My blog’s name is derived from this sign which is now gone due to highway work over the past year. The idea of an “Exit 0” sounded very indeterminate to me implying both a sense of place and no where at all.
My name is Albertus Gorman and I live in Louisville, Kentucky. I am an artist and art advocate. In addition to making and exhibiting my own artwork, I have an extensive background in the visual arts. I also have a love for the natural world which informs the art I make. More than ever, it is important to remind people that we are rooted in this physical environment which we are abusing at an unprecedented rate. I use the material culture that flows into the Falls of the Ohio State Park to discuss our relationship to nature. More than ever, I have become convinced that we are trading our birthright at “creators” to become “consumers”. I find the evidence all around me.
I like the idea of a free internet and have been happy to share my images if asked (which I appreciate). Please be aware, however, that my words and images are subject to copyright law.
This page has the following sub pages.
- Fishing Floats Collection
- Fishing Lure Collection
- Fake Food Collection
- Wee the People Collection w/Animals
- Reflectors and Tail Lights Collection
- Found Paintings and Signs Collection
- Bottle Images: Liquid Light
- Balls of the Ohio
- Passing Gas(oline) Can Collection
- The Shoes You Lose
- Plastic Bottle Color Spectrum
- Contents Under Pressure
- The Shoes You Lose 2
- Beach Combing
- Squirt Gun Collection
- Kentucky Lucky Ducky Collection
- Soap Bubble Wand Collection
Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog 
A friend forwarded me your work which is more than fascinating. My earliest years were spent on the Island surrounded with water, called Long. Teen years I lived in the suburban area of south of Pittsburgh, loving to see the three rivers.Then I migrated to the Washington DC and Chesapeake Bay areas and now I live in Central Florida where the waters of the St. John’s River flow north to Jacksonville. Your work is unique, reflecting the destruction and creation of mankind. We are fighting so to save our waters from those hungry to develop for the sake of the green of the dollar not the green of nature’s ecology. From my perspective saving nature is critical to saving humanity. We are one! To disconnect from nature is to disconnect from humanity.
I hope many people see your work. Have you contributed to Orion Magazine? I will follow your work as i come to valuing nature late in life but it is connected deeply with valuing human nature.
Thank you …
Hi Albertus,
Thanks so much for your comment on my blog, it’s always nice to be reminded there really is an audience out there in cyberland. Indeed I was interested to visit your blog – I had a great time viewing your work – we do indeed seem to be comming from the same sort of headspace. I’d love to have a more indepth conversation about it sometime.
cheers
pete
u4316509@anu.edu.au
Hi there! I really like your work! It is lovely and playful and respectful of the natural world. Thanks for sharing!!
-illana
you’ve found beauty. thanks for sharing. i love your concept.
I cannot believe I have only just now discovered your delightful and inspiring blog- just when I am about to take (temporary) leave of the bloggy world! i have really enjoyed your words and work pictures.
I am about to go on an artist residency to Korea… but I am putting a link to you on my own blog, and once in a while I will touch base, post the odd snapshot, and try to keep in touch….:-)
what a unique and inspiring blog you’ve created here, thank you. I discovered blogging just about a year ago and still can’t squeeze in a weekly update…
but love coming across others’ like yours. found it once I came across Sofia’s Dad’s Pots, another inspiring and funny blog.
do keep the images of your work coming as they spoke to me quite strongly.
Sofia’s Dad and I are good friends…eons ago, we graduated from Murray State University’s art department. So far, the blog has been a good way to share my river experiences with a wider audience. Thanks for your kind words… Al
Thank you for your comments on my blog. I really like your work!
Hi Al,
Happy Holiday. I confess I just took a quick look at your site but I wanted to let you know I finally got organized and looked you up.
After having studied non-stop for my Med-Surg Certification and passing the test I returned to school last fall and began working on my BSN. I should have it completed by mid-summer (at which time I’d like to come to KY for the All 70’s Reunion at North Hardin HS). I’m glad I finally got to your website. Schoolwork has kept me really busy, but now that I am on break I am enjoying life’s little pleasures, like the wonderful objects you are creating. Now I’m going to take some more time and look at what you’ve been doing. My love to Patty and the boys.
