On the 17 month anniversary of my front and backyard installations living outside, I thought I'd post an update. All summer, for the second year in a row, my fall blooming clematis grew on my backyard installation. Below you can see it just about hidden, and above in full view.
With the OK of a friend who is a much better gardener than I will ever be, I trimmed it back so it wasn't blanketing the whole piece because I wanted to know what it looked like under all of the vines and leaves. Being knowledgable about how my work does in nature is crucial as I investigate more outside opportunities, especially after installing a 35' piece last month.
Above is the piece in my front yard which is also doing quite well, and below are details of a few "problem" areas of both pieces. Before you read about them, please note two things:
One is that the stiffened fabric is especially stiff. It feels quite paper-like though it is coated fabric.
Two is that outdoor work is subject to many different weather and seasonal conditions, all depending on where they are located, including climate and weather conditions.
In our yard is a number of sculptures that we acquired by other artists, that have also been affected by nature. Three are made out of screen, two are various metals and one is made out of lead. The metal and screen pieces are dull and some are rusting, and the lead piece is almost totally eaten by neighborhood squirrels. (Click here if you want some explanations about why.)
The piece in the backyard has a little dirt on it from the clematis, but amazingly it's minor and I think will wash off the next rainy day.
The bottom corner has a little algae on it on both the front and back sides. Above is a picture of the back side. It appears to be on the surface of the piece, and I think I could wash it off with a little watered down bleach but I don't think I want to do that at this time.
This detail of the front yard piece shows a little rust from the iron plumbing pipes that are in a few small sections. Other than that, the only nature this one has that affects it is a little sun, since most of the year it's under a Maple tree, and plowed snow because it's only a foot or so away from the street.
