HI Jannoel! I must admit I wasn't so sure about them either at first BUT could definitely see the sparkle factor in them. I think you partly have to love glass and I do love cut glass, the way the light reflects on/through it. I tend to look for pieces like that.
Then there are the colored glass totems - and personally I don't understand anyone who doesn't love cobalt blue glass hehehe That's just personal choice.
Then there are the ceramic totems which I just love and if I lived somewhere where I could find beautiful ceramic vases, bowls, ect then I make those like crazy but those things are not cheap here at all. And most are very plain with awful decoration.
You may just have to see one in person to get the full appeal of this particular type of garden bling. The wonderful thng is that you don't have to like them! And here's a confession - although I like them in other people's gardens, I would not like a bottle tree in mine. Even though I can see that they look good, I don't particularly like them. But I can understand how someone else would.
Does this answer you question - even if just a little?
Cait

Cait, what a great, politically correct answer! I sort of have the same feeling as jannoel, except that I truly believe beauty is a personal thing. So what is beautiful and wonderful to one, may not be so much the same to another. I have seen some gorgeous totems here, but I am not the least interested in making one myself. That is a personal choice. I DO really enjoy looking at all of the pictures posted here on GJ, whether it's something I'd make or not. For instance, the mosaics are astounding!!! I did try that last year and made some that were (dare I say?) attractive...........but it's just not what I love to do. That's OK. I still love to see everyone else's. The totems may (or may not) grow on you, jannoel. The creativity here is what inspires me!

I have not made a totem yet, but have been collecting for one. I agree who wouldn't love the cobalt blue! I love glass and the way the light hits it.To each his own we all have our likes and dislikes, what makes the world so interesting., as an old addage goes-- beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I love looking at all the interesting crafts and finds here. Guess ya just have to be a junker LOL

I can't say I loved the totems at first either. However, they grew on me!! I like some better than others. Love the ceramic ones. REALLY liked the pumpkin one I did for Haloween (if I may say so myself). Anything with blue is great. So many variations on what to use .

Maria

For the longest time I felt the same as you Jannoel , then they grew on me! I started to look at them as statuary. They add another dimension, bones to the flower garden, where I needed something. I can't afford to buy statuary. But these are affordable, and the "hunt" for parts is fun.

When I first started lurking around this forum, many of the glass totems looked like they were intended to evoke the figure of a woman -- with dress, waist, head ... am I remembering right?

I can't believe I am reading this right! But I must be, they are all saying basically what I think.

Except....

I don't care for totems. I made one once, and it was so pitiful, it was an embarrassment. I will never make another, although I did collect stuff for awhile. AND they are not cheap! LOL

On the other hand, I love, love bottle trees, and would have them in every available spot, if I could convince DH that we NEEDed them.

He is of the eye rolling variety sometimes. Sometimes not.
Today, he is sewing a new cover for the seat of his motorcycle. Gotta love him. LOL

Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Some folks love some things, some love others. We are free to do so, that is what counts.

Janie

"Beauty is in th eye of the beholder" - bottle trees aren't my thing either, BUT I LOVE the glimmer of glass in the sun. If I could find enough unusual cobalt bottles, I would probably try one for at least a year. That being said, I also really like the look of totems...mainly have to use glass, tho, coz can't find enough colorful pottery parts to do one around here. I think the part I like best about the glass ones is having them where they are partially hidden, only revealed when the wind blows bits of vegetation aside. Sorta like garden jewelry for me!

Pat

PS - It's also the FUN of the hunt!!

Definitely the Fun of the hunt!

I kept all the stuff I collected. I don't know what I will do with it, but maybe one day, I will do something. But I definitely had fun finding them!

Janie

Yes Cait, that does help me understand. Thanks for all your responses. I, too, enjoy seeing all the pictures of stuff being created here. I've done some hypertufa stuff but would like to try my hand at mosaics.

Jan

Hi Jan! What is there to understand? I've seen some totems I absolutely LOVE, and some that I think are down right UGLY. I've MADE some that I love and some that are down right UGLY. The challenge (and the fun) is in finding the components that work together. Not all totems are created equally, so it's not fair to lump them all together!

Kathy

I didn't get the totems at first then I started to make them and I was addicted.(-: It is true beauty is in the eye of the beholder(-: I love bottle trees and I am fortunate enough to have one of my own too(-: I think with the totems for me at least is the sparkle they give to the garden. I love it in the early morning sun(-: It is so cheerful and welcoming but thats just one persons opinion!!!

when I first found garden junk, the totems hadn't started yet..
then, one by one, they were posted and each by each got to a point of making sense.
I also thought they looked like a bunch of saucers, cups, vases and trinkets all stacked up..which is EXACTLY what they are!
the entertainment and enjoyment of them was the hunt for the pieces, the stratigically placing them in an order that was balanced, appealing and complimentary with each other piece.
some were too top heavy and needed to be redone, some were too mismatched and needed adjustment
we all had fun critiquing the pile of junk, which was the intention in the first place..lol

one that I saw that I dearly loved was probabaly the very first one and it was only one piece..it was a 'crystal' lamp base, with a glass dish epoxied to it..it was in the garden, surrounded with lots of greenery. I'll never forget it.
simple, elegant and was found at a thrift store.

the totems are correctly and most definately the opposite of an authentic Indian totem...
there's no culture to learn or live by..
just the junk gods in the yard..lol
if you find a piece that just doesn't seem to go anywhere..and then another one...soon, you just may end up with enough pieces to stack up.
much like a kid with his first building blocks.
no more, not much less..just meant to be fun and funky and a conversation 'peace' in the garden.

and the birds love to poop on them!

