It’s the Water

Hand-carved French Limestone by Eye of the Day

It’s true that we in Santa Barbara are a little spoiled when it comes to weather.  We are just getting our first dose of Summer here and we do love our fountains!  It’s an amazing time of year at Eye of the Day.  When you enter it’s most likely that the first thing you will notice is the variety of fountains and the cooling effect of the water.  Originally fountains were used to provide a public place to bathe and to provide drinking water.  Now they are mostly used as decorative pieces in public spaces and private gardens, to allow a quick cooling mist to cool us down on a hot day.  And are we glad of that!  At Eye of the Day we pride ourselves in having or being able to find the fountain each client is wishing forA moss covered French hand carved limestone wall fountain, an Italian terracotta fountain or an Italian carved stone fountain becomes a focal point. We have concrete fountains of myriad styles, sizes, colors and prices.  And here’s the great part: if you are wishing for a unique fountain, we will convert any pot we have into a fountain for you.  Terracotta pot fountain, concrete pot fountain, Greek pot fountain, even Gladding McBean pot fountain.  The possibilities are as vast as your imagination and the wish for the cooling mist and lovely sound of your own fountain.

The Top

Finials.  Terracotta finials.  Concrete finials.  Stone finials.  Round finials,  flower-basket finials,  pinecone,  artichoke,  urn-shaped finials.  Animal finials. The object at the very top of a fountain from which the water flows is called a finial.  I suppose any object could be termed a “finial” as long as it sits at the uppermost point on any surface.  A finial is an architectural element used  to emphasize the top of a roof or corner of a building or to top the pillars at an entry gate.   Architectural finials were once believed to act as a deterrent to witches on broomsticks attempting to land on the roof.  That’s the best part.  Everyone needs a few finials to deter those darned witches.   At Eye of the Day we even have a finial with its own finial. This is actually called a “Focus” to be used as the focal point in a landscape.  It is made from that “top” quality quality Italian Galestro clay

from Terrecotte San Rocco.  One of our customers with excellent taste now owns two of these beauties and features them on pillars flanking his entry gate.  Once you become aware of the use of finials in all styles of landscaping you will begin to notice them everywhere, in all shapes and sizes. And once you have your own, you’ll notice all the witches have conveniently disappeared.