Few elements are as ubiquitous or as essential as water, or as appealing for the soothing sights and sounds with which it enhances our environment. Fountains are the ideal way to incorporate water's magic into our homes and gardens, and the fountain maker becomes something of an illusionist, striving emulate nature and to conceal the mechanics that make the perpetual flow of water possible.

Dorcas Adkins is certainly a magician when it comes to fountain design. Her wizardry encompasses bamboo, wood, ceramic, concrete, stone, and metal creations, from small tabletop delights to full-sized garden waterfalls. Her extremely thorough and well-diagrammed instructions make even the most complex projects approachable--and some of them are indeed fairly complex, involving woodworking skills, plaster and concrete casting, ceramic modeling, soldering, or rigging an existing sculpture. But the results are well worth the effort, yielding Zen-like arrangements in which water trickles over a miniature bonsai garden, through bamboo piping, or into a rustic stone trough filled with water lilies; or more traditional Western constructions such as a ewer-toting cherub, a shell-and-stone-and-tile mosaic, or various spouting faces.

Beginners or those seeking smaller-scale productions are best off starting with a more basic approach, like Dawn Cusick's Tabletop Fountains. But for the more adventurous fountaineers, it's hard to beat Adkins's presentation, which also helpfully includes a list of mail-order suppliers and a useful at-a-glance guide to finding general materials, from antique tubs to pond liners to wooden barrels. --Amy Handy


Book Description
Everything readers need to know to create elegant, soothing water fountains. Easy-to-follow instructions explain choosing and installing pumps and constructing fountains.


From the Publisher
Recipient of the 2000 Benjamin Franklin Award for Crafts/Hobbies/How-To.


From the Back Cover
Bring home the soothing sounds of water
The endless murmur and flow of a bubbling fountain adds a touch of elegance to both homes and gardens. Now, fountain designer and manufacturer Dorcas Adkins reveals her trade secrets for making 20 creative fountains-from a small, tabletop fountain put together without a single tool to a dramatic outdoor spouting wall fountain or a full-sized waterfall-and at far less cost than for those found in upscale catalogs. Step by step, Simple Fountains for Indoors & Outdoors explains everything you need to know. Projects include:
--Tabletop fountains made from shells and stones
--Lava rock bonsai garden fountain
--Cedar water garden with bamboo flute --Birdshower fountain
--Small mosaic fountain
--Concrete and ceramic spouting wall fountains
--Shishi Odoshi(or Japanese Deer-Scare Fountain)


About the Author
Dorcas Adkins lives in Washington, D.C., with Pat Munoz and their two cats, Harrie and Sushi. They share a large garden boasting a pond and five fountains with innumerable tadpoles, dragonflies, and hummingbirds. With her partner, Steve Meyer, Dorcas can usually be found running Adams & Adkins, Inc. of Alexandria, Virginia, making fountains and other garden ornaments for sale to catalogs, retail stores, and individuals.


Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Introduction Of all nature's elements, water is perhaps the most essential to life, health, and happiness. For many species of plants and animals, falling water provides increased oxygen. This all-important ingredient combines with carbon, enabling waste from these organisms to decompose quickly. For aquatic animals such as fish, snails, and crayfish, adequate dissolved oxygen in the water is required for life itself. Since the earliest times, we humans have acknowledged the vital importance of water in our lives. Our bodies are made up mostly of water, and without sufficient water to drink or to humidify the air around us, we quickly become uncomfortable. When water is in motion, it humidifies the surrounding air more readily. It also produces sounds that relax us. Nothing smoothes the furrowed brow like the soft lap of wavelets on a lake-shore, the thunder of surf on a barrier island, or the silvery tinkle of a stream falling through the spring forest. The Sound of Moving Water Modern life is very busy. Technological advances have resulted in a world where sensory overload is common. Many of us recognize that the only antidote is frequent communion with natural forces, yet too often we cannot spare the time to go into the wild to find the peace and relaxation we need. Instead, we create increasingly elaborate garden refuges for this purpose. For many reasons, not the least of which is that the splash of falling water can be used to mask traffic sounds, fountains enhance these gardens, both indoors and out. The indoor fountain can provide the melodic sound of falling water in the workplace. By setting this piece of the outdoors beside your computer, you can add humidity to air often dried by heaters and monitor fans. The release of negative ions that takes place in falling water is thought by many to soothe the human spirit as well. In the outdoor garden nothing could be more natural than the inclusion of a water feature. Even the most formal fountain - one in which the water decorates an elaborate sculpture and falls into a pool scoured clean of life forms - contributes cooling humidity to the garden environment while masking the noise of the street. A more natural fountain bubbling into a pond full of fish, frogs, snails, and water lilies quickly becomes a successful and sustainable ecosystem. The lessons we all can learn in such a classroom are invaluable as we face the challenges of sustaining our own planet's environment into a complex and crowded future. Modern Fountain Design The convenience of the electric pump, recently developed in tiny yet reliable models, allows all of us to easily create small fountains for our own gardens. The style we choose for a water feature can range from a formal pool, soothingly geometric in form, to a natural mountain cataract. Or a spare and simple Zen garden, complete with koi pond and bridge, can appear in what was once an unused alley. And the same small pumps allow us to bring our love of water into the inner spaces of our homes. Beside the computer station, where quiet is interrupted by only the occasional chirp and whir, the chuckle and burble of a bowlful of stones can be clearly heard. In this book I hope to encourage you to make your own fountains. I offer a wide selection of projects employing as many of the materials suitable for use with running water as possible. Some can be constructed using recycled objects and your own hands. Most require that you have access to tools. By reading the introduction to each project, you can determine whether its procedures are within your reach. Each individual fountain project I include here has step-by-step directions - but I offer these only as a guide or starting point. I encourage you to browse these chapters, go buy a pump, and plunge right in. Combine elements of different fountains, simplify, and improve on the suggested steps. Remember, that you can fix nearly anything by doing it over again; relax and dare to make the all-important mistakes. No written description has the power of hands-on trial and error to give you the confidence and joy of making your own operating piece of water art. Designing your own fountain will add immeasurably to your enjoyment of it. The lessons we can learn from water, the master, are many. On the one hand, it's a very forgiving medium; if you're sensible, the worst thing that can happen is that you find yourself mopping up the floor. On the other hand, water is a formidable force. It can, and sooner or later will, find its way into every crevice, move the earth, and break down mountains. Working with water teaches respect, even to the respectful. It demands discipline, patience, and focus. Still, as you work to contain water and use it for your purposes, the scattered interruptions of your day will fade into the background. You'll become completely present in your work. It is my hope that this book will get you started. Buy a pump and begin to play with it. Try out your own fountain designs. Make mistakes. Most importantly, have fun. Chapter 2: Tabletop Fountains Seaside Beach: This small fountain mimics the bright light and life of the beach, where the countless details of marine life are easy to see. Here, water flows from a large seashell set upon a small stone-and-shell pile surrounding the pump. This arrangement shows off the fascinating contrast between the satiny smooth inside of most shells and their rougher, often beautifully textured outside surfaces. The only special tool you'll need is an electric drill or small handheld grinder for making a hole in the shell for the hose. If you have a collection