Garden Totem Workshop at GardenologyKC

The garden totem workshop at GardenologyKC was so much fun. The girls began bringing in their glass pieces for the class and I knew we were going to make some really great pieces with them.

The secret to totems is finding one or two pieces that you just love and adding a few additional elements that showcase your favorites.

The glass pieces used in the workshop were different in theme and color. So many people ask, "What is a garden totem"? It can be so many different things but basically it is a sculpture that can rest on the ground or be placed on a stake so that it can be seen above the flowers. We call it a totem because it resembles the traditional totem pole. It can be made of glass, metal, or a combination of the two.

Here are some of the creations from our most recent workshop.


This is Kelly with one of her creations made of antique bottles that her husband found and discarded due to chips, etc. Kelly put them to use as art for her garden in the workshop. Her totem was made entirely of found objects that her husband had given her from his collection.This totem is inverted with the bottle that the stake will slide into on top. I took this photo while it was in the drying stage.

This is the other garden totem that Kelly made during the workshop again using a cobalt blue bottle, but adding a globe with a figurine inside with marbles. It reminded us of a snowglobe. We attached the white glass vase for the garden stake to slide into in the garden.
The fruit jar in the photo was only used to stabilize the piece while it was in the drying stage. It was not part of the finished totem.

Logan made a totem out of green glass with a depression glass juice glass on top. I remember seeing these when I was a little girl. The totem is designed to rest on the ground.

Jessica built her totem using a bottle she had purchased on vacation featuring an ocean theme. She added a beautiful blue glass pitcher and votive on top for a tealight candle. Jessica's totem was also designed to sit on the ground.
A close up of Kelly's figurine inside the globe.
Close up of the beautiful cobalt blue bottle she used in the totem. I love this color!

Another angle of Jessica's totem in white and blue.

So many things appeal to me with this project it involves repurposing, sculpture, purchasing things from Goodwill and Salvation Army stores that help those in need and it's alot of fun to do.

I didn't get a good shot of Sandy's totem, but it was made of clear glass with different patterns that will catch the light in a marvelous way. Sandy's totem was made mostly of discarded glasses that she found at a local thrift shop and was over 2 feet tall when finished. Maybe Sandy will share a photo of her totem in her garden. >