Hypertufa
The Queen's Techniques
(click pics to enlarge)
I love
Hypertufa! The more research we did the more artistic ways I could find to
utilize this wonderfully adaptive material. Being a yard art freak, Hypertufa
was right up my alley. Cheap, natural, and fun to work with. I also love variety. My gardens have many elements in
heights, textures and colors. And lots of yard art! Did I mention hubbi
e was the
technical director at the Arkansas Arts Center Children's Theater? Lots of old
stage props now accent our wonderfully fun, colorful, backyard.
After 85 faux flagstones and a pond, it was easy to create
small accent pieces. Lord have mercy, I had already made a ton of mistakes.
Then came the planters made from old plastic bowls. Embedding old dishes into some of 'em created unique birdbaths through my flower gardens.
Being a mosaic artist, it was really cool to start
incorporating mosaic techniques into 'tufa.
Tabletops, more birdbaths,
birdhouses, butterfly puddles, mushrooms, toad abodes, and stepping-stones Then
folks started buying them!
Over the years, and many experiments, I have found using
perlite and vermiculite as the "other" aggregate (in addition to the
Portland cement and peat moss) I can create
extremely light weight pieces that
have different rock-like surface textures.
My love of color has challenged me to try a variety of methods to add
color. Whether it's paint, 
colorant, stains, or coffee grounds, I've always been
pleased with the end result. And most of the time, the end result was not
necessarily the
original vision. That, to me is the greatest asset of Hypertufa.
It ages beautifully. It changes with age and it's always cool!
Experience is always the best teacher and over the years, I
have continued to learn new applications. Now we create water fountains,
birdbaths, wonderfully unique planters and troughs, Japanese lanterns, stepping
stones, and cast leaves. And lots of mosaics!
Each time we go garage saleing; we find new uses for other folks' junk. A
fan cage becomes an armature for a water fountain,
dishes and babbles are
incorporated into hypertufa to create unusual birdbaths, and old Tupperware
becomes a mold for a planter. An old beach ball is 'tufaed to become an
incredible, lightweight sphere. While garage saleing, we even found huge
elephant ears along a curb. The homeowner had just cut 'em back. My grandson's
sand box became MINE! Ears were sand cast
everywhere! They are an absolutely
gorgeous addition to any water feature or just set in the garden with bubbling
water for the birds. The possibilities are endless. Each piece is totally hand
built. As I start the process, the piece 
takes on a life of its own. Whether
it's a birdbath or water fountain, each is totally unique, definitely a
one-of-a-kind. Garden art with artistic expression. The art of recycling!
I've always been an artist. It's wonderful to find a medium
that continuously feeds (and challenges) my passion to create.
As I became a
"teacher of 'tufa" the passion intensified. After
every class, I found I was totally up to my elbows in tufa mud for hours and
days at a time. The students and their wonderful ideas and creativity were, and
are, a continuous source of inspiration.
So I've left the corporate world. My studio space has expanded way beyond one spare bedroom. Of course, when my son and grandson moved out last year it helped. (Thank ya Lord!) Now there's a gallery in the use-to-be study. I have my own gallery, how cool is that? Another bedroom is my mailroom. Our garage is a workshop. The greenhouse doubles in the summer for a curing area. And our yard becomes a classroom on Saturday mornings. I've traded a cubicle for my garden. I look forward to each and every day that I can play in the mud.
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