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Shoe Shaman of the Big Blue Nation

Posted in Art, driftwood, ecosytem, flip-flops, Found objects, lost sandals, nature, Ohio River flooding, photography, plastic, sense of place, Styrofoam, tagged Absurd, absurd story, art and nature, art and the environment, artistatexit0, Beach combing, flood story, recycled art materials, Smurfs on April 16, 2015| 13 Comments »

It’s mid April and the television meteorologists have said it all. If the Kentuckiana area receives one more drop of rain…we will set an all time local record for precipitation during any April since records have been kept. With half a month to go and more rain in the forecast for this week…that record is a goner. As I write this…the river is still rising. I mentally contrast this to what is happening in California with their severe drought. I wonder if there are any billionaires out there that would like to invest in a pipeline that would send all this extra water to where it’s needed most? After all, isn’t water a much more precious commodity than crude oil? We don’t send exploratory satellites and space craft into the vast distances of the universe looking for petroleum. It’s water we seek because in a fundamental way we realize that water is the key to life.

The following adventure happened last weekend which was warm and beautiful, but with an ever-rising river. The large driftwood mound under the railroad bridge I documented in my last post has broken apart and floated away along with my absurd March Madness figure. Perhaps when the river returns to its usual water levels, I may run into him once again? For now, I am exploring a section of the Ohio River Greenway which is near the Interpretive Center’s entrance and has a nice view of Louisville’s skyline. The riverbank does not lack for junk and before long I’ve photographed and collected a full bag of possibilities for future use. It was while I was absorbed in my own head space that I bumped into a most unusual character that was engaged in what looked to be some type of ritual at the water’s edge.

What I first thought was singing turned out to be chanting and it was coming from this exotic guy. I’m sure I must have had the strangest expression on my face! Despite my presence, this blue-helmeted figure with some kind of mandala on his chest was practically knee-deep in muddy water and lining up found flip-flops on a beached log. A perfectly normal activity don’t you agree? I’m assuming he gathered these sandals from all the other flotsam and jetsam that has washed into here? That part I can understand because I have an ongoing collection of the same footwear that I hope to make into something grand and profound some day.

I remained quiet, stayed observant, and took these photographs. I saw the blue helmeted man face west and chant. He later did the same thing looking towards all the cardinal directions. On occasion, he would carefully pick up a sandal and whisper to it before placing it back upon the water-logged trunk of a limb-less tree. For emphasis, he would also do this little hop dance step in the muddy water. I waited for him to finish before interrupting him with a few questions of my own.

Finally, I had my chance to speak and the mysterious figure looked my way. I was surprised that I could understand what he was saying. First, he thanked me for respecting his custom by not interrupting his ceremony. He also said that it is very important that the flow of energy continue unabated if the ritual was to take hold. Filled with questions, I asked his name and what was he doing? Patiently, he explained that he was the Shoe Shaman of the Big Blue Nation, a holy man and offered as proof the ill-fitting helmet on his head which was the official crest of his high office. I didn’t say anything, but thought the Shoe Shaman’s head-gear bore an uncanny resemblance to a Smurf’s head. I wondered if that was in fact the Big Blue Nation he was referring to? If that indeed was the case…well, it did make some sense in a surreal sort of way. There are many cultures that have legends about “little people”. I asked what he was doing with the sandals and he said that working with footwear was his specialty. Each shoe, in this case, each lost sandal…has a direct connection to the soul of its former owner and is holy to them. The weight of each person is impressed into the sole’s foam and is as individual as a fingerprint. In his culture, they have a saying that you can’t fully understand someone until you stand in their shoes. I said we have a similar saying. The Shoe Shaman said that his goal is to affect the river’s empathy and not to further enrage it for taking the water and environment for granted. My new friend was attempting to appease the flood waters by asking the river to forgive our carelessness and to accept the sacrifice that had been prepared for it on this altar of wood. The shaman assured me that only in this way would the river agree to return to its normal banks and not seek out our kind that had been hurtful towards it.

I’ll admit that the idea of a revenge seeking river stunned me some, however, history is full of epic floods. In our arrogance, we forget how at Nature’s mercies we really are. My curiosity sated…it was time to move on. I left the shaman at that interstitial zone between water and land. Slogging through the mud, I paused briefly sitting on a dry log and thought about what I had witnessed as I also picked the mud off the bottom of my shoes. I am hoping that he was successful in intervening on our behalf and only time will tell. For my part, I will never forget the scene and will pledge to do my part to be respectful towards creation by celebrating it and in doing so…hope to save myself and those dearest to me. I don’t ever want one of our soles to go missing and find itself on a log floating somewhere along the Ohio River. Until the river retreats…

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Muddy Falls and Galerie Hertz

Posted in Absurd, animal art works, Art, art and the environment, creativity, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Louisville, Kentucky, Ohio River, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged Art, driftwood, exhibition, Falls of the Ohio, flotsam and jetsam, found objects, Galerie Hertz, material culture, nature, Ohio River flood, photography, plastic bottles, repurposed objects, sense of place, site specific, Styrofoam on March 28, 2015| 5 Comments »

The Ohio River remained higher than expected and was bolstered by a few days of rain. I visited the Falls of the Ohio last weekend during a moment when the water level had dropped just enough to reveal a muddy shoreline with its accompanying line of stranded debris. The places in the park I like to work and visit were still underwater.

I put on my “Falls shoes” which were already muddy and that I keep outside on the front porch of my house and headed for the river. As usual, I brought a collecting bag and camera with me and ventured forth to see what there was to see. In places, you could tell that the river with its water-born logs had acted as a battering ram and pretty much leveled the vegetation nearest to the water.

The silt and clay are both very fine and sticky when wet. I gingerly step on wood and other debris to keep from sinking ankle-deep in this quagmire. I enjoy looking at the rippling wave patterns that the water creates. I call this “river shivers” and imagine if the riverbank could display “goose-flesh” that it would look something like this. And speaking of geese…

…the flock of Canada geese I photographed the previous week, left their footprints everywhere in the mud. Their friend, the ex-patriot domestic goose, was still hanging out with them.

Of course, nearly every place you looked, you could see man-made trash and driftwood. Much of this material has originated far from here. When things finally dry out enough for a more thorough exploration, I’m expecting to find all kinds of examples of our material culture washed into the park.