Mary
Hi Al
I love your blog and your art- can you give me a call?? I would like to talk to you about some upcoming programs and exhibits at the Oldham County History Center.
Thanks
Nancy
I found your blog today… as well as your workshop! In all the years that I’ve escaped out to the falls.. I’ve encountered several of your styrogoblins.. but never as many as I encountered today!
It inspired me to look you up to tell you that I LOVE them! Thank YOU SO much for your project! It’s truly amazing to behold!
and PS: I left you a tiny neon green squirt gun!
Emily, Thanks for your comment and squirt gun! Perhaps I’ll run into you someday at the Falls and we can collaborate on an artwork.
I am the young woman in your last post. I was so happy to meet to, and impressed with what you do. Good luck down there!
Claire, nice to meet you too! Best of luck in Cincinnati… Al
I am inspired and I’m following you for your depth, creativity and love of nature!
Albertus,
Greetings. Your styrofoam people have added delightful mystery to my walks at the Falls. Thank you. I came across your site while searching for a bird checklist for the park. Your photographs are wonderful also.
I recently published a couple of chapbooks and a lot of my writing has been inspired by the atmosphere of the Falls. If you are interested, I would be happy to send them to you as a gift.
Take care,
John
johnpswain@yahoo.com
Happy to have discovered your artblogcasa. Hi.
And Hi back to you! It’s nice to have another friend to share comments with. I’ve enjoyed and agreed with many of your replies on Lynda’s blog.
Same here. Nice to make your acquaintaince!
Mr. Gorman,
Terrific, terrific stuff here.
I visited the Falls for the first time a few weeks ago(down from Cincinnati), though the outer beds and falls were inaccessible that day due to the gates being up. I look forward to exploring the outer area on my next trip down – and thanks to your great site here I’ll make sure to pay attention to the things we are often inclined to step over and pass by.
I’ve got you bookmarked, and look forward to more great photos.
Karl Kauffman
Thanks Karl, I appreciate your comment. I earned my MFA from the University of Cincinnati. One of my graduate school projects was making a sculpture from the Ordovician fossils I was finding all over Cincy. That project pointed to some of the things I’m doing now at the Falls and helped give me perspective on the history of life.
Hey, I know and love this area! I found your blog while checking out good places to explore. I love the juxtaposition of nature, history and industry around there. May I ask how you got to Goose Island?
Oh yeah. Check out my blog, I do a lot or urban exploration in the area.
http://thrillseekingbehavior.wordpress.com/
Just checked out your blog and it’s cool seeing someone else commenting on the local scene! Enjoyed many of your posts. Thanks for introducing yourself.
I think the whole area has a kind of magic aura to it which keeps drawing me to it year after year. I walked over to Goose Island during the heat of summer when the water is at its lowest. You can do this at the eastern tainter gate when its closed.
Wow! Amazing! Would you be interested in doing an interview with me on my blog GreatGreenGoods.com ? We could talk on the phone (via skype) or I could email you a few questions.
This is an amazing project!
thanks,
Liz
greatgreengoods@gmail.com
Thanks Liz…I would be up for a few questions, but I will also say that I was interviewed by Lynda at her EchoStains blog. You might check out that interview in case you would like to ask different questions? Thanks for reaching out with your comment.
Thanks. Not sure i agree with everything but a good blog.
Thanks for commenting. What kind of world would it be if we all agreed upon everything?
(white noise)al gorman…..(glissendo whistling sound)…al….al…gorman…(pop!) hey al! i remember you! what’s it been, 30 years or so? i should get out more.
hope life has treated you well, it has me. Wife of 23 years, three boys, gainful employment (construction tech, mechanical design consultant), morgage, car payment, … you know, all those things we used to disavow, abash and decry.
so you see, i’m a total failure! oh well, such is life!
