AD SPACE

One crafty lady


Mavis Gonshorowski
When birds are flying overhead and looking for a place to do a little of the “splish-splash” in Greenbush, there is one place they should put on their lists of places to stop.
Nestled in among brightly-colored varieties of flowers swaying to and fro in the gentle summer breeze are bird baths, very special ones...ones made with rhubarb leaves.
These bird baths would make any bird think they had “died and gone to Heaven”!
The woman behind these crafty works of art is Greenbush resident Arlene Jenson.
“It takes a lot of work, time and patience but I just love making them,” she said.
The project begins by picking the rhubarb which shouldn’t be done until one is ready to make the bird bath. The size of the rhubarb leaf determines the size of the bird bath.
“Some prefer to use them as bird feeders,” Arlene said.
Along with the rhubarb leaf, some of the supplies one will want to have on hand is sand, any type of plastic sheeting, Quick Crete, burlap bags, cement sealer and paint.
The first step is making a mound out of sand and covering it with plastic. The leaf is then placed face-down on the plastic.
Quick Crete, which is a cement that is mixed with water, is placed over the rhubarb leaf.
“Make sure the Quick Crete is of an even-thickness and push it out to the edges of the leaves,” Arlene suggested. “If the crete is too thin around the edges, they will break off.”
Place plastic over the concrete and let it set up for 48 hours. Place a wet burlap bag over the plastic while it’s drying; it will dry more evenly.
Once the drying process has been completed, carefully turn the leaf over and let it cure in the sun for a couple of days.
“Be sure to pick it up from underneath, not the sides,” advised Arlene.
Now comes time to separate the rhubarb leaf from the cement.
Arlene commented, “The trick is to get the veins of the leaf out because they are embedded in the cement. Wetting the leaf makes it easier for removal. This tends to be very time-consuming.”
The next step is to seal it with cement sealer.
After that comes the application of paint. Acrylic paint, in which water and paint are mixed together, can be used and be brushed on three or four times. Or, one can use krylon spray paint. The method used depends on the colors one prefers.
“To get the veins of the rhubarb leaf to show up, I use a very tiny paint brush and red paint,” Arlene stated. “High lites are added using gold paint. I then add the finishing touch by brushing on polyurethane.”
The large-leaf bird bath can be put on a pedestal or placed on the ground.
The ones from smaller leaves, when the crete is still wet, can have wires inserted on the backside and used for hanging.
To see someone out in their garden pulling up rhubarb is a common sight. But “saving the leaves for the birds?”...what won’t they think of next!
Showy unique gazing balls also adorn her flower gardens, another of Arlene’s artistic abilities.
Articles needed for this project are bowling balls, glass beads which are flat on one side, any size, any color, and clear silicone caulking.
“Take a regular bowling ball, clean it good, apply the clear silicone caulking and place the glass beads, flat side to the ball, in the caulking The caulking will dry clear. Don’t cover the holes; place the ball with the holes down. That’s all there’s to it,” Arlene said with a smile.
The Jenson’s neighbor LeRoy Omdahl frequents auctions sales and this turns out to be a perfect place to get used bowling balls. From there, they end up in Arlene’s domain.
“I like to keep busy,” she said.
And the “proof is in the pudding”. The various projects that keep her occupied clearly show she is not a woman with idle hands!

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