Interspersed with the bottles are lots of other plastic items and various foam-based garbage including Styrofoam…my primary sculptural material. This is just a detail of one small area. Already I’m seeing hundreds of plastic drinking bottles. I’ve been asked on more than one occasion if I’m ever afraid that I might poison myself or get an infection from something that I’ve found out here by the river. My short answer is yes. One needs to be concerned, however, I don’t press my luck with anything that looks at all questionable. I guess I do place a lot of trust that the billions of gallons that constitutes the Ohio River does in effect “wash” the stuff that I use. So far, knock on wood, I’ve never had an adverse reaction after working out here for more than a decade. The Falls of the Ohio State Park is a public space and what I encounter is also what the public encounters.

Here’s the trunk of my car after this brief foray to the river. This may be hard for some of you to believe, but I’m actually very selective now. These days, I only carry back to my home work space, the “cream of the crop”. I prefer to make my artworks at the river, but will also take materials home to “hedge my bets” and for workshop purposes. The larder I had created at my “UFO” (Unknown Floating Object) outdoor studio is now long gone and I wonder if that circular metal platform is still around…or has it finally floated away too?

While temporally stymied by water and mud, I have the opportunity to interact with the local art world in a more usual way. Galerie Hertz which represents my art in Louisville opened a collage and assemblage group show. Billy and his partner Tom have been important players in our city’s cultural life. They have been rightly credited for creating an arts district on Market Street through the activities of their renovated galleries. Each new space the pair opened was an upgrade of a building that needed some help. This gentrification has attracted other galleries and dealers, bars, restaurants, and several home décor stores along Market Street. In typical Galerie Hertz fashion, Billy and Tom have moved on to a different location and their current gallery where I’m showing my works is now on South Preston Street. How often is it the case that creative folks move into formerly neglected areas and bring them to back to life?

Among the works I have in this group show is this piece entitled “Moon Star”. I made this piece at the river, but felt is could use a bit more embellishment. I added many found bicycle tire reflectors and some river-polished glass around the head. When the light hits it just right, the reflectors just glow.

Through the miracle of “Styro-dermy”, I saved the Polar Beaver I encountered recently. To get this piece to sit the way I want it to…I have embedded three, large, lead fishing weights into the tail to counterbalance the body.

This diminutive figure is called “The Harbinger of Spring” and I created him last year at this time. I also wrote an accompanying story that helped explain how winter transitions to spring. Although I like to think that many of my Styrofoam-bodied sculptures can hold their own as freestanding objects…they are also relics and artifacts of a site specific performance that happens out at the river and is additionally documented through photographs and stories. At the moment, the sun is shining, but it is also cold at the river. Tomorrow is another day, another day for the river to recede and the mud to dry. I think I will get up early and give it a go. I will let you know what I discover at the Falls of the Ohio State Park.

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High Water High

Posted in Art, art and environment, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Louisville, Kentucky, nature photography, Ohio River, Photograpy, watershed, tagged Art, artist at exit 0, driftwood, Falls of the Ohio, flooding on the Ohio River, flotsam and jetsam, geese, nature, photography, plastic debris, skyline of Louisville Kentucky, the Humana Building on March 16, 2015| 1 Comment »

Following is a portfolio of images I made the first week of March during a bout of minor flooding that at the time of this writing has not yet subsided. After a late season rain and record-breaking snow storm, the Ohio River predictably has swelled its banks. During the past week, we received several more days of rain that kept the water level high. This is seasonal and normal flooding that we usually experience almost every year. I heard the other day that the river hasn’t been at this level since 2011. I published some images of this series on my newly minted Facebook page and will try to avoid duplicating those images here.

Many of these images are of the skyline of Louisville as seen from a soggy Falls of the Ohio State Park. Currently, in Louisville, low-lying sections of our roadways are underwater and a major downtown exit has been closed. River Road is truly in the river. The city is expecting an influx of visitors to arrive by Thursday for the start of the NCAA basketball tournament. Louisville is one of the host sites and our basketball arena is right on the river. As long as there isn’t anymore significant precipitation along the Ohio River Valley, the river should drop fairly quickly.

Light levels were dropping fast near day’s end and I used my camera phone to record these images. There was no wind and the only motion was created by a fast flowing river. I like the way the inundated trees along with their reflections create this frieze that was fun to use in framing a composition.

The Army Corps of Engineer Tainter Gates are under water. Usually, they hold the muddy Ohio River at bay exposing the world-famous fossil beds for exploration. This image captures a long train crossing over the old iron bridge. My outdoor studio where I stash my materials has long since floated away. I will need to start from scratch again, but I have done this many times before. Once the river subsides, I will be able to find new art materials to work with. Frankly, I like it when the park floods a bit. The Ohio River is so dynamic and along with the changing of the seasons provides a novel landscape every time I visit.

Now there is also a downside to all this activity. All the pent-up junk along both banks of the river is free once more to continue its journey to the Gulf of Mexico. In this image, there’s lots of plastic bottles for drinking and oil products plus the usual Styrofoam and driftwood all mixed together. The brightly colored plastic contrasts with the natural tones of the river.

This sign is up all year round, but frankly it makes the most sense to me during moments like this. Floating junk forms a line about where the dam’s wall would be.

Even though the river was high…there was also lots of signs of life. Soon it will be time for the Spring migration of birds moving north which is one of my favorite times of the year in the park. I took several images of this flock of geese. Most are Canada Geese, but the one guarding the rear is a domestic escapee. I have watched this bird with this particular flock of geese for several years now. Usually, the Canada Geese are very territorial especially towards others of their own kind. Perhaps that is the key to the domestic goose’s acceptance…he really isn’t one of them and so he’s tolerated.

Except for some selective cropping of a few images…I have done nothing else to them. In this image, I have made the geese more prominent by eliminating the water in the foreground that makes up most of the photograph. The other nice bird sighting of the day was seeing a juvenile Bald Eagle doing a fly over. Eagles are becoming more common sights along the Ohio River and several pairs have built nests fairly close to the city.

You can get a better sense for this “gentle flood” by showing a few inundated trees. Here larger pieces of driftwood have been blown or directed by currents to the Indiana side of the Ohio River. You can also see plastic junk interspersed among the wood.

