Behind the scenes
How I make these
Every Garden Girl NC bird starts as a drawing and ends up on a stick or a hook, and every step in between happens by hand in my basement studio in Boone. Here's the fly-by.
Step 1
Draw the bird
Every bird starts as a hand-drawn silhouette, sized against the real bird and the pots and trees it will live in. I still have the originals. The cardinal and the chickadee came first, in 2020, and the rest of the flock followed one at a time.
Step 2
Sculpt the model in clay
Using the drawing, I sculpt each bird in clay. These are the original models the first silicone molds were poured from, and every bird of that kind still carries their shape.
Step 3
Pour the silicone molds
My least favorite step, honestly. Silicone is fickle: mix it a little off or let it set wrong and it turns gooey and the whole pour is lost. It's also the most expensive material in the process, and every new mold ties up finished birds for at least 24 hours while it cures, since the birds themselves are the models. Then each cavity gets cut out by hand with a razor. So this is the part where I slow down and pay attention.
Step 4
Bird-makin' time
Clear resin and each color get weighed, mixed and poured into the molds, usually between 9 pm and midnight. A quick pass with the heat gun pops the bubbles before it sets. No two pours come out the same, which is the point.
Step 5
Out of the mold
About 24 hours later the birds are ready to be plucked from the molds. This is the moment I find out what the pour did, and no two trays are ever the same.
Step 6
The Dremel phase
Every bird comes out of the mold with a sharp edge, so each one gets ground smooth, keeping the curves, then a bath and a towel-off. Then the Dremel comes back out to drill: a hole for the stake, or a hole for the hook if it's headed for a tree. Same bird, different job.
Step 7
Seal and fasten
A clear coat of acrylic over the edges I ground, then the stake or the ornament hook goes in for good.
Step 8
Tag and go
Last step is the tag, and then they migrate across the country and into your garden.