Great website, love your work!
What a blast from the past! I still fondly recall the Lysergic Sound Daddies and still had a cassette of your songs for what seemed decades. Alas, it’s gone now. Glad to hear you are well and seemingly civilized…it happens to the best of us. Long a go I figured that all the old hippies before us became Republicans anyway. Glad you like the blog. I’m still trying to push the art angle however I can. Thanks for reaching out.
Hey Timothy… This is Kevin (Beyond the Edge) … Whats up!
Hello Albertus,
I just ran across your blog by accident recently, and am impressed with your photos , especially those taken around the Falls of the Ohio Park area. Believe it or not, I have been “beachcombing” (if I may be allowed to use that term) the Ohio for years, and have a collection of fishing bobbers, crankbaits and fishing lures, as well as other odds and ends I couldn’t resist saving. I used to wonder how all of the plastic toys, semi-truck taillight reflectors, lightbulbs, rubber and plastic balls, plastic fruit, shoes, and other “out of place” debris ended up in the river. I am now pretty sure I have a simple, definitive answer. I am quite sure that at least 90 percent (or more) of this floating man-made debris does not originate on the Ohio River itself. There are literally thousands (if not tens of thousands) of minor “runs”, rivulets, creeks, drainage ditches, mid-size streams as well as smaller and larger rivers that drain into the Ohio River…from a huge area that covers most of West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, southern Ohio, Western PA, parts of NY, etc. I have read or heard that in many of the higher elevations of the Appalachians, especially throughout parts of southeastern KY and WV, there are numerous creeks that (unfortunately) serve as unofficial dumping areas for some of the residents in those areas. Several years ago it occurred to me to start actively looking for any empty plastic prescription bottles that still happened to have the label intact and legible, in case I could get an idea where some were actually coming from. Lo and behold, the majority of those bottles I found hailed from SE KY and WV… including some tiny towns that were found on the map only after close scrutiny.
So, basically alot of what we are seeing is a vast cross-section of all man-made artifacts floatable, being “screened out” of these creekbank and riverbank trashpiles by the power of moving water. I have read previous comments left by others, wondering about what might have happened to the previous owners of some of the shoes, toys, etc. I’m afraid the sad unpleasant fact is that they were merely discarded along with other assorted household objects that all have one thing in common: They float instead of sink.
I hope these comments won’t be taken in a “bad way”. I have a fascination with the Ohio RIver, and the movement of water in general. I have found several notes in bottles over the years, mostly found around the Falls of the Ohio “driftwood gyre” just east of the Interpretive Center after a high rise and fall, and have also myself written notes and sent a number on their way downstream (usually using previously found bottles, as you did). Have a great day, and keep up this wonderful blog!! David W.
My email is davidrussell59 “at” att.net .
Thanks David, Your comments are deeply appreciated and it’s good to know a fellow “beachcomber” although I’m not sure that name quite describes us? Looking at the labels of prescription bottles is brilliant and I will endeavor to do so with the stuff I come across. I have found artifacts from towns north of Pittsburgh before the Ohio River officially comes together and from towns all along the way. I have never found a note in a bottle which I find kind of amazing, but after this most recent flood…maybe I’ll get lucky. My bobber and lure collection is ever expanding and I’m flabbergasted by all the fake fruits and veggies I’ve found over the years. Thanks for reaching out!
I really enjoy your blog Al, the combination of art, the littered environment and beauty of nature is brilliant.
Thanks Lynn for your kind comment.
Fantastic. Glad to have found your blog and look forward to more posts.
Thanks for checking the riverblog out!
I love your blog and have nominated it for a Kreativ Blogger Award.
