There is a boat permanently moored and half-destroyed in the yard and a metal tree snaking up the side of the chimney. Standing on the front porch is a metal man sawing on the fiddle and in the back yard are Japanese faces painted on side sections of cut logs, propped among the bushes and glaring down.
The Benavidez property is anything but typical; David and Carolyn have made it a reflection of themselves.
“We can’t help but make it ours,” Carolyn says of her unique yard and its decorations. “We love sculpture, and in a way our home is an extension of that.”
All over the yard and within the house are things taken from nature and incorporated artistically in the design and layout of the Benavidez living space.
“We like to take things from nature and put our touch on it,” Carolyn, who has been living with her husband in Colton for the past nine years, says.
One such piece is a rock, about the size of a misshapen basketball that sits on a pedestal on the way to the front door. It is a rock that they found beside a lake in their travels through Canada.
“If you want to talk about adventure, talk about bringing that rock out of there in a little CB plane,” Carolyn says. “It is special in its formation, and it doesn’t look like it weighs much, but that thing must be over 100 pounds.”
David is an artist and a professional arborist while Carolyn focuses solely on art and occasionally shows her work at the Indigo Gallery in Joseph, Oregon. She grew up in Oregon City, and has been practicing art for 50 years, although recently she has slowed down a little.
“I have been kind of on sabbatical for nine years,” Carolyn says.
Many of the features on the Benavidez property are creations of their own, but some are pieces from others.
“We sometimes trade with other artists,” Carolyn says.
One of the most distinctive aspects of the Benavidez yard is the large sardine boat that sits perched on a shallow grassy mound next to the front driveway. The large boat has its backside crumpled in a splintering of wooden planks jutting out in various stages of rot and decay.
“We saw the boat on a trip once and brought it back because we were going to repair it,” Carolyn says. “We never got around to it. We have kind of enjoyed watching it fall apart slowly. We will have to have a little marshmallow roast if we ever decide to burn it down.”
Letting their living space be molded and shaped by the processes of the natural world around them—like letting a boat rot away in their front yard and using fallen limbs in art work—is something that has shaped the progression of their yard decoration and landscape.
“I love to recycle what nature gives us,” Carolyn says.
Even when nature has not given them something to work with, its inspiration is enough. Coursing its way up the chimney in the side of the house is a metallic tree that David worked on for about a month. It starts with a root system and goes all of the way up into branches with a quarter moon sitting on top—all done in Cor-Ten, or weathering, steel. It is a type of metal that changes color without losing structural integrity due to the rusting process.
With things like a boat rotting in the yard and a metal tree clinging to the chimney, the Benavidez house is not a run of the mill place, it is an extension of David and Carolyn’s creativity and they would not have it any other way.
"We enjoy it, and people enjoy coming over,” Carolyn says.
The love you give comes back in the end.
--------------------------------------------------------
The Benavidez property is anything but typical; David and Carolyn have made it a reflection of themselves.
“We can’t help but make it ours,” Carolyn says of her unique yard and its decorations. “We love sculpture, and in a way our home is an extension of that.”
All over the yard and within the house are things taken from nature and incorporated artistically in the design and layout of the Benavidez living space.
“We like to take things from nature and put our touch on it,” Carolyn, who has been living with her husband in Colton for the past nine years, says.
One such piece is a rock, about the size of a misshapen basketball that sits on a pedestal on the way to the front door. It is a rock that they found beside a lake in their travels through Canada.
“If you want to talk about adventure, talk about bringing that rock out of there in a little CB plane,” Carolyn says. “It is special in its formation, and it doesn’t look like it weighs much, but that thing must be over 100 pounds.”
David is an artist and a professional arborist while Carolyn focuses solely on art and occasionally shows her work at the Indigo Gallery in Joseph, Oregon. She grew up in Oregon City, and has been practicing art for 50 years, although recently she has slowed down a little.
“I have been kind of on sabbatical for nine years,” Carolyn says.
Many of the features on the Benavidez property are creations of their own, but some are pieces from others.
“We sometimes trade with other artists,” Carolyn says.
One of the most distinctive aspects of the Benavidez yard is the large sardine boat that sits perched on a shallow grassy mound next to the front driveway. The large boat has its backside crumpled in a splintering of wooden planks jutting out in various stages of rot and decay.
“We saw the boat on a trip once and brought it back because we were going to repair it,” Carolyn says. “We never got around to it. We have kind of enjoyed watching it fall apart slowly. We will have to have a little marshmallow roast if we ever decide to burn it down.”
Letting their living space be molded and shaped by the processes of the natural world around them—like letting a boat rot away in their front yard and using fallen limbs in art work—is something that has shaped the progression of their yard decoration and landscape.
“I love to recycle what nature gives us,” Carolyn says.
Even when nature has not given them something to work with, its inspiration is enough. Coursing its way up the chimney in the side of the house is a metallic tree that David worked on for about a month. It starts with a root system and goes all of the way up into branches with a quarter moon sitting on top—all done in Cor-Ten, or weathering, steel. It is a type of metal that changes color without losing structural integrity due to the rusting process.
With things like a boat rotting in the yard and a metal tree clinging to the chimney, the Benavidez house is not a run of the mill place, it is an extension of David and Carolyn’s creativity and they would not have it any other way.
"We enjoy it, and people enjoy coming over,” Carolyn says.
The love you give comes back in the end.
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