LOL! Yes the birds love to poop on them! I do love totems, but then I've seen some that have been really bad, and some that have been really wonderful. Like everything else...beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Be Safe, Rach

Not everyone loves everything--that's what's so great on this forum, just stick around for awhile and something you do like is bound to turn up. Just wondered if you have seen these sites. Also, have you typed in "totems" on the search box so you can check out a variety of different ones? Lots of the ladies here have created some real beauties. I love mine because they add color and sparkle in the yard even when other flowers and shrubs are not blooming. Luvs

http://www.valleyeasttoday.ca/evergreengardens/Odds/totems.htm

http://community.webshots.com/album/360554005ijWHWu

Totems can definitely reflect your individuality as a person and an artist. I collect angels, and I make angel jewelry, so my love for angels found it's way into my totem making. Hope you enjoy these although they have been posted before:
{{gwi:130424}}

{{gwi:130425}}

{{gwi:130426}}

Sharon

Oh! I looked at totems in another whole light. The first ones I saw were photos taken in the Pacific Northwest. I was charmed. They used ceramic lamp bases as the bottom piece and vases and footed tumblers the rest of the way. Of course totems here morphed into stacks of whatever anybody wanted to add.

There was a post once concerning totems as being similar to Native American totems in that they represented certain aspects of Garden Junk, stacked.

Eventually I lost interest in seeing how many glass pieces I could stack without breaking something and saw beauty in just using a ceramic lamp base as a colorful accent, ginger jars being my favorite. I still check the lamps at SA and GW and bring out my yellow ginger jars when the daffodils bloom.

Like Becky, I thought the crystal lampbase with the bowl that formed a bird bath the most elegant I ever saw. Second was the lampbases with the baskets of flowers overflowing in a slide show that somebody posted about 4-5 years ago.

Nell

I have very few pictures of my totems, but I'm willing to share them.

Be Safe, Rach

Here is a link that might be useful: photo bucket

OMG Sharon..I must have missed the first time you posted your crystal angel totems....they are so beautiful. Love the first one especially...whew! outstanding.
Lillian

Thanks Lillian, they all went to very special friends.

Sharon

Rach ~

Can you tell me what you use to glue the glass pieces together in your totems. By the way, they are awesome! As for understanding totems, I don't think it's a question of understanding but of enjoying their sparkle and shine and knowing that they will make my garden different from anyone else's in the neighborhood with their uniqueness.

Thank you,

Suzee
topiaryrose@yahoo.com

Suzee, Thank you. I use GE Silicone II clear. For me it works better than anything else I've tried.

Be Safe, Rach

Katlady,Those are beautiful.
I love the way the sunshine sparkles on the faceted pieces I have in my gardens. Then I have some with colored glass that are beautiful against a snowy blanket. Then some are cool with snow sitting on them. I get a lot of compliments on mine as I leave them out year around. I have also made some that are very servicable as plant stands and small tables or even as a freestanding vase.
Aline

Sharon thanks so much for posting those again. I had forgotten about them and they are really stunning.
And Rach, thank you for posting your album. The Teddy Bear totem is just too adorable!
Cait

I wasn't too crazy about them either until I saw the one with the bright ceramic fish on the top - fell in love. Eventually I found a colorful fish mug to make my own miniature version. It is only about 18 inches high, in a corner behind some plants - I have hens and chickens in it.

I just have to jump in!!! Making totems has been so much fun for me. I love the hunt for the items I use. I love matching the colors and the glass. I love making them big and small and in between. But mostly I like selling them! I have sold them for as high as $60! The difference with mine are...I call them BIRD FEEDERS and CANDY DISHES! Maybe you will get that concept? So either in the garden or in the house there is a purpose...to my fun! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v119/Punkart/100_0847.jpgmspunkyjunky

Like Inukshuks..they are an expression using available materials. My daughter built this one in Peru (She didn't feel like climbing the glacier that day)

{{gwi:130427}}

And mine, built out of solidified cement bags and construction rubble unearthed when we built a new fence.

{{gwi:130428}}

to each his own. Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't.

I too didn't understand them a year ago when I first saw them.... but seeing them this year was a new beginning... I can't explain it - but I have to make one... in fact I am gathering all of my glass now - I hope they turn out as pretty as some I have seen...

I started mosaicing some clay pots I had and began to see a totem. Assured DH that "this is the only totem I am making"...then... I was in local thrift stores and all of a sudden.... THE LIGHT CAME ON!!! I've been gluing and creating all week! Can't wait to post pics. I will put them in various places in my backyard gardens I've been creating ever since I found ya'll. I'm really proud of them 'cos I've never been very creative. All of your pics gave me ideas when I saw all of the stuff in the thrift stores. Thanks all, Jeanette from Mississippi

I have been a member here for about 5 years, and in that time I have posted maybe half a dozen times. I am almost a daily visitor. The creativity and the amazing amount of work here just blows me away. While I will admit that everyone's taste is not the same, that is the appeal to me. I can do what I can do, and I can see what I can see. I come to see what other people do and what other people see.

I have some things in my garden that most folks might not find beautiful. I have a rose planted in a rusty old blue canner on my back porch, and I have a geranium planted in a chamber pot. (I also have a cement chicken, but that's a differnt story)

I love all your things. If I want to steal your ideas (and I have: tipsy pots, ladders, et al) I do. If not, I simply look and enjoy, and do not critique what you have worked so hard to make, and get so much enjoyment from.
Thank you for so many years of wonderful enjoyment.

I love those rock totems created by wendy2shoes and her daughter. I love most totems but those are extra interesting to me.