Please visit me at http://www.trixiestales.com to “collect” 🙂
Really excellent. Fun, aesthetic & thought provoking. I think your work would also make a brilliant book to get kids engaged in a bit of environmental & creative awareness. Obviously adults too – it’s just that education needs to incorporate these sorts of things into its structure. It’s horrific the amount of plastic that floats about in our seas & rivers these days. Do you ever take your sculpture out of its environment? I can start to imagine some of your characters escaping on a mission & climbing up the walls of …
Sonya…thanks for checking out my riverblog! I’ve heard from other readers that they think my project would make a good book. I suppose I always assumed that life might go in that direction, but I have been having so much fun just doing the research part of it that I’ve gone no further than what you have seen. I like the idea of having a character “leave” the environment I have been interpreting and investigating a wider world.
Creative , functional, aesthetically pleasing…I like how you see possibilities & opportunities where see refuse. Keep the flame burning:)
Much appreciated Tom!
Now that is a blog worth following. Love your figures. I thought I never will say that, but: “Thank you for visiting my blog” :).
I have a copy of the Lysergic Sound Daddies recordings as mentioned above. They were a great band, although I was too young to see them when they were around, luckily I am able to enjoy them via recordings.
I saw the band play maybe three or four times. Some of the members were friends of friends who were involved with Murray State’s art department. The radio station at M.S.U. was very influential and one show (Beyond the Edge: Forward Music for Modern People” did a lot to educate us (back in the early to mid 1980’s) on the best new music of the time. I think the LSD band was also attracted to this scene which was more involved than anything happening in Paducah, the band’s hometown. Thanks for reaching out!
I’m currently attempting to do a documentary on the 80-85 music scene in paducah. Any info, or contacts would be awesome. I’ve been attempting to reach the gentleman named Tim that commented here. Anyway, heres my email address paducahpromo@gmail.com, I have some of their stuff posted on youtube as well as The Drunk Drivers also a Paducah band from the early 80s.
-Ronnie
Hi Ronnie, It’s been a few years, unfortunately the people who I think could help you I can’t get a hold of them. Many of them were band members from various groups that played in the area. Have you ever heard of Bruce Spears and the Pierced Ears? Their best song was entitled “The police are running Paducah” and they may have recorded that one. Other group names I remember are The Drooling Idiots and the Dead Cats. If I turn anything up for you I will send it to your email address.
Hi Albertus
Your blog is one of my favourites and I’ve nominate you for a One Lovely Blog Award.
http://annerosegeorgeson.wordpress.com/2012/11/19/thank-you-jules/
I’m not sure if you do the award thing but just know that I love your blog.
All the best
Thanks Annerose…being one of your favorites is award enough for me, but thanks for the nomination! I appreciate you following along with me on my adventures to the Falls of the Ohio.
You’re welcome and thanks for the adventures!
Thanks for the response! i posted some videos on YouTube of the Lysergic Sound Daddies, well actually just their songs and pictures of the band. I’ve talked to 3 of the band members so far. one unfortunately passed away. Thanks again!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S8YpHSt3_A heres a link to a LSD song
I had the opportunity to go on a guided tour of an art exhibit by Steve Gerberich at a science center several days ago. His kinetic sculptures utilizing everyday objects remind me of your work. You can check it out here:
http://www.scienceworld.ca/creativityinmotion
Thanks Isaac..I appreciate you thinking of me and I will check out the link… Al
Hey Al,
pleasure to meet you. :0) My name’s Birgitta and I live in Jeffersonville. I’m an artist too (photographer, mostly/Fine Art) and I have had a love affair going on with “Falls of the Ohio” for more than 30 years. (It’s in quotes because I was down there back in the day when the bait shop was still there in the 70’s and sold Zero bars and cokes- all for under a buck. I grew up down there, barefooted, sleeping down there for days with my fisherman Dad and 2 brothers. If we caught fish- we ate. If we didn’t- we didn’t.) I literally grew up down there at “Fossil Rock”. (I used quotes because I named the place 30 + years ago.) [wink] It’s like my second skin, being down there- I know it very well. And, I still go barefooted there, although I’m 43 now.
