The idea for Primitiva Pottery and Tile's garden totems started out with the inspirations of bamboo and cacti, plants that co-existed in my childhood garden. Artistic license created my version of whimsical, primeval tropical and desert plants. I now have three groups of garden totems: whimsical garden totems, bamboo totems, and cacti totems.   

The garden totems are best left to me to compose for a particular setting or with guidelines on height, color, and types of segments and disks that one likes best. (I would be willing to ship someone boxes of parts to compose themselves, but it is not as easy at it looks.) I often try several different arrangements to arrive at a unique personality of a totem or group of totems that support its 'crowning glory,' and future home. 

  All of my totems are winter hardy for gardening zones 7 or warmer.  They withstand Washington state winters, year after year.

 Garden Totems

Primitiva Pottery and Tile's whimsical garden totems were intended to watch over the garden. Each segments can also symbolize relevant stories for the individual for whom they are made. These totems are the most elaborate of the three types I make, sometimes using over 20 segments and disks. I love making each part and coming up with new vignettes for the post sections.

Originally, the totem tops ended abruptly. Once I added some 'crowning glories' to them, the posts wouldn't have it any other way. Atop the totems, carnivorous plant inspired crowns, nesting fantastical birds (must have fantastical eggs), and seed pods with a twist of science fiction adorn them. With their 'crowns,' each totem takes on its whimsical personality.

A single garden totem creates quite an impact in the garden.  In the winter it stands alone in the garden providing color during hibernation of perennials. Once spring arrives, the garden totem still makes a statement without stealing the show from the plants surrounding them. The totems are stunning in a group. A group of them evokes the whimsical primeval forest. If placed close to one another, I suggest varying their heights and leaving some without crowning glories. 

The whimsical garden totems are made of terracotta clay with some porcelain. This gives me some variation in color effects. The segments and disks are combinations of guava, raspberry, papaya, wisteria, and kiwi inspired colors. Occasionally, I add blue pieces.

  Bamboo Totems

The bamboo totems are the simplest and most subtle form of my totems. They are truest to my initial concept. They are composed of white stoneware clay glazed in light coats of muted earthen sand colors in satin finishes. They can be composed to any height, but they tend to be shorter than the whimsical totems at three to five feet. They look best in clusters of at least three and at least three different colors.

The bamboo totems are easy to install with a rebar post, pvc pipe, metal conduit pipe, and even bamboo stakes.

  Cacti Totems

Primitiva Pottery and Tile introduced the cacti totems in the summer of 2008 following an inspiring trip to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona in the spring. Family members and friends who collected some of the more unusual cacti and succulents as I grew up contributed to these forms that have incubated in my mind over the years. 

Cacti present some fantastical forms. They naturally juxtapose suprising contrasts of texture and color between segments and flowers. I compose these totems with white stoneware clay. Variegated matte and satin finish colors punctuated with bright, shiny flowers add life and personality to these garden  cacti totem forms. They are the shortest of my totems and are one to three feet tall. 

The cacti totems look best in clusters of at least three forms of varying heights. Increasing the number of totems in a cluster changes the nature and impact of this garden sculpture, One can vary the colors amongst a cluster, but a cluster composed of the same color with contrasting flowers makes a statement.

© 2009 Maria P. P. Root, all rights reserved.