Garden Belles

About 5 years ago I created a painted garden bell from an old air tank for  a recycled art show. I loved how the bell turned out, but while hanging it from a tree for the show, my ladder fell over and I broke both bones in my right wrist and both bones in my right ankle.  I healed up just fine,  but I have never made another bell...until now!

My father obtained some air tanks from the welding supply place down the road and cut them in half for me. He brought me several when they visited last month. Rog affixed some  hardware to hang them and I painted the first one last weekend.

I decided to paint series of women and flowers --and call them "Garden Belles."  This is the Rose Belle.  I wasn't   totally satisfied with the aesthetics of the off-the-shelf hanging hardware Rog devised, but it turns out that one of his Nodding Wild Onions bandmates, Mike, is also a welder and blacksmith.  Mike offered to weld on some simple hanging loops for me. (We may collaborate on designing something more artsy in the future)

He finished the first bell yesterday--not only did he weld on a hanging loop,  he  created a nifty little hook and constructed a leather-covered mallet for striking the bell! Today I painted the second garden belle - the  Sunflower Belle.

This is how it sounds.

The Sunflower Belle bell is larger than the Rose Belle.  I hope to complete three belles in time for the Sargents Garden Party on July 12th, where I have been invited to sell my art. After that, they will be for sale in the Squash Blossom Farm Store.