The City of Louisville’s downtown section as seen from under the railroad bridge at the Falls of the Ohio. The pink rectangular building with the bluish-green highlights (second tallest building on the right) is the Humana Building. It’s architect, Michael Graves, passed away a few days a go. The Humana Building is considered one of Graves’ Post Modern masterpieces and one of the nicest buildings in our city. I remember when Humana’s founder, Wendell Cherry kept some of his art collection on view in the building that the public could tour on occasion. You might come across Roman statuary in one room and a tall Giacometti bronze in another. The art holdings were amazing. Cherry was mostly secretive about his purchases and once paid the world record for a painting at auction when he bought an early Blue period Picasso self-portrait entitled “Yo Picasso”. I believe the disclosed purchase price was just under 7 million dollars which seems like a bargain now that the record has been pushed recently to over 300 million dollars for a Gauguin painting. I could go on about that, but that is a topic for another time.

Like this guy in the foreground, I’m waiting for the river to recede before seeing what changes have been made. Many of my favorite willow trees are completely underwater. I know they get buffeted and damaged by the currents which carry lots of debris in their wake. Perhaps by this weekend it will be all right to venture out among the muddy driftwood piles? I will bring an empty collecting bag because I’m sure to find “stuff” to use for my creations. On March 22, I will be participating in a group assemblage and collage show at Galerie Hertz. I will have six different sculptures on view. I will give you a sneak peek in my next post. For now, keep your feet dry…Spring is on the way!

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For the Dogs

Posted in Absurd, animal art works, animals, Art, art and environment, collections, creativity, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, Photograpy, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, unusual collection, tagged Art, artist at exit 0, Canines, cartoon characters, cartoon dogs, Dogs, Falls of the Ohio, flotsam and jetsom, found materials, nature, photography, plastic, recycled art, sense of place, the environment, unusual collections, upscaled art on February 15, 2015| 10 Comments »

Many thanks to all who have wished me well in my new position at the Carnegie Center for Art and History. The people I work with are wonderful and the “old dog” that is me is enjoying learning new things. I noticed on the internet, Facebook in particular, how much people love posting about their pets. I’ve decided to take a page from the animal lovers of the world and try to post something both dog and Falls of the Ohio related and here goes! I start with a picture of our family’s dog. This is Cory and she will soon be eight years old. She is named after the town of Corydon, Indiana where she is from. Her mom was a pedigreed beagle and her father was…a one-eyed, black and white spotted Chihuahua/farm dog who took advantage of an opportunity that presented itself. Such is life! Regardless, the puppies were beautiful and Cory seems to have inherited the good qualities of both breeds. My youngest son, Adam, did the choosing and I recall she was the only female in the litter. In appearance, she looks like a miniature beagle and I love her coloring which is black and tan with little white feet. Cory has warm, brown eyes. She is smart, alert, playful, and devoted to our family to the point of being rather possessive. When I come home from work or the river, she is by far, the most excited to see me! Over the years her greeting me at the front door continues to be something I look forward to with deep fondness.

I decided one cold winter’s day to sort through some of the items I’ve found at the Falls of the Ohio over the years and classify them into more coherent collections. Out of my large and ever-growing toy collection, I determined that I had enough dog-related pieces to form a stand alone collection. I gathered the items up and here they are reassembled on the riverbank for this “class photo” of dog characters. This is just the stuff I decided to pick up and put into the collecting bag and does not count all the pet bowls, balls, and chew toys I’ve encountered. I might have picked up all these other items as well, but there is a certain threshold of plastic fatigue that is reached that is hard to move past. There is just so much needless stuff in the world and a lot of it seems to find its way into the Ohio River. The sheer over-abundance of our material culture has certainly shaped my personal direction as an artist.

While this is all just kitsch, some of this is fun and has endearing qualities that recall good moments from childhood. It’s amazing how much a tiny piece of crap plastic can have these other associations attached to it. I do recognize some of the characters portrayed, but not all. It’s actually become part of the challenge to try to identify what some of this stuff refers to? In this photo I recognize good old “Snoopy” from the “Peanuts” cartoon strip. There looks to be a pair of “Weeble” dogs and a couple of others (including a Dalmatian with a fire hat) that are from children’s play sets.

Here are two items from the “Clifford, the Big Red Dog” series. There is “Clifford” in the form of a juice bottle cap with a black patina from being in the river for a long period of time. I believe the other character is “T-bone”. Originally, when you pulled the bone on the string it would cause the dog’s body to vibrate.

I don’t recognize this guy? He’s kind of cute in a bug-eyed way. I’m sure there was a lot of time and effort that went into the myriad decisions to produce this item from beginning concept to finished product. That also includes extracting the petroleum from the earth and other ingredients that went into this exact plastic recipe.

This cutie seems old. I tried looking on a few toy sites, but could not identify this specific piece. I wonder if in fact it is made of rubber that has become rigid over time?

This earless, body-less, squashed, brown, plastic dog head was probably once part of a child’s pull-toy. That’s my best guess here.

This photo is from a few years back and shows a plastic “Huckleberry Hound” toy as I found it on Goose Island. I remember this character from my childhood and was shown along with “Quick Draw McGraw” cartoons. I later used the blue dog for a story I posted. Here’s an image from that story entitled “Lost and Found Hound”.

I wrote this story in 2010 and was inspired by the lost and stray dogs I sometimes encounter in the park. Sadly, plastic is not the only thing that gets disposed of out here. I did have one adventure at the Falls where I was menaced by a feral dog, but usually, they are very wary and difficult to approach. In my story, there is a happy ending and owner and dog are reunited. I guess it was kind of touching or at least as much as putting Styrofoam, plastic, and sticks together can be. I’ve never taken Cory to the Falls of the Ohio State Park. For one, dogs are supposed to be on a leash…not that everyone adheres to that. I guess I fear I would lose her if I let her run loose. Her nose would soon be overcome with “scent joy” and that would get the best of her. There are so many intriguing smells out here that make up a vast language that we have forgotten about that dogs still remember. Although she usually comes to me when I call her…out here, she could be gone in a blink of an eye and it’s not worth that. We will just stick to our neighborhood’s park. I have a couple other “dog” related projects I’ve made over the years.

Here’s an early project I created when I was less interested in stories and more interested in images and objects. You can’t tell from this picture, but I also made an “old woman” figure to accompany the dog. This piece is made from Styrofoam pinned together with little wooden pegs. It also incorporates plastic, driftwood, and nuts in its fabrication. The yellow ball is the core from a contemporary softball which gives you a hint for scale. I think the working title I had for this piece was “A Game of Fetch”. I enjoy the challenge of creating some sense of motion using such static materials.

