fcBAl W (»v M
............. „ u . i n i m H
W
•JUNES GARDEN!
"Rembrandts"
in t h e G a r d e n
The n e w c l o t h e s l i n e di d
t u r n out to be a c r e a t i o n . Th e
3-1/2' w i d e x 6' t all t r e l l i s
w a s mad e from c u t c e d a r strips
woven together and reinforced
with
copper
wire
at
each
junction.
Th e c r o s s b a r tha t
holds
the
l ines
was
also
decorated,
as h e
had turned
g r o o v e s to m a t c h t h e p o s t and
r o u n d e d the
ends.
When
he
bolted
the
crossbar
to
the
post,
he
hid
the
bolts
by
p l u g g i n g the h o l e s w i t h w o o d e n
pegs.
Even th e m o r t a r at the
b a s e of the p o s t h a d decor, as
b e f o r e it was s e t h e t o p p e d it
w i t h small r o u n d b l a c k r o c k s I
h a d gathered.
Is it p o s s i b l e to tur n a
c l o t h e s l i n e into an art form?
S e a n O h r e n i c h an d I did.
Well,
at l e a s t it's a c o n v e r s a t i o n
piece.
Sean
has h e l d my h o u s e
together
for
som e
years,
r e p a i r i n g e v e r y t h i n g from r o o f
t o p to t h e foundation.
I'm
s u r e he s i g h s w i t h wea r i n e s s
when
I
l eave
messages
like
"Help, Sean, the r o o f ' s l eak
ing" or "I d o n ' t k n o w if it's
r a t s or r a c c o o n s s c r a t c h i n g at
th e
floor
boards,
w o u l d you
c r a w l u n d e r the h o u s e to see if
t h e y ' v e p u l l e d ou t the i n s u l a
ti o n ? "
M y l a t e s t m e s s a g e was,
"I n e e d a n e w c l o t h e s l i n e , it
broke, all m y c l e a n w a s h landed
on t h e g r o u n d . "
Surveying
the
finished
project,
I e n v i s i o n e d summer
blooming
clematis
climbing
through
th e
woven
trellis.
S ean sai d w i t h a chuckle, "I
call
it
a
monument
to
e n v i r o n m e n t ."
T h e n ext m o r n i n g S e a n and
I had a summit meeting under
the
broken
clothesline
and
d i s c u s s e d u s i n g n a t u r a l fiber
o v e r p l a s t i c line.
S e a n is
e n v i r o n m e n t —c o n s c i o u s . O n e end
of m y c l o t h e s l i n e is a t t a c h e d
to the house, the o t h e r en d to
a p o s t and crossbar.
T h e post
an d c r o s s b a r are v e r y e v i d e n t
w h e n yo u v i e w the g a r d e n and
s o m e o n e had s u b t l y s u g g e s t e d
a d d i n g a t r e l l i s next to the
post,
either
to hide
it or
e m b e l l i s h it, I w a s n ' t sure.
S e a n ' s t rue love is chi p
carving
and w o o d t u r n i n g of
e x o t i c w o o d s . He has m a d e m a n y
d i f f e r e n t sh a p e s of bowls, lamp
b a s e s and o t h e r art o b j e c t s out
of wood.
Sean lets the w o o d
d i c t a t e the s t y l e it e v e n t u a l l y
f orms w i t h t h e e s s e n c e of his
sensitivity.
You
can
see
examples
of
his
artistic
ability
at
the
White
Bird
G a l l e r y in C a n n o n Beach.
He
a l s o doe s fine c a b i n e t work.
An
example
is
the
wooden
c a b i n e t tha t f e a t u r e s C a n n o n
B e a c h h i s t o r i c a l d i s p l a y s in
th e C a n n o n B e a c h b r a n c h of the
U.
S.
Bank.
Wooden
lawn
furniture, gazebos, d e c o r a t i v e
g a t e s an d m a n y o t h e r forms of
his
wood
art
are
spread
t h r o u g h o u t t h i s town.
Sea n is
a t r u e a r t i s t w h e n his h ands
t o u c h a fine p i e c e of wood.
He c r i t i c a l l y o b s e r v e d the
old
post
and
crossbar,
and
said,
" T h e y ' r e rotten, a n e w
o n e ' s p r e t t y e x p e n s i v e . " He is
a l s o v e r y c o n s c i o u s of the cost
of n e w l u m b e r .
"Sean,
wait,
I hav e an
idea. I've bee n s t o r i n g an o l d
post
in my g a r d e n
room
for
years."
I laug h e d an d said,
"The last time I moved, t h e me n
t h a t m o v e d me s c r a t c h e d t h e i r
h e a d s and a sked me w h e t h e r I
w a s s ure I w a n t e d t h e m t o haul
this post, v a r i o u s large rocks,
pie c e s of d r i f t w o o d an d o t h e r
a s s o r t e d g u e s t i o n a b l e o b j e c t s . "
You see, I'm k n o w n for saving
all
kinds
of
junk,
which
I
p r e f e r to call d e c o r .
Sean c a l l e d a c o u p l e of
days
later.
" I've
go t
everything
done,
it's
not
r a i n i n g for a change. I'll be
by
early
tomorrow
morning."
