Garden Notes

Silent Warrier, an abstract sculpture created by Dennis Schreiner

I have always thought that sculpture was the perfect garden accessory. It gives your eye a place to rest and it adds a nice whimsical touch. My personal preference is for large sculptures, which of course can be pricey. I am very lucky to have a brother who is also a sculptor. His name is Dennis Schreiner and his compositions are mostly large and are created by welding sections of iron together to fit his vision. I have quite a few of his creations scattered throughout my yard and have been very grateful for the “family discount”.

His sculptures run from the abstract to somewhat representational pieces. He also does custom work — albeit his interpretation of your idea. One of my sculptures started out with my requesting a large figurative piece (ala Alberto Giacometti or Henry Moore). I even brought photos of some of their sculptures to demonstrate what I had in mind. We had a nice visit and he went home to get started. I was very excited when he finally said he was working on a great idea but disappointed that I was not allowed to see the work in progress.

A few weeks later he called to say the new sculpture was finished but it was pretty big and we should probably bring the truck. When we arrived at his home, he led us into the garage to meet the “Garden Broads”.

That sculpture consisted of 3 dancing women about 6 foot tall who were made of iron dancing in a circle as if they are celebrating. I loved it! We installed the “Garden Broads” in our front yard and I still get comments from people walking by that our big sculpture just looks happy.

I am now trying to convince my brother to try making a “wind sculpture”. I would love a large figurative piece in the front yard that somehow reacts to the wind and am hoping that he will have a creative urge one day and decide to make one.

The sculptures located on the left are titled “Garden Broads,” “Cattail Birdbath,” and “Abstract Cattails” respectively.