Despite looking large in this image…this dog is actually very small. You can tell by the walnut I’ve added for scale. It’s “playing” in the shed, dried leaves of a willow tree. I think in this one, the eyes are bits of found coal. I used this same figure for an image that became one of my Christmas cards.

The dog is on the trail of a very large bird. In this case, the tracks were made by a Great Blue Heron and partially frozen in the sand. Well, there you have my tribute to dogs and the Falls of the Ohio. I dedicate this post to our beloved dog Cory. On a daily basis she teaches us that we are more fully human when we give our hearts to members of another species. See you next time from the Falls of the Ohio.

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The Shark Shepherd

Posted in Absurd, animals, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, nature photography, Ohio River, Originality, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged Art, art and the environment, artist at exit 0, beaver tracks, driftwood, ecostory, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, marine ecosystems, nature, photography, repurposed art, sculpture, sense of place, shark fin soup, sharks, story telling, Styrofoam art, the disappearance of sharks, willow sticks on December 9, 2014| 10 Comments »

The following is my latest adventure from the Falls of the Ohio State Park. It’s official now, the month of November was among our top ten coldest Novembers ever recorded. This continues a see-saw trend where one month might set a record for heat (like October did) only to bounce back down to the other extreme. It’s too early to tell about December, but on this recent visit it was cool and overcast. We have since had several days of rain causing the river to swell. Today’s story begins at the westernmost point on the Woodland Loop Trail. This path is bordered by what folks around here refer to as a “creek”, but in actuality is a channel cut into the riverbank by storm water overflow released from the town of Clarksville. I wish it were a creek and perhaps long ago, may have been one. During periods of flooding and high water, driftwood and logs back up into this area and are stranded once the water level recedes. The picture above is a recent illustration of this.

I was exploring this water-cut channel and noticed that there were lots of beaver signs present. In addition to their tracks left in the mud, I found plenty of chewed willow branches. I added some of the nicer sticks to my collecting bag. It made me think about how much the appearance of the black willow trees around here are shaped by the beaver’s “pruning” methods. I don’t know why this didn’t occur to me before…perhaps it was just too obvious. Actually, I think it has something to do with the beaver population rebounding over the last few years. In certain local places, they have become “pests”. Their damning of local drainage canals has necessitated their capture and removal to other more remote areas.

Exploring a bend on the Woodland Loop Trail, I found this deer skull laying upside down on the fallen leaves. It was kind of hard to see, but something in the old brain said to look more closely and I did. After taking a few photographs, I laid it upon the trunk of a large fallen tree for others to discover. Like the beaver, it appears the deer are becoming more numerous as well. After years of finding just their tracks and the occasional bone, this season I was able to spot a doe and her fawn in the park during broad daylight.

I walked to the top of the riverbank to get a better look at the peninsula that has been created at the mouth of the “creek” from the storm sewer’s overflow. Over the years, I have witnessed stringers of sauger and catfish being caught here by the local fishermen. I like how the rising and falling of the river has terraced the mud into a series of graduated steps. I was relaxed and zoning out on the view when I noticed something white that had surfaced and was entering the “creek”. I quickly took a photo and here it is.

I scrambled down the riverbank to get a better view and got my clothes severely muddy in the process. In my head I’m telling myself that for all the world this looks like a shark’s dorsal fin…but is this possible? I remember hearing that there are a few shark species (notably bull sharks) that are capable of swimming up rivers and able to tolerate being in fresh water for extended periods of time. Still, we are a long way from the ocean which also includes navigating a large section of the Mississippi River before entering into the Ohio River… just to reach this spot. I observed the fin submerging as it disappeared from view. Hustling, I reached the general location where I thought the fin was heading and was “blown away” by this sight!

Emerging from the muddy water was this white figure sporting an improbable headdress or mask? The figure was carrying a staff and appeared to have fins on its body similar to a shark. I let this fellow come fully out of the water before my curiosity overwhelmed me and I went in for a closer look.

This strange being did not seem to be afraid of me and regarded me through his dark eyes. His face was framed by what looked like the jaws, teeth, and the head of a shark. My attention kept returning to the fearsome mask it was wearing which I surmised might be a part of some breathing apparatus? A yellow light on its chest would occasionally blink signaling some other unfamiliar technology was present. The staff the figure was holding was terminated by a hand pointing a finger which reinforced the stranger’s mysterious presence.

Using its staff, I watched as the figure drew the outlines of several sharks in the soft mud and then pointed to one of his eyes. He followed this by making a sweeping movement with his arm that seemed to encompass the river and its surrounding landscape. It took me a moment, but I think it asked me if I had seen any sharks in the area? Reflexively, I replied by shaking my head “no” which the figure seemed to understand by dropping his head and shoulders in a disconsolate manner? That’s when I had this mental flash that this guy was a shepherd, a shark shepherd and he was looking for his lost flock? From here on out, I will refer to him as the Shark Shepherd. He next stuck his staff into the mud and walked away from it. I decided to tag along to see if I could learn anything else about my new silent friend.

The Shark Shepherd seemed to have a curiosity about our world. I observed as he approached an improvised tent that someone had set up among the trees. It’s owner(s), however, were not around, but it didn’t seem abandoned in my eyes. Probably made by fishermen and there seemed to be several trying their luck along the riverbank on this windy day. I too have a curiosity about the world and after my encounter with the Shark Shepherd ended…I rushed home to try to figure out what he was doing here so far from the sea? Using the miracle of the internet, I learned a few alarming facts about shark disappearances worldwide.

On average, between 20 million to 73 million sharks a year are taken out of marine ecosystems across the planet. Most of the statistics mentioned the higher number…regardless, that’s too many sharks. Sharks are “harvested” for their fins, cartilage, and teeth. The boom in popularity for shark fin soup has led to an insidious practice where millions of sharks are harvested and often indiscriminately by using thousands of hooks set on miles of trailing “longlines”. Sharks are a valuable bycatch. The captured sharks (which are often caught alive) have their fins cut off and are frequently thrown back into the seas to die in agony. It’s a lucrative business because this was once a delicacy and status symbol reserved for the wealthy back in the day when sharks were harder and more challenging to catch. Now it is within the reach of more people. Through industrialized commercial fishing, millions of mostly Asian consumers can have a bowl of shark fin soup on special occasions. Interestingly, the soup itself needs to be flavored with beef or chicken stock because the fins themselves are a textural element and contribute no flavor of their own. Of course, a bowl of soup is not the only challenge sharks face. Commercial sports fishing, pollution, reef destruction, and overfishing of the shark’s prey base play their part as well.

