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A Gallery in Your Garden

Dress up a bland winter garden with an outdoor sculpture and watch your garden grow to love art.

Article Image Perusing a garden can be a rather uninspiring experience in the winter. Trees and plants, mere skeletons of their former selves, have been pruned back to withstand the weather leaving a lackluster landscape.

Get creative! Add a life-sized bronze animal sculpture or an abstract mixed-media piece to create a theme or a focal point in a winter garden and add life to an otherwise uninspired environment.

Sculptures made from bronze and stone typically work well outdoors as they weather both rainy and sunny conditions. In fact, some even get better when interacting with the environment. Ron Lahey, owner of Lawrence Gallery in Gleneden Beach says that the effect of the elements on an art piece can be "a good thing" and he recommends that you "let the piece do its thing naturally in the elements." The subtle effects of nature over time act in synergistic cooperation with the piece creating an entirely unique work of art.

If you prefer to keep the metal's original look and color, experts suggest preventing further oxidation by lacquering or waxing the sculpture twice a year with a neutral shoe polish to create an oxygen barrier against the elements.

Many galleries on the coast feature art that is perfectly suitable for the outdoors and all of them offer expert advice when it's time to choose that perfect piece for your garden or landscape. - by Veronica Russell

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