Miscanthus Fountain 2014

Miscanthus Fountain 2014
This is a new design of fountain commissioned by clients to give a beautiful and striking water feature for a large garden. An additional request was that it should be capable of making a strong and pleasant sound, which could be modulated.I have always admired Miscanthus grasses and chose these because they form a beautiful curved shape on slender stems. These stems provide a perfect means of projecting streams of water upwards, which curl over gracefully before falling into the water below. Although the height of the fountain structure is 1.5 meters high, the water streams can go up to 3 meters high.
The fountain consists of long copper stems which rise from a copper base. The stems are hand made to taper from the base in sections to a progressively slimmer diameter near the tip, which has fringe of flower spikes. The outer stems are carefully curved over to make the water streams follow their proper course. Copper leaves are beaten to shape and brazed to the stems, forming complementary curves and, at the same time, making a strong structure.
The streams of water catch the light and join together the whole shape of the fountain. With low water flow the fountain gives a muted splashing sound, but a high flow gives a splendid augmentation!