of delicate seashells, pebbles, and beach glass, this fountain may be the ideal way to display and enjoy them. Colors that faded as the shells and stones dried in the sun will glow brightly in the clear water of a fountain. Materials The Reservoir _ Reservoir bowl, at least 3" deep x 10" in diameter (7.5 cm deep x 25 cm in diameter) The Pump _ Pump, 80 GPH (304 l per hour) _ GFCI outlet Fountain Elements _ Large seashell _ Vinyl hose: 12" each of 1⁄4", 3⁄4" ID (6, 9 mm) Decorative Elements _ Stones, shells, driftwood, beach glass: enough to fill the bowl Tools _ Small handheld grinder with 1⁄4" (6 mm) or 3⁄8" (9 mm) stone tip, or electric drill with bit sized for smallest hose _ Clear silicone caulk Designing the Layout Step 1: Prepare the Base First, place the pump in the bowl, leading the cord over the edge and bending it so that it drops quickly from sight. Set the flow control on the lowest setting and place a few large stones or shells around the pump. Choose flattened stones for more stable construction. Now select a large seashell, such as a conch, whelk, or abalone, to be the fountain piece. Set it in position on the stones so that it is supported above the pump. Ideally, the large opening in the shell will be oriented uppermost, so that water fills the shell and spills over its lip. At this point, don't put much effort into the stone construction; just pile up stones stably enough to support the shell in the position you want and see if the shell and the bowl are in proportion. Step 2: Attach the Hose to the Pump By telescoping short pieces of hose together, create a tubing assembly short enough to be hidden in the pile of stones. The largest-diameter piece of hose has to fit onto your pump's outflow, and the smallest-diameter end must fit tightly into a 3⁄8-inch (9 mm) hole that will be drilled in the shell. Unstack enough of the rocks so that you can fit the tubing on the pump, put water in the bowl, and plug in the pump to be sure water can pass through the assembled tubing. If the tubing seems too long, remove it and trim some of the sections with sharp scissors - without making them too short to function properly. Step 3: Position the Shell Now place the shell on top of the piled stones. When you feel that the position of the shell is right, back up and check the overall proportion of your assembly. When you are satisfied, lift the shell and pencil a mark where the tubing will need to enter the shell. Drilling the Shell - With a Handheld Grinder A safe way to drill a hole in the shell without breaking it is with the kind of small handheld grinder that you can buy in hobby shops and hardware stores. Using a small stone grinding tip, grind through the shell and gently enlarge the hole to 3⁄8 inch (9 mm). OR - With an Electric Drill If your only option is an electric drill, be very careful. Use the sharpest bit you can find, and do not press hard into the shell. Remember that the drill bit (use the all-purpose type for metal and wood) is a wedge and can split the shell if pushed into it too hard before it has a chance to cut cleanly. Assembling the Fountain Step 1: Anchor the Fountain Elements Now is the time to build your permanent assembly of stones, shells, driftwood, and beach glass to support the shell. These should be stacked loosely as much as possible. If they need to be fixed in place with clear silicone caulk, use it sparingly and only in dabs to join unruly elements to the pile. Use a hair dryer to dry any wet pieces before applying silicone caulk so that it will stick. Step 2: Test the Water Flow Make sure the pump is set for minimum flow, then fit the tubing into the hole in the shell. Now press the larger end of your tubing assembly over the pump's outflow. Plug in the pump to see if your creation performs as planned. The shell should fill with water and overflow into the pool below. You may need to change the tilt of the shell, or change the shell itself, to make this work perfectly. Remember that you, the creator, can always fix your own mistakes. Step 3: Decorate Your Fountain You can add coarse beach sand or pea gravel to serve as a floor for your pool, and as a delightful texture in stone pockets. The shells of crabs, shrimp, sand dollars, and starfish can be used above the water, in positions where they stay dry. Beach glass and shells are best in wet locations where their colors show to full advantage. Even live plants such as small dune grasses can be tucked into small soil pockets in shells above the water level.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Nothing smoothes the furrowed brow like the soft lap of wavelets on a lakeshore, the rythym of surf on a barrier island, or the silvery tinkle of a stream falling through the spring forest. At home-in the house or in the garden-the gentle, melodic patter of water spilling from a fountain offers the same tranquility.

Dorcas Adkins, a fountain designer and manufacturer, brings this soothing relaxation to your home using readily available materials, simple crafting techniques, and her own step-by-step instructions. She explains everything you need to know about fountain materials, supplies, and assembly, whether you choose to work with wood, stone, ceramic, or other materials and whether or not you have any building experience.

Throughout Simple Fountains for Indoors & Outdoors, Adkins's can-do attitude will give you the confidence to experiment and have fun: Relax, she urges, and let your creative talents take over.

SYNOPSIS

Everything readers need to know to create elegant, soothing water fountains. Easy-to-follow instructions explain choosing and installing pumps and constructing fountains.