Lawn art makes a yard pop

Weeding, trimming and mowing are all important basic steps to making a lawn look great. But nothing really adds that spark to a yard like a piece of lawn art.

And the world of art for the yard is as vast as America itself, from old-fashioned lawn jockeys and kitschy plastic pink flamingos to sculptures that can run in the thousands of dollars.

Artist Dorothy Frankel of Sag Harbor makes her living by creating sculptures that have not only made their way into high-end art galleries but many people’s front and back yards.

During a recent interview, the New York City native said she moved to Sag Harbor 30 years ago and immediately became entranced with her new, bucolic surroundings. Once she got over the novelty of having an actual grassy lawn, she said she began thinking about what intriguing things could be placed in her yard to enhance the natural atmosphere.

“I began with birdbaths and fountains, anything for the animals that live out here,” said Ms. Frankel, who is an animal rights activist. “I just started feeding the birds and all the animals that come through ... And a friend told me, ‘Well, if you’re going to do that, you should really have water,’ and that’s how it started.”

Ms. Frankel said she began creating her own birdbaths and animal feeders, and then shortly thereafter, she began making sculptures of the animals she loved. “It started with actual trees, making forms to look like deer,” Ms. Frankel said. “And from that I shifted my medium to clay, and from that I made all kinds of things.”

Her pieces run the gamut from the natural to the abstract. Ms. Frankel’s artwork also ranges from clay to steel and bronze sculptures, sometimes mixing the mediums together. The work spans from small simple items to towering monuments.

Some of the artist’s favorite pieces are uncomplicated, organic-looking circles suspended in the air. Another sculpture includes an inconceivable flower of glass and metal that seems to be growing from the ground. Other sculptures depict lifelike cats and dogs leisurely lounging in the grass.

Ms. Frankel said inspiration for her art—she has approximately 50 sculptures on view at her home—is as varied as the works themselves. These days, she said she often finds a muse in her dog, Billy, a rescued mixed breed, which she takes for long walks along local beaches.

When it comes to choosing lawn art that’s appropriate for any home or yard, Bridgehampton-based architect Preston Phillips said people should keep three basic factors in mind; price, location of the artwork, and above all, personal taste.

Mr. Phillips said that lawn art should bring joy to its owner. He noted that just as with any piece of art, lawn art should appeal to what makes the art purchaser happy.

Mr. Phillips noted that his Bridgehampton home is all modern architecture, yet he chose a classical piece—a statue of a naked, male ballet dancer created by famed American sculptor/painter Lowell Nesbitt—as the centerpiece for his lawn, which coexists beautifully with the avant-garde structure he calls home.

Blending different architectural or design styles is perfectly acceptable, according to Mr. Phillips, as long as the owner uses pieces that he or she loves.

“I have a painting of [Mr. Nesbitt’s] as well, of an iris, which is one of my favorite flowers that I remember growing up in Alabama from my grandmother’s garden,” Mr. Phillips said. “It’s not modern, but it makes me happy and fits in my home.”

Mr. Phillips noted that purchasing outdoor sculptures is often a more strenuous task for his clients than picking out indoor artwork. He said that the hefty price of high-end lawn sculpture often leaves people feeling overwhelmed by the choice.

“But I find outdoor sculpture really being sort of a touchstone for landscape, even in the winter,” Mr. Phillips said. “Adding to the exterior of a building can enhance the interior, especially when there is a visual relationship.

“It’s really more about the personality of the client, and where they want to put things and what fits where,” he said. “And it’s really all about the environment you’re putting them in and what it is that pleases you when you look at it.”

Though some prefer their lawn art to be expensive “important” sculptural works, others prefer kitschy collectables or religious paraphernalia when it comes to making an outdoor statement. Popular lawn art items include garden gnomes, hand-carved Buddhas, or depictions of St. Mary praying.

And for those who are interested in giant unusual lawn art, such as a 15-foot-tall, life-sized dinosaur raptor, horses rearing up or goddess-like naked women pouring endless alluring gallons of water from a seemingly bottomless jug? The only answer on the East End is Yesterday’s Treasures.

The store has two locations—on Montauk Highway in Westhampton Beach and County Road 39 in Southampton—but also does a brisk online business, according to owner Larry Schaefer. A professional graphic artist by trade, Mr. Schaefer said he decided to take his experience as an artist and pour his passion into finding and selling hundreds of varieties of statuary and sculpture.

Mr. Schaefer created many of the quirky statues he sells himself. His designs are then made into reality by an overseas fiberglass manufacturing facility and shipped back to the East End for sale.

There is currently a high demand for sheep he has designed that are similar to the claymation “counting” sheep created for Serta Mattress television commercials, Mr. Schaefer reported. “I’m making hundreds, if not thousands of those little sheep,” he said.

Mr. Schaefer said that in addition to choosing among thousands of ready-made items for sale at his stores, patrons may also purchase items made to order. The artist said that custom orders may not be as expensive as some might think.

“If it’s a custom design, it’s one thing, but if it’s a derivation of something that’s already been made, we can accommodate—and make it reasonably,” Mr. Schaefer said, noting that prefab fiberglass sculptures of cows often get minor modifications, such as having them wear a sombrero, to make them more appropriate to be placed outside a Mexican restaurant.

“The normal cow, which is somewhere in the area of $1,000, we can put a cowboy hat on, or a baseball cap, or what have you. And all of that is doable for not much more money,” he said.

Like Ms. Frankel, Mr. Schaefer’s sculptures run the gamut in terms of price range. A pair of 12-foot-tall marble lions at Yesterday’s Treasures retails for $40,000.

“Of course, being a businessman, I would never say $40,000,” Mr. Schaefer said with tongue in cheek. “We’re a discount outlet, so it’s really $39,999 for the matched pair.”

Not all lawn sculptures need be permanent fixtures, either, Mr. Schaefer said. He noted that he does a fair amount of temporary “lending” business, especially during the summer benefit season.

Mr. Schaefer said that nothing else makes a statement like a well-placed piece of outdoor sculpture. “Our statuary makes a very nice entrance to some of these tented events,” Mr. Schaefer added. “There’s nothing like seeing a pair of horses rearing up at the entrance of, say, a benefit horse show.”