In the United States, large sharks have disappeared from the Gulf of Mexico. I think this is the reason the Shark Shepherd was this far inland. Along our Atlantic Coast, it has been reported that eleven of the largest shark species have essentially vanished. This has important repercussions for the overall marine environment. You can’t remove this many apex predators from an ecosystem and expect it to function normally. There are cascading effects. A recent study attributes the decline in our East Coast scallop industry is due to the loss of sharks that normally would keep cownosed rays and sting rays who eat scallops in check.

I followed the Shark Shepherd as he explored the area around the newly closed Interpretive Center. There were people around and they did exhibit interest in my friend, but were generally respectful for what was going on. A few folks asked if they could take pictures of the Shark Shepherd and he obliged them. During my internet research, I did find it fascinating that there are places like American Samoa, Hawaii, Guam, and the island nation of Palau where sharks are protected. Interestingly, these are all places in the Pacific Ocean where people regard the shark as a culturally and spiritually significant animal. These Polynesian cultures understand that their very identities are connected with sharks. The same, however, can’t be said for the rest of the world who regard sharks as nuisances and or threats. Better to view something with reverence than through fear.

The Shark Shepherd climbed the staircase to gain a better vantage point overlooking the river. I watched him scan the waters, but only an occasional fishing boat presented itself. If he was looking for sharks, well, there probably hasn’t been any here for about 400 million years when this area was a Devonian Age coral reef. I could feel the poignancy of the Shark Shepherd’s search as it failed to bear fruit. After a short while, we reversed our course and retraced our steps. The Shark Shepherd gathered his staff and walked back into the creek where after acknowledging me with one last look back…disappeared into the Ohio River. Although I realized that I would not see him again, I couldn’t help but hope that he and his sharks wouldn’t disappear forever from the oceans of the world.

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The Giggle Bowl

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, collections, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, nature, nature photography, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, unusual collection, tagged absurdity, Art, artist at exit 0, bird nest, children's nature story, driftwood, ecostory, Falls of the Ohio, flotsam and jetsam, found materials, found objects, material culture, nature, nature and culture, nature photography, nature story, odd collections, photography, recycled art, repurposed art, sense of place, smiley faces, storytelling, Styrofoam, Styrofoam art on November 6, 2014| 6 Comments »

The Falls of the Ohio State Park has experienced its first light frost. With the colder temperatures arriving, a maturing autumn anticipates the winter to come. Although there are still some leaves left on the black willows and cottonwood trees…they won’t last much longer. Already the curled up, shed leaves of the willows are gathering and forming brown islands around the parent trees and defining the spaces the willows occupy in this sandy area near the river. As I walk through this habitat, cocklebur and various other seeds attach themselves to my jeans and shoe laces. Picking and rubbing off the various prickly and sticky hitchhikers, it’s amuses me to think of myself as an agent of seed dispersal!

A circular grass ball lying on the ground catches my eye. Picking up the object I discover an intact bird nest. Did it dislodge from some fork of a tree branch or is this from a ground nesting species? I marvel at its construction and note its exterior is made from dried, interwoven grasses which contrasts with the well-defined interior composed of tiny twigs and rootlets that give structural strength to the bowl. I wonder which species created it and were they successful in raising offspring? The nest is now spent like the willow leaves and I place it on the ground to be reclaimed by nature.

Along my walk, I find various mushrooms and fungi growing on the decomposing driftwood. I admire the variety of forms present. Although the notion of decay hardly sounds optimistic…in this instance it is. The fungi are great recyclers and return needed nutrients back into the environment. These mushrooms are not lesser than, but rather co-equal to the many other interesting life forms that make this place their home. I come across other signs of life along my hike.

There are still a few butterflies around like this Comma. Although nectar from flowers is absent, there are still what I call “butterfly licks” on a few of the willow trees. These licks are sweet spots along the trunk or branches where the tree exudes a sticky sap that attracts insects. With its wings folded upright, this Comma looks much like a dried leaf itself. There is a good chance this butterfly will hibernate and overwinter here before “passing the torch” to the next generation of Comma butterflies in the spring.

Along the riverbank, I find lots of evidence that beaver have been in the area. They have been feeding off the willow trees growing nearest to the water. Beaver are very wary and are probably active at night or very early in the morning. In all my years walking throughout the park, I have only seen them on a couple of occasions. The photo above shows a willow branch that has been gnawed away from the tree and its bark has been nibbled off for food. Their teeth leave “tool marks” on the creamy, ivory-colored wood. By the end of today’s hike, I have collected a nice bundle of beaver chewed sticks to use in my art. And speaking of art…I walked by a couple of projects I worked on in my previous post. The rock ring in the water is still holding up, however, the “Silver Star” made from overlaying driftwood lengths in the sand is a shadow of its former self. Here are a few before and after images.

It’s a big difference and doesn’t appear to be the result of natural wear and tear…unless we accept that there is a naturally destructive side to man’s nature? Of course, this is just a pile of sticks arranged in the sand, but on a much larger, planetary level can we say that the wholesale changes we are making to the environment are natural and inevitable? I’m in the “no” camp because another aspect of our complex natures is the ability to discern right from wrong. Still I wonder when our instincts for self-preservation will start kicking in? I was beginning to mull this over more when I heard what sounded like someone playing strange music from an unfamiliar instrument. I was pretty sure my ears weren’t hearing things and so I walked around until I found its source. You can imagine my deep surprise when I came upon this interesting character in the willow habitat.

He introduced himself as the “Giggle Master” and he said he heard me talking to myself about serious things and grew concerned. His method of revealing himself was to play a tune of his own composition from this combination oboe/recorder that grew from the middle of his face! By breathing in and out and working the finger holes on his instrument he could produce a variety of sounds some of which were quite unique and appealing. When I had adjusted to the idea that a strange being about a foot or 20 or so centimeters tall was talking to me…I relaxed my guard and decided to see what would happen next? The Giggle Master told me to follow him and that he had something to show me that he believed would lighten my mood up considerably.

