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Archive for April, 2009

Lost a Flip-flop recently?

Posted in Art, art and environment, creativity, Falls of the Ohio, Ohio River, Styrofoam, tagged , , on April 6, 2009| Leave a Comment »

"Samurai Shoeman"

For the sake of practice, I’m posting other recent figures I’ve made at the Falls.  This one I believe I made on St. Patrick’s Day and so it is aptly entitled “Samurai Shoeman”!  I like the spring light and the fact you can see the Ohio River through the trees before all the leaves come out.  This figure is made from various foams and plastics along with driftwood.  The eyes are pieces of coal which is another commonly found element along this riverbank.

"Samurai Shoeman", materials

Here’s a “before”  picture that includes the materials I used.  Among the many classes of objects that routinely wash up here are flip-flops, sandals, and other footwear.  To be honest, this collection of flip-flops was started by someone else who must have also been struck by how common these objects are along the shoreline.  I did, however, augment the pile with other shoes I found in the underbrush and driftwood.  The black baseball catcher’s chest protector on my figure is a unique find.

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Here’s a detail with the figure holding more footwear.  What I do references other ephemeral figurative traditions such as snowmen and scarecrows.  A difference is my materials tend to be more durable.  The Ohio River is a tough environment to be immersed in.  These flip-flops were lost up river along the length of the river’s watershed and a few may have come from as far north as Pittsburgh.  What didn’t get washed up here continued down river on a journey to the Gulf of Mexico.  In making this work, everything is attached with sharpened pegs and sticks.

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So you call this “art”?

Posted in Art, art and environment, birds and birding, creativity, Falls of the Ohio, Ohio River, Styrofoam on April 6, 2009| 4 Comments »

View from the interpretive center. 

I must admit that I’m excited about blogging!  Content will not be a problem since I have about six years worth of material I can post.  It’s just being patient about learning how to edit and work this system!

Just to get going I’m posting an image of a  site specific sculpture I made yesterday.  The first image shows the different strata along the river’s edge where water- deposited debris accumulates.  I find a lot of materials for art tangled up in the driftwood.

Here’s what I collected on today’s walk along the river.  Over time I have developed a vocabulary of  materials and forms that I make with them.  In this photo are several large chunks of polystyrene, better known by its trademarked name “Styrofoam”.  This has become an important material for me and it’s unfortunately all too common.  Also shown are various plastic items, mostly toys  along with driftwood branches.  This is my makeshift studio for today.

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For the moment, I entitled this piece “Figure with Life Preserver”.  Naturally, finding the orange ring was a big part of creating this sculpture.  Everything I make at the Falls is a combination of artificial and natural materials.  The body and head are Styrofoam.  The eyes are fishing bobbers and the mouth is a piece of red plastic.  The nose, arms, and legs are wood.  Oh, and yes this figure’s head also sports a pink “pick” comb.  My manipulation of the materials is minimal.  Except for shortening the sticks I don’t do any carving on the foam…more on that in later posts.  I use what the day gives me and try ultimately to create an interesting image that speaks of that day.  To judge scale you will need to compare the figure to what is around it…I think of these things as being the size of life.  In the case of this figure, the floating tire is a good gauge of scale.  The found objects I didn’t use go back into my collecting bag.

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Most of the time I leave the work to its fate.  I left this guy standing on the riverbank waiting to be discovered by the next park visitor.  My photos are the only complete record of my activities here.  The first half of my project consists of 35mm drug-store photography and the second half is digital.  It took me awhile to warm up to the new technology.  I like that my project reflects that change in the technology and the way we perceive our own development and notion of progress.  Thus far, I have resisted the urge to manipulate my photos…all the images are straight-up documents recording that day’s work.  Most of the time my pieces take less than a day to make.  Sometimes I go to the Falls with an idea, but more frequently the materials I find guide my process.

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At the Falls

Posted in Art, tagged , , , on April 3, 2009| Leave a Comment »

This blog is about a special place where time and space are compressed to form a unique window into the history of life.  Since 2003 I have designated myself as the unofficial artist in residence at the Falls of the Ohio State Park in Clarksville, Indiana.  My home is just across the Ohio River in Louisville, Kentucky.  For many years now, I have used this park as my source for art materials, as a studio, and as my primary exhibition space.  I work with found objects that all have been carried along by the river and have been deposited by high water and flooding in the park.  I arrive on the scene with a collecting bag, pocket knife, and a camera and I record what I make and experience here.  What I do I think as being a species of public art and I hope I capture a bit of the spirit of this place.  As an artist, I do think there is an ecological imperative that art can help address.  Through images, objects, and words I look forward to sharing my project with you.

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