Threads 9: A basket snowman and birds for MERA outdoor exhibition

Following a recent visit to the National Art Gallery with my daughter,  I was inspired to suggest to the Mera Schoolhouse that we should have an outdoor art exhibition. She suggested the name ‘Unusual art for Unusual times’;

Having just collected a wonderful pile of grapevine, I decided to make a giant snowman. I actually made five balls, going from large to small, and used the small one to make a hat! It is completely made of grapevine, except the red buttons that are red dogwood, and sumac berries were used for the nose and mouth.

An 8 ft long metal rod holds him up. He won’t melt away on a warm sunny day, and now I’m looking forward to seeing him covered with snow!

I got a bit carried away during the beautiful sunny week we had and made several birds to hang on the schoolhouse wall 

The outdoor exhibition at MERA was a great success. We had 16 artists exhibiting, two installations, baskets,  wood sculptures and many paintings. The weather was sunny and the event was well attended. A great way to cheer us up, and see friends, we wore masks and forgot about Covid 19.

Next week, I will describe how to make a grapevine ball.