I followed my new friend to his shelter under a willow tree and he introduced me to his “collection”. Like me, the Giggle Master is a finder and collector of odd river-deposited items. He said it gave him great joy to assemble various odd collections where the sum of the collection is greater and more interesting than the parts. I understood this perfectly because I have many unusual collections of my own river junk. Some of which have been presented in this blog like my Squirt Gun Collection or Collection of Fake Foods. You can see other collections I’ve formed and appear in my Pages section.. I have to say that the collection my friend was presenting to me was indeed unusual. I asked what he called it and would it be possible to photograph it and present it to the wider world? He said that he had no objections and so without further ado…here is what my friend called “The Giggle Bowl”.

We moved to the fossil beds for our impromptu photo shoot. The Giggle Master told me that he had been collecting these “smiley faces” for a few years and now had enough to fill a found plastic bowl. He went on to say that although he recognized that this was mostly waste plastic with all the accompanying bad baggage…it was also important to be able to step back and just appreciate the absurdity of it all. The Giggle Master told me that taking oneself too seriously has potential consequences of its own. He also told me that maintaining a healthy sense of humor would balance out the dark moods and I began to see the wisdom in this. The Giggle Master said that he was appearing to me now because through some sixth sense all his own he could tell my own thoughts and feelings were beginning to sink below the horizon line. He believed every person’s well-being would benefit from having a good laugh. I have to admit it worked on me! Okay, let’s spill the bowl and take a closer look at this goofy collection.

Okay, I confess that I have no idea what or how these smiley faces were used? In their mouths, they have what look to be squeakers, however, these balls are too hard to squeeze. The one with the red cap has a small stone lodged in its mouth and was made in China.

I frequently am grateful when something I come across says what it is. In this case, these are three lightweight foam “antenna balls”. Yes, for a while, there was a fad where people decorated the ends of their cars’ radio antennas with these novelties. I like the one sporting a jester’s cap.

I’m calling these simply “face balls” because they are obviously not the more traditional “smiley faces”. They floated into the park via the Ohio River from parts unknown.

The Giggle Master was slightly alarmed because he realized he is missing the third smiling face from this series of objects. I recognized that these are fishing floats and the missing float is larger still. It will turn up somewhere.

Here’s a trio of smiling faces. The yellow one in the center is a simple ball, but the top and bottom pieces belong to something else I don’t recognize…do you? The top piece looks to be a tiny container and maybe once held candy or soap-bubble solution, but there is no other information about it including its country of origin.

After the photo session was over, we returned to the willow tree where I first met the Giggle Master. He stored his collection in a hollow formed in the tree’s trunk. Before departing from my new friend, I thanked him for the much-needed laugh and wished him happy hunting as he expanded his silly collection. No doubt the river will continue to supply new items. He replied with a few notes from his…”nose instrument’. As I turned for home, I looked back one last time and could discern a slight smile on his tiny face. Until next time from the Falls of the Ohio.

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Goose Island Coal Man Hike

Posted in Art, art and environment, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, nature photography, Ohio River, tagged Art, art walk, artist at exit 0, carp, coal, coral, culture and nature, Devonian fossils, Falls of the Ohio, fixed wier dam, fossils, found objects, Goose Island, nature, photography, tainter gates on October 17, 2014| 10 Comments »

I waited a few days to return to the exposed fossil beds on the Kentucky side of the Falls of the Ohio State Park. My earlier trek went so well that I was determined to walk a little farther dragging my collecting bag full of water worn coal with me. I had the same idea as before, namely creating figurative images using the coal in site specific areas. Today I was determined to walk around Goose Island which is accessible by foot in the summer and early fall when the river level is diverted towards the locks and thus exposing the many layers of this ancient Devonian reef. It won’t be too much longer until the autumn rains replenishes the water along the Ohio River Valley and submerges this part of the park again until next summer.

As before, I crossed over at the Lower Tainter Gates in the eastern section of the park. I walked along the Fixed Wier Dam reaching the area where some waterfalls that flow into Whiskey Chute remain. This is where I created my first coal figure of the day. From above, the figure appears to be dancing and this is one of my favorite images from this new series.

Going around the waterfalls, I walk through ankle to knee-deep water and continue following the dam’s wall westward. Strategically placed notches at the top of this concrete wall provides a flow of water to a small wetlands area that harbors a variety of life. In this place natural waterfalls and cascades have been replaced by artificial ones. As I wade through it is a bit humbling knowing that the level of the Ohio River is at the top of this wall. I saw many water-loving birds including Belted Kingfishers, Blue-winged Teal, Caspian Terns, Double-crested Cormorants, and Great Blue Herons that favor this part of the park.

Many of these birds were here because this area also attracts fish. Numerous grass carp were eating algae in the shallows and small schools of juvenile fish were startled by the sudden appearance of my all too white legs as I walked through their space. If I stood motionless for a while, the carp would return and I could observe them more closely.

Goose Island has sandy banks. As I was wading along the southeast side of the island, I set up this figure with up raised arms in an open spot among plants that were growing in a row parallel to the water’s edge.

I left the water and walked along the edge of the island walking westward. This section has a cottonwood habitat. I came across a large cottonwood tree that had fallen off the high bank and was now bleaching in the sun. Driftwood snagged around this tree’s root mass marks how high the water can get when the river is flowing. There was a strong smell of urine around this shrinking pond and the many deer tracks proved these animals frequented this place. Hundreds of tiny toads were hopping through the grass near this waterhole! I had never seen anything like this out here before. I wished I had taken at least one image of these toads in my hand for scale. Although they were tiny, they also looked like perfectly formed adults that had been miniaturized.

Continuing my walk on Goose Island, I can see the wall of the Fixed Wier Dam and the hydroelectric plant in the distance which is situated on Shippingport Island. The plants in the foreground with their prickly, ripening seed pods are Jimsonweed. Along the sandy bank, I could see slides where beaver have dragged their tree cuttings from the nearby woods into the water. There is probably evidence of a dam nearby, but I did not see it on this trip.

This is as far as you can walk in this part of the park. Goose Island’s western edge ends at the Upper Tainter Gates. This is a popular area for fishermen who reach this spot by boat. I did see several Osprey circling the sky here. There is a small section of sand dunes on Goose Island that are shaped by wind and wave. In the above image, bird tracks crisscross the sand. I placed my final coal figure of the day here at the edge of a dune. This time the figure has been turned on its side. Plumes of sand were blowing up and away at the dune’s edge by wind. In the image below, the distance from the top of the dune to the riverbank on the right is deceiving. I estimate that this is a seven or eight foot drop and a short roll to the river.

