Join us November 17th

Our speakers will be Suzanne Singer-Alvarez and Heather Floyd on "Garden Art"!

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Suzanne Singer-Alvarez was born in Portland Oregon and raised in Mcminnville Oregon.

She attended Mt Hood Community College for a year and then switched to Oregon College of Education for one year.  Suzanne thought she wanted to teach art but realized after a challenging year at OCE, that she was more ‘crafty’ and not actually cut out to teach Art.  One of the 5 major art assignments her first Semester was a leaded stained glass window.  She had never touched a glass cutter or soldering iron before, but managed to teach herself how to use both and ended up with a nice finished product.  Though difficult, this project opened her up to new possibilities.  A few years later she focused on stained glass and made dozens of windows, mirrors , boxes etc, but at her own pace and without deadlines or grades to worry about!

Suzanne transferred to University of Oregon and graduated with a Recreation Park Management/Business degree and headed straight to Alaska a week after graduation.  She lived in Kenai until about 1997 and then moved to Homer.  Suzanne worked in construction as a laborer and then heavy equipment operator for 23 years until 2007 when she retired.  After 25 years of working long hours, she was finally able to enjoy her summers.  So often having been away from home, she was thrilled to be able to garden, participate in theater and choir, and….return to her love of crafts.

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Suzanne will explain the process of making pavers, birdbaths and a variety of garden art using concrete. She will share some techniques and also the products she uses that seem to get the best results.  There are a lot of different stains and sealers out there and it has taken a lot of trial and error to find the ones she is happy with.

Heather Floyd was born and raised in Ohio. She studied Fine Arts and received a BA in Art History from the University of Cincinnati. There, she was introduced to blacksmithing, metalworking and the process of
shaping ideas through sculpture.  She moved to Alaska in 2001. After a long focus in the practical art of

homebuilding her energies moved back into the creative realm. In 2015, she opened Makelift Studio. She designs and creates art, goods and furniture for the home and garden.  Heather will give a presentation featuring her garden art. Her sculptures bring color, movement and sound to your garden.
 

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