I’m just now seeing your blog and I’ve seen “log men” for years down there- so you’re their creator! Again, it’s an honour to meet you. :0) I’ve taken pics of your little creations for several years now. I’m sorry to learn that people have turned “Hobo Hut” into a party shack. My friend, Josh,told me they brought grafitti in- sigh. I would love to meet other artists from around here sometime; most of my (art) friends are in Australia and across the pond.
Anyway, maybe someday we can meet. I just picked up a new Lensbaby lens (amaaazing) and will be taking some pics of the Hobo Hut in just a bit. I’ve never been there yet and have been wanting to grab a few shots in case it’s not around later.
My blog is here if you’d like to check it out: http://monochromejunkie.com/
It’s great to meet another artist in the area!
Take care,
Birgitta
Nice to meet you Birgitta! It’s cool to hear from other folks that have a history with the Falls and are artists too! This place has been inspiring people for a long time and I hope it always will. I will definitely check out your blog. Thanks for reaching out.
Do you by chance remember an etching you did in about 1986 called Travels with Orpheus? I have one, signed by you and wondered if you could talk about what inspired it. (It’s been hanging in my home in California now and has been for over 20 years. I love it.
Whoa…where did that come from? Yes, I remember the print very well although it is a little earlier than that…perhaps 1982 or 83. By 1986 I was no longer living in Kentucky. It was made at Murray State University during my undergrad days. Of all the various ways to make a print…etching was my favorite process. “Travels with Orpheus” was inspired by Rilke’s poetry and by the drawing process I used at that time. Orpheus descended into the underworld in search of a lost love and I was “descending” into my subconscious to help guide me towards this print. I remember a lot of layering line over line and “biting” the zinc plate in a bath of nitric acid. I don’t think I pulled from the printing press very many of these prints and yours probably has an edition number on it. I’m glad you like the print. As you can see my work today is very different, but no less informed by what came before it. As a matter of curiosity…how did you acquire it or do we know one another? Just goes to prove you can never tell where something will show up. That was fun…thanks for reaching out!
It was a birthday gift from an artist friend of mine named Marty Welch. I don’t know you but I know he does – or did. I seem to recall he went to Murray State too but I am not positive. We both had small booths in Louisville on the corner of the main street – right downtown by the bridge – there was a weekend gallery there and that was how we met. (Can’t remember the name of the gallery.) He and I stay in touch and I just recently asked him if he remembered where it came from or what your full name was. (It is only signed Albertus). He gave me your full name and I Googled you. He said he had seen an exhibit of yours earlier this year even though he lives in Tennessee now. It doesn’t have an edition number but it is marked with A/P. Artist Proof? I can send you a photo of it if you like. (Can I post it here somehow?) I knew the story of Orpheus, I was just curious about your motivation. Glad I found you. Thanks for the insight!
Trish
Mystery solved! Marty is an old friend from the Murray days. Yes, A/P stands for artist’s proof and there are even fewer of those. I think the original edition was maybe eight prints. Somewhere in my flat files, I still have a copy, but I doubt many still exist.
Oh and duh. Is says ’81 on it. It was given to me in 86. 🙂
It pleases me to know that there are not very many and I have one. Thanks!
You are very welcome! I’ve never been to California so it’s interesting to know something I’ve made has traveled so far away from me. For an artwork, getting away from the artist, is the best chance of making it into the future.
Greeting from this side of the bridge. We met at the ‘Hobo Hut’ and I’m following up on your site…looks great! -Dru from http://www.poetryhaus.com
Dru…thanks for checking out my site! It’s awesome that you left a comment too. It was nice meeting you and your friends by one of my favorite trees of all time.
Great site, Al!
I’d like to discuss with you a possible art workshop idea.
Email me if you get this.
Regards,
Dominic
Dominic, thanks for checking out my blog. I will follow up on your workshop idea.
I stumbled upon your blog a few months ago while searching for places to find driftwood in Indiana. I absolutely love your creations and river finds! I visited the Falls yesterday to collect driftwood, and I was hoping to run across one of your little men. I’m an artist/photographer and I like making “found art” too, and until recently, I had no idea how much flotsam and jetsam can be found washed up along the Ohio River! So far, I’ve just been collecting in Newburgh, Indiana. Maybe we’ll run into each other at the Falls someday!