From this area I start my hike home on the north side of Goose Island and start heading east. It has been a great day interacting with this environment. I have several other images to show before closing that were shot on this walk. Fortunately, there isn’t as much plastic junk to find on this side of the park, but of course there were a few things that caught my eye.

Here’s another squirt gun to add to the collection.

A goofy blue plastic hand rests on a fossil bearing rock . If you look closely, you can see bits of a crinoid stem by the thumb. I did take other images of fossils along my walk. Here are more crinoid pieces found near the Upper Tainter Gates. Crinoids are often described as sea lilies and were sessile marine animals that filtered and captured small animals from a flower-like calyx.

On the walk home, I kept walking by different fossil corals exposed in this ancient limestone. Corals are colonial animals and you get a sense for this in my next image.

The park prohibits collecting fossils and I begin to wonder if this heavy bag of coal that I have lugged around the island would count? Technically speaking coal is a fossil material. Although I found all my coal within the park, it did not originate here. I retrace my steps crossing the exposed fossil beds and by the time I reach my vehicle…I am one tired guy. If my luck holds, I might be able to take one more walk out here before this area becomes the bottom of the river again. If it doesn’t happen…there is always next year!

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Odd Fish Discovery at the Falls of the Ohio

Posted in Absurd, animal art works, animals, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, nature, nature photography, recycled art, tagged Art, artist at exit o, driftwood, ecostory, environmental art, environmental story, Falls of the Ohio, fish, fishing, fossil beds, found art materials, nature, photography, plastic, recycled art, sense of place, Styrofoam, willow trees on October 9, 2014| 2 Comments »

After my all day excursion to the Kentucky side of the fossil beds…my next visit to the park was a relatively short one. I had a few hours to work with and decided to check out the riverbank on the Indiana side. It has been very dry of late and I heard on the radio that farmers have begun revising their optimism about this year’s corn crop. Once again, we have had a season that seems atypical in a few respects. Most notably, our summer has been a cool one. No temperatures in the high 90 or 100 degree range…that would be about 35 to 38 degrees on the Celsius scale. Climatologists point to the cold Arctic air that came sweeping down from Canada during July as the reason our summer was not as hot. People around here aren’t complaining about that, but after last year’s polar vortex winter… folks are wondering if that bodes well for this year’s fall and winter?

In addition to the coolness, it’s also been dry of late. Seems that we haven’t had a significant rain storm to speak of in weeks and the river continues to recede. New pools are formed stranding fish in them and many creatures take advantage of this bounty. Walking along the cracked riverbank I find evidence of this.

I soon came across dead fish left behind in the wake of weekend fishermen. In this picture, an armored and toothy Longnose Gar (Lepisosteus osseus) lies side by side with an equally interesting fish that is rarely found here. With its thick body, white caudil fins, and unique pectoral fins…I identify this smaller fish. It’s more commonly called a Bull Gill, but science also recognizes it as (Taurus opercula). I wonder if there are any other specimens hiding in the deeper pools around here? To find out, I gather waste monofilament line found all along the riverbank along with a found lead-headed jig and before too long I have improvised a hand line for fishing.

After some trial and error, I succeeded in catching a Bull Gill by bumping my jig along the bottom of a wide, but shallow pool. The fish was well hooked and after a short struggle I was able to bring him up for a better look.

I hurriedly take as many photographs as I can. My intention is to release this fish back into the water after I document its presence here at the Falls of the Ohio. As you can see, this fish contrasts greatly with the dead gar we saw earlier. The gar is in fact a more ancient and primitive fish that relies on its hard armor for protection. The gar is mostly a surface fish mimicking a floating piece of wood while it stealthily seeks out smaller fish to ambush. The gar’s strategy has been so successful that it has changed little after millions of years. The Bull Gill evolved much later and lacks prominent scales on its more compact body. It too, however has evolved a unique method of feeding.

The Bull Gill gets its name from its powerfully muscled head. Just below and behind its gill covers, the unique pectoral fins have evolved so that this fish can support itself on the bottom of a swiftly moving stream or river. I was able to demonstrate this with my specimen. I placed my fish upon the rocks by the riverbank and it was able to support its body off the rocky surface using its strong and rigid fins. In the water, the Bull Gill secures itself on the rocky bottom with its stiff pectoral fins and with its head facing upriver. The Bull Gill is a predatory bottom feeder. As prey fish swim by, the Bull Gill with a quick burst is able to capture its food and swallows them head first before returning to its spot on the river bottom. I had this fish out of water for just a couple of minutes before releasing it safely back into the Ohio River. I had to say that I enjoyed encountering a creature you don’t see every day. It’s presence here is a good sign since the Bull Gill needs good quality water to thrive. I gathered up my collecting bag and walking stick and decided to check out my stash of Styrofoam under the willows.

The willow trees are up the riverbank and the leaves are beginning to yellow more noticeably. Along the way you pass by a couple of courses of deposited driftwood. I love the silvery color of this wood which is due to exposure to the sun and elements. I had a great surprise in store for me once I ducked under the cover of the trees. For many years I have known that White-tail Deer are present in the park because their tracks are all over the place. These ghost deer are fairly close to a populated area and extremely wary of people. They must move around the park in the middle of the night or really early in the morning to avoid detection.

As I moved near my spot, I spooked a doe and her late season fawn. I could still make out the spotted pattern on the fawn. They were bedded down near a large log that floated into the park last year. I first saw the doe which rose and ran off upon sighting me. The fawn then stood up and followed after its mom. I was unable to take a photograph because this sequence happened in just seconds. I then followed to see if a second glimpse was possible and I even doubled back to this spot should the deer attempt the same maneuver. Unfortunately, I didn’t get another look at them, but since they are near my outdoor studio, I will be sure to check for them next time.

It had been many weeks since I last visited my larder of river-gleaned materials. I could tell that people had been through here, but there is obviously nothing of value. I mean what could one do with water-tumbled polystyrene and sticks? If the river doesn’t rise anytime soon, I will come back and make something from this odd deposit. My next post, however, will come from the Kentucky side of the fossil beds. After this adventure, I returned with my river-polished coal and explored a few more areas around Goose Island and the hydroelectric plant. I think I made some compelling images that speak of a sense for place and I look forward to sharing them with you.

