totem poles are not religious symbols , rather they convey a family’s or a tribe’s history. Likewise the carver includes images to tell his own story, such as his standing within the tribe. We are a TRIBE OF MAKERS. Was NOT trying to offend Native Americans by using the word TOTEM-POLE but when you google garden totem poles pages and pages of the above examples pop up, that’s just what people have been calling them for several years.
I feel where you’re coming from here but as someone who places racial expectations on those around me, I try to put my money where my mouth is with research.
Which is why I ended up not getting native facial tattoos.
Tribe in itself is a racially sensitive word fir many reasons. I’ll include links below. I encourage research and reading in all sensitive matters such as these. What may seem like nothing to us may be a huge red flag for others.
I’ve had to play the guessing have of “is this place safe and they don’t know or am I in danger” it’s not fun. I can’t blame others for not wanting to guess at all.
To reiterate, just because we can’t see/don’t know about it, doesn’t mean it’s not real.
I have messed up and I mess up often. It’s how I find myself with new knowledge of myself and the works around me.
I hope these help.
It would also be an interesting way to build a relationship with another org. Just a thought.