I have a website/blog too, but it is very much a work in process. Here is the link if you’d like to check it out sometime:
studioseventyseven.weebly.com
I will add a link to your blog on my website, because I think what you’re doing is amazing!
Amy Gieske
Thanks for reaching out Amy…I will check out your site…AL
Hello Albertus, I love your work and am wondering if you happen to have a studio or gallery where I could bring a group of students studying environmental sustainability this fall to see the ultimate upcycling project? It would really complement their module on recycling and reuse. We meet on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. from 9/14 through 11/14.
Hi Lucinda…sounds like fun…I will contact you through the school’s email address and we can take it from there. Thanks for reaching out…Al
thank you Al for the inspiration ! al levine
Thanks Al…I appreciate the comment.
Hi Albertus,
I’m making a computer game set in an area inspired by the east coast/north-east area of the US. I lived in Virginia for a couple of years as a kid, and travelled through Maryland, West Virginia, up to Pennsylvania etc, and it has always stuck with me. I live in London, but I’ve always had a fascination with the New England area too, from Upstate New York to Vermont and such.
My game is called Forager (http://foragergame.net), and you play as some sort of forest creature building a den for winter. It’s a very family friendly game. The game will feature a couple of turtles, and I’d love to use one of your photographs of a Box Turtle shell to texture the turtles. Would this be ok with you? It would be an awful lot! The specific image I’m referring to is: https://artistatexit0.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/img_6509_1_1.jpg
Thanks for your time, you have a great blog here 🙂
Hi Nate, I like your nature-based concept and often wondered if something similar could apply to my adventures at the Falls of the Ohio? So much of what I do is about exploring a particular environment that has both strong natural and cultural connections and applying a little creativity to it. Thus far, I’ve relied on words and images to try to convey something of the spirit of this particular place. Usually, I have no problems allowing people to use my images as long as I’m credited. Most of the requests, however, that I’ve received thus far haven’t had a potential commercial purpose. Ultimately, what do you hope will happen with your game? My one request should things proceed to commercial viability is that you consider a fair use payment for the image usage. I honestly have no idea what that would be? I do, however, like your idea and if my box turtle images can help…I’m all for it. I did check out your link and especially liked the colors you used. Good Luck! Al
Hi Al, thanks for such a quick and thoughtful response, and thanks for taking the time to check out our site.
You’ve actually struck on the key concept of the game there, which is encouraging the player to be creative in how they decorate their den using the items they find around them in the forest.
My friend and I are currently developing the game in our spare time, but we do hope to release it commercially at some point. I absolutely understand and appreciate your request, it’s an artists responsibility to value their work! Unfortunately we’re pretty much a zero-budget affair, with images scraped together primarily from Creative Commons 0 sources and our own photography. So with the utmost respect I’ll unfortunately have to decline and find another source, but I’ll be sure to revisit your blog, I’ve really enjoyed your photographs!
Cheers!
Nate
Hi Nick, Since I know a little more about your project and where you are coming from I will allow you to use my image. Is it possible to at least receive some kind of acknowledgement or credit that I could use for my resume? Wishing you the best. Al
Sent from my iPhone
>
Hi Albertus,
I’d like your permission to reproduce your photo of the bird tracks in mud. I’m working on a website about the 19th century discovery of fossilized dinosaur footprints in the Connecticut River Valley. When these footprints were first discovered, most people thought they were made by giant birds. We want to show how closely the dinosaur footprints resemble bird footprints and your photo makes a great comparison. Our website is non-commercial and is publicly funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Please let me know if you’ll give us permission to use your photo and how you’d like your credit to appear. Thanks!
Juliet Jacobson
That’s fine Juliet. Just credit the photo to Albertus Gorman and good luck with your project which sounds very interesting!
thanks! I love your work by the way!
