Recycle. Reuse. Rejoice. You earn double points when you repurpose an object and make it into an art object. Score triple points by placing the recycled item in a public place, for others to enjoy.
Such was the case for a whimsical Friends of the Parks project, installed on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. During the May FOP meeting, Morrison Garden Club member Diane Garcia offered a presentation and images “close to what we have” created, stated Friends of the Parks member Bob Brandon. “It isn’t unique; it’s a total copy,” he said. “All I had [to help design the items] were photos Diane had.” Six cans of acrylic spray paint were donated by the Garden Club.
He estimated the fabrications” took three weeks.”
Two, whimsical bouquets now flank the entrance to the corner of U. S. Route 30 and IL Highway 78, Morrison, IL. Brandon crafted multicolored blossoms from a variety of wheels, “that were hanging in my garage or in a pile.” He “had to gut the bearings out of them, so don’t try to spin them.” These flowers will not spin in the wind like a whirligig.
The stems are made of “1/2-inch galvanized steel conduit. Brandon sprayed them yellow, then dusted them with green paint. He use scrap parts and ingenuity to make the leaves. Some were cut from thin aluminum sheets, old plates used for printing. Four were blades from an old fan. A sheet metal screw secured each leaf to the stem.
From his wealth of items, Brandon “contributed axle-type pieces; threaded rod; a half-dozen small diameter bolts.”
Originally, FOP member Stan Mitick donated two English racing bikes to be painted. Brandon could not bring himself to paint them. At a garage sale, he purchased “two, 30-year-old Huffy bikes for $6.50 each. I took them to the car wash and cleaned off years of dust.” Between the florals stand the standard-sized bicycles, which he spray-painted. The boy’s bike is Robin’s egg blue, and the girl’s is rosy pink.
By Thursday, June 8, Garden Club members had filled the baskets with real flowers.
Brandon said, “This is a temporary exhibit.” He mused the pieces might be sold after they are dismantled. Or they could be stored and installed next year along the Morrison-Rockwood Recreational Trail.
Barb Benson, FOP member, took this photo when the blossoms and bikes were installed. Left-to-right are Glenn Ackeburg, Phil Benson, Chuck Finley, and craftsman Bob Brandon.