Early means
early
in Sean's
world. I w a s u p at 6:00 A.M.
anticipating
seeing
the
finished
product
Sea n
had
A l s o in 1981, J e f f Hull
d e s i g n e d and m a d e a c u p o l a to
h o l d a m e t a l w h a l e w e a t h e r van e
t h a t is m o u n t e d on the roof of
t h e g a r d e n shed.
D u r i n g t hat
time Jeff was building a house
n e a r me. J e f f no w own s his own
g a l l e r y in S a n d p i p e r S q u a r e in
C a n n o n Beach, w h e r e he d i s p l a y s
h i s w a t e r c o l o r paintings.
T w o y e a r s ag o th e g a r d e n
s h e d w a s f u r t h e r e n h a n c e d by
a d d i n g a h a n d c a r v e d door, mad e
by an a r t i s t f r o m M e x i c o w h o
also
made
Cannon
Beach's
M i d t o w n C a f e ' s d e c o r of h and-
c a r v e d s c r e e n doors,
tables,
c h a i r s a n d signs.
T h i s isn't t h e en d of the
story
about
the
new
clothesline,
as
I later had
Frailey's
Landscape
c rew
enlarge
the
flower
bed
to
i n c o r p o r a t e the m o n u m e n t .
A
g a r d e n e r ' s dream, a n e w flower
b e d __
and I w a s n a i v e en o u g h
to t h i n k all I r e a l l y n e e d e d
w a s a n e w clo t h e s l i n e .
"Sean, w o u l d you b u i l d a
t r e l l i s t hat can be a t t a c h e d to
t h e e n d of the post?"
Our
c o n v e r s a t i o n t hen w a s h o w wide,
how tall?
His a n s w e r was, "I
gan make
a sturdier trellis
t h a n t h a t s t o r e - b o u g h t junk."
Sean
doesn't
hold
with
a s s e m b l y - l i n e w o r k m anship.
Sean loo k e d at th e round,
6' tall post, its c i r c u m f e r e n c e
about
6".
At
one
end
four
g r o o v e s ha d b e e n turned, making
it
most
decorative.
"It's
c e d a r , " he said.
"Could have
b e e n cu t f r o m o l d growth."
W h i l e we w e r e in the garden
room, I s p i e d a n o t h e r s a l v a g e d
p i e c e of decor, a bird c a r v e d
out
of
driftwood,
unknown
artist, as it had been left in
the
basement
of
a h ouse my
h u s b a n d and I bo u g h t m a n y y e a r s
ag o
in
Washington.
"Sean,
c o u l d you m o u n t this on t o p of
the post?"
I t h o u g h t I sa w a
r are
s park
of
interest
in
S e a n ' s eyes w h e n he left w i t h
the
cedar
post,
driftwood
s c ulpture, and m e a s u r e m e n t s for
the t r e l l i s he w o u l d make.
My d e c o r a t i v e , o n e - o f - a -
k i n d g a r d e n she d w i t h its long,
sloping
glassed
roo f
t hat
b r i n g s light and h e a t f rom the
sun
and
helps
me
to
start
s p r i n g s e e d l i n g s was d e s i g n e d
and
built
in
1981
by
Te d
Shillock.
Ted used windows I
ha d salvaged, and a d d e d w i n d o w
boxes
outside
those
windows
t hat are h e l d up w i t h a n t i q u e
iron braces.
T e d is no w well
k n o w n as a s c u l p t o r in stone
an d marble, and his s c u l p t u r e s
are s h o w n
in m a n y g a l l e r i e s
t h r o u g h o u t the U.S.
One of my g a r d e n c h a i r s
wa s c r e a t e d by m y son J o h n from
a m a p l e tre e in his y a r d that
had blown down during a w i n d
storm.
It sits n e x t to a s t u m p
I left s t a n d i n g fro m a tree
t h a t h a d d i e d and I l ater used
the
stump
as
a base
for
a
g a z e b o - s t y l e d b i r d f e e d e r made
f r o m prunings.
Some of my w i n d chimes,
b i r d h o u s e s and f e e d e r s w ere
built
from
various
salvaged
copper,
driftwood
and
other
objects.
T h e r e is a lso a raku
clay mask that
represents a
s m i l i n g face of the sun that
n o w h a n g s on the g r a p e stake
f ence I b u i l t long ago. Th e
m a s k w a s m a d e by a w e l l - k n o w n
O r e g o n artist, M o n a Cordell. It
Th e
whale
and
ocean
s h i n g l e d s c e n e t h a t is m o u n t e d
on the w a l l of my h ouse above
t h e b a c k d e c k w a s made by my
late h u s band, w h o got the idea
after
watching
a
young
man
s h i n g l i n g a w a l l in g e o m e t r i c
designs.
T h i s w a s in the e a r l y
1 9 7 0 's. I l ater f ound out t hat
t h a t g e o m e t r i c wal l that wa s on
t h e n o r t h s i d e of w h a t ' s n o w
c a l l e d El M u n d o for W o m e n was
c r e a t e d b y Sea n O h r e n i c h w i t h
th e h e l p of 20 or more p e o p l e
a n d a b o t t l e of Zinfandel wine.
They
labeled
it " E s sence of
Zinfandel."
T his wall is no
longer
e v i d e n t as
it's b een
c o v e r e d w i t h n e w const r u c t i o n .
created.
“ Kids «1»
UPPER LETT EDGE W 0Y£fl5ER - f l f t
” (Measure 38-eon)