#MediaMonday – Mike Atkinson
In perhaps the most surprising conversation I have had in recent memory, in my last conversation with Mike Atkinson, president and CEO of Arizona Big Media, we ended up talking our backyard, and how much cooler his is then mine.
I know, random.
But, in addition to putting out Az Business Magazine, Scottsdale Living Magazine, Experience Az, Play Ball, AZRE Magazine, Ranking Arizona, Az Business Leaders, and I am sure some others that I am missing, Mike is also quite the avid backyard artist.
Don’t believe me – check out his backyard (left) and here from him youself in today’s #MediaMonday.
Mike – take it away!
Gardening is one of my new passions.
About eight years ago after my home was built, I decided to do all the landscaping myself. I found it very calming.
I created a “path” that meandered around my property. And then kept on creating…and creating…and creating…
There are now more than 50 different species of cactus and succulents living around my home as part of my personal backyard art paradise. And I didn’t stop there, as you can see.
When I first started this gardening project, I amassed many types of ceramic, steel, plastic, pots, as many of us do while honing our green thumbs.
Also as often happens, all of these extra pots piled up in one area of the yard. One day, while looking at them piled and stacked up in different ways, I thought that if I could assemble them on top of each other it might look like funky “Garden Art.”
Just one piece hooked me! Today, I enjoy taking objects that people toss away…looking at them a bit differently than their original use and then recycling them into art if I can.
The first ones were just made out of different types of ceramic pots; the newer ones now function as “Bird-Feeders” mixed in with the original art concept. Each one stands about seven to 10 feet tall, set in the ground using concrete, and each one is secured by a one inch steel rebar that runs through all of the objects. Needless to say…they are all built to last.
I’m also a painter …but that’s a whole other story for another edition.
