Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog

On Father’s Day I got up early and headed to the river.  I had a three hour window of opportunity before the family gatherings began.  Those close to me know how special these excursions to the river are for me.  It’s part of my mental health maintenance ritual.  I need to come out here, see what I can see and make an object/image from what I find.  Here’s this day’s post.

This is where I sit surrounded by the materials I use to make my particular form of art.  Whatever that is happens to be open for debate.  Where exactly does the art occur?  Is it in the process of walking the river and selecting materials?  Is it in the sculptural models I make from them?  Is it located in the images I photograph of those models in their unique site specific contexts?  Could it be in some of the great conversations I’ve had with people intrigued by what I do?  Is it in trying to build awareness of our inherent creativity and connection to the planet?  Does it reside in the activity that is this blog?  Maybe someone out there can help me out?

I’m not deterred by weather…unless lightening is involved.  I’m out here when it’s 100 degrees or below zero.  Today it rained off and on.  Where I sit under the willow trees you can mostly stay dry.  The activity of making something causes me to forget my physical discomfort.  The Ohio River has been a little higher than usual because of all the rain that fell east of here.  The little bit of wind was generating waves that forced the driftwood to tumble over the debris and collect along that day’s shoreline.

I imagined this figure as being some kind of “king”.  I think that comes from his head gear.  You can’t really see this, but there is a plastic rose under the “crown”.  His nose is a burnt out Christmas lightbulb.  The ears are some rubber object I broke in half.  The mouth is a plastic bottle cap.  His eyes are waterlogged nuts.  I liked posing this figure near the water’s edge…just out of reach of the waves.  The green ring could be his symbol of office.  I later lost the ring, but found a green wiffle ball that took its place.

This shot gives a good view of the willow habitat as you look east.  I didn’t see this until I got home, but the tree lying in the foreground connects with the bridges beyond it.  Very few people came out today.  I did see the mink again which delighted me.  I hope it hangs out for awhile and calls this place its home.  It’s a little bit of unexpected, but welcomed wildness.  Last shot is of the “King” set up in a different location.  The smudge to the right is rain water on the camera’s lens I didn’t notice at the time.  I left the figure standing at the Falls and went home.