Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog

A pox on the weatherman for lying.  Today did not turn out sunny and in the 50’s.  It was foggy, cold, windy, and gray.  I started the morning by misplacing my trusty pocket knife.  You never realize how much you need something until you miss it.  It was given to me by my friend James, who is a potter and blogger.  I hurriedly threw another knife into the bag and headed out the door.  Among the other items I could have used, but didn’t have included:  a hat, a warm coat, and gloves.  I was carried along with the idea that eventually the sun would burn away the fog.  Two days later…I’m still waiting.  One way to stay warm is to keep your mind occupied by other things like taking pictures and making art.

I stayed out until the tips of my fingers were getting numb and my nose was dripping.  I would have gone home sooner, but I was finding stuff to work with and soon had enough for a figure.  Here are most of the pieces before assembly.  The materials I used included:  Styrofoam, beaver-chewed willow wood, bits of plastic including the red cap from a marker, a reflector, coal, glass, and a bit of twine.

You find the creek by walking west along the Woodland Trail.  This is where this sculpture and these pictures were made.  During the last high water incident, driftwood and logs were deposited along the high banks of the creek.  Some of the logs will conform perfectly to the contours of the hillside while others remain a jumble of giant pick-up sticks.

Here’s the figure in progress.  The knife I’m using is for filleting fish and I found it out here about three years a go.  This is the first time I have ever used it for anything and it is sharp enough to sharpen sticks and poke holes in the Styrofoam.  In the cold, I tried to work as quickly and as surely as I could.  By now, I have worked with these materials and forms so many times that there is little wasted motion.  I’ve learned to create within many limitations. 

In the springtime, I look for migrating waterthrushes in this area.  And in the summer, as the logs dry out, I may try to walk across the creek on top of  one of them.  For now, things are damp and slippery and not worth the risk.  I finished the figure and took one last shot before heading home.  Finding the branch that looks like a bird’s foot was the inspiration for this guardian figure.  In the background, the creek joins the Ohio River marking the territorial boundary for the Birdfoot Clan.