Thanks! If you think about it. Send me a copy of your article. I’m very interested in the evolution of birds.
it’s actually a website, not an article and it won’t launch till next spring. But I’ll make myself a note to send you the url.
Hello,
Would you be interested in doing an interview down by the Falls of the Ohio for a science report project? I am creating a 3-5minute video on the Fall’s litter pollution. Here on your blog you have had numerous experiences down on the river and I would love to here your opinion.
Thank you.
Hi Molly, I must have been at the river when you commented! When do you need to get your video done?
Amazing! Albertus, I would like to use one of your bird images near the pollution and water in a sort of collage for our call for art in Western Mass. It’s called “Catch and Release” and I just happened on your beautiful, kind of surreal pictures. Perhaps one of the “A Reality Check by the River.” çheck us out if you want: https://www.facebook.com/explodedviewMA/ ~~~ you can see I’m dead serious! Well, not all the time! I DID spend part of my formative years in Ashtabula, 4 blocks from the lake! ~ Lea
OH, I was thinking of using it in a group of photos ~ one by Georgia O’Keefe that I’ve already secured permission ffor, and one called “Escapism,” January 2011. © Iris Van Herpen. And another that was seen in the Guide du Parent Galactique.
Hi…should I call you “domestic darling”? I will check out your site. Generally, I’m good with people using my images for non commercial reasons. Thanks for checking out my art.
Hi Albertus! I am absolutely in love with your sculptures. I am interested in purchasing a few of your figures if at all possible. I couldn’t find any contact info in a quick search so I’m using the comments section. Let me know how to get in touch! Hope all is well! – Philip
Hi Philip, I use this email address for art inquiries. Please contact me here: albertusgorman@gmail.com
Hello:
Your Riverblog has resided as a link on my site’s blogroll for years, and I thought it was time I wrote. I cannot remember how I found this, but I’m glad that it did.
The largest river in my nearby ecosystem is the Delaware River (NY, PA, NJ). Recently, I’ve been writing about the environment surrounding a community near Trenton, NJ, which brought me (once again) to the places where the buffers collect the trash. As a long-time conservationist, these scenes always make me want to cry. You are a true artist in that you are able to expose the atrocity of rampant litter and waste in such a beautiful way, one that captures the heart better than any doom-and-gloom documentary ever could. Additionally, I am always captivated by the colors, variety, and scale of the “stuff.”
I hope you are finding success in your endeavors. I know how difficult it is to keep up with a blog. It can’t feel good, either, to see there is no end to the material resources of your art. However, I’m thankful that you’re still creating and posting your work.
Ruth Heil
Thank you for such a nice comment Ruth! I had wondered if people still enjoy reading blogs? I have neglected my blog of late although I remain very active at the river. I have used other social media venues to document what I’m experiencing. My blog, however, remains my most complete record of what I’ve done at the Falls of the Ohio. At the moment, the Ohio River is nearing flood stage after having already endured a sizable flood already this year. As the water recedes, I will find a rearranged landscape and lots more trash.
I found your bottle with the fishing lure. The note is very faded but the date is May 2010. It was found at Bay Spring Lake near the lock & dam in tishomingo county Mississippi.
That’s amazing Michael! I wondered if any of these bottles would show up and this is the first. I did this project with a fellow artist who was doing a residency at Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in Clermont, KY. I guess you saw my post “Bottled Notes on Earth Day”? I don’t remember what I wrote or what Julia wrote, but she said it was racy! The notes were written on Tyvek with Sharpie markers in case water got in the bottles. Interesting that the note was faded. We launched our bottles from the boat landing in New Albany, IN. By chance, do you have a photo of the note and bottle? Thank you so much for letting me know!
Good afternoon! What a cool way to display the discarded! I am Angela Page, a teacher at Male High ( friend of Libby Berry) and would like to talk to you about my class. We would like to do something similar with our findings along Beargrass Creek. Could we schedule a time to talk?
Hi Angela! Call me at the Carnegie Center for Art and History in New Albany. Sounds like your class has a cool project.