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Fossil Beds and the Coal Man

Posted in Art, art and environment, birding, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, nature photography, Ohio River, watershed, tagged Art, artist at exit 0, carbon, cascades, coal, coal images, Devonian Age, exposed fossil beds, Falls of the Ohio State Park, fossil corals, nature, photography, sense of place, site specific art, Taking a walk on September 30, 2014| 10 Comments »

Two years have passed since I last set foot on the fossil beds on the Kentucky side of the river. I had to wait until I fully trusted a bum knee to be well enough to walk upon the hard, irregular limestone surface that for most of the year is underwater.

This is after all, the bottom of the Ohio River and accessible most summers when water is diverted to fill water levels at the McAlpin Locks and Dams. The Ohio River is a managed river for much of its length. Closing the snow plow shaped tainter gates helps regulate water levels for commercial navigation and flood control, but it also exposes the majority of the fossil beds to inspection at the Falls of the Ohio State Park.

I have rolled my ragged jeans up and I’m wearing a pair of shoes for sloshing through knee-high deep water at best. As I move under the old iron railroad bridge, I walk past the gigantic concrete and metal gates holding the river back. Something in their hieratic designs reminds me of ancient Egyptian art. Here on a massive, civic-project scale, abstracted silhouettes of seated pharaohs serve the gods of engineering. My goal today is to reacquaint myself with this unique environment and mark the day in some way.

From experience, I know that there are far fewer materials to access on this side of the fossil beds. Most of the Styrofoam, plastic, and driftwood I frequently use is driven by wind and river currents to the Indiana bank where I’ve preformed most of my projects.

Being out in this environment with its varied materials often inspires me to want to make something, but what will I do today? I take advantage of the river polished coal I found around the railroad bridge and envision an image I can work with site specifically.

I have come to like working with coal as a material because it is timely and is also invested with so much meaning. In Kentucky, coal is currently a big political issue and many good people truly believe there is a war on coal and climate change is a not supported by the facts.

Anthracite is a deeply, shiny-black crystalline material out of the mine… but the river can tumble it into dull, but smooth feeling, egg-like forms. I prefer the more river polished pieces of coal.

I’m guessing I’ve picked up about 10 or 12 pounds of coal which I carry in a canvas collecting bag. Okay, I have my material and my feet are already wet. With walking stick in hand, I walk along side the high walls that separate the Ohio River from the now exposed Devonian Age fossil beds.

Wall seperating Ohio River from fossil beds, Falls of the Ohio, Sept. 2014

The dam’s concrete wall that separates the river from where you are standing on the fossil beds is maybe 18 to 20 feet tall? It’s up there and sobering as well because the Ohio River’s waterline is just below the top of the wall which is just on the other side! A series of pre-formed notches along the top of the wall allows water to flow over a section of the fossil beds.

A small wetlands area has been encouraged here that draws many water-loving birds. Among the species I observed on this day included: the Belted Kingfisher, Caspian Terns, Great Egrets, Osprey, Great Blue Heron, Double-crested Cormorants, Canada Geese, Killdeer plovers, Blue-winged Teal, Mallard Ducks, Black Vultures, and an American Coot.

Although it’s not hot today, there is little to shade you from the intense light out on the open fossil beds. Most of these beds are high and dry, but the surface is pockmarked in places with potholes that hold water. Most of the shallow pools that caught fish when the river level dropped have been cleaned out by the water birds.

In the above photo, a large log has become stranded on the top of the wall placed there when the Ohio River was receding from flood stage. It was in this area that I set down my heavy collecting bag and laid out my first Coal Man design on the fossil surface.

The figure has a marionette-like presence, but I relate more to it as a simple sign for figure. In my head I’m seeing an ancient landscape marked here and there with this contemporary pictographic/petroglyph. The Falls of the Ohio have been occupied by man for thousands of years and I like relating to this history. The water is shallow and green from algae. Molted bird feathers define the circumferences of many of these water holes. Annoying small flies and gnats fly around the potholes and around your head seeking salt or other moisture.

This figure has been laid out on a table-like boulder surrounded by very shallow water. It’s a very temporary site-specific expression on a very tiny island. I have heard people describe the exposed fossil beds as being a “moonscape” and it does feel like this landscape could be from another planet.

Many of the fossil beds are in layers or courses and here I am trying out some of the pictorial possibilities using my now seated Coal Man. The Interpretive Center is the structure in the far distance. After a while, it’s time to cool off a little and have a good sit. There’s a series of small cascades up ahead that are the nearest to imagining what the Falls may have originally looked like and I head that way.

I see in my mind’s eye, each different Coal Man design introducing a different feature on this side of the park. I have been wading in shin-high to knee-high water to reach this place. It’s like an oasis on the exposed and fossilized ancient coral reef. I like resting here and having a water and snack break. If you remain inconspicuous you can often spot many different bird species here. The shallow but swiftly flowing water has small schools of baby fish seeking places of safe harbor. I’ll bet the oxygen levels in this water is very high?

I cool off wading and exploring this area before moving on. This space has a bit of the amphitheater feeling about it. The cascades take on a larger horseshoe formation connected by many small waterfalls. In the recent past, much larger cascades existed and put on a water show that I wish I could have seen.

Time to move on and dry off. Today, I’m only planning on walking to the beginnings of Goose Island where I will make my final images with this Coal Man. I definitely see returning out here again soon while the river level remains low. It won’t be too much longer before autumn rains and winter snows replenish the Ohio River and re-submerges these fossil beds until next year.

So far, I had kept the Coal Man dry. At this location which was the extent of today’s visit…I took advantage of clear, shallow water to create these pictures.

The wet coal turned deep black and I liked how many of the images graphically benefited from that. I guess this is Carboniferous Man swimming above the Devonian Age? From here I bagged the coal and started the walk home over the fossil beds.

Before closing, here are a few actual fossils I photographed along the way. This was once an active coral reef over 300 million years a go. Life was in the oceans. The species first discovered here have greatly expanded our knowledge of life at this time. This was the high point for corals and sponges and also gave rise to the first fishes.

This was my last river excursion of the summer. It is amazing how quickly this year is flying by! I was really happy that my left knee did not give me any problems. I am feeling encouraged and I still have this bag of coal I can keep playing with on a future visit. Thanks again for coming along…from the fossil beds at the Falls of the Ohio State Park…so long for now.

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Other Falls of the Ohio Images, Post # 392

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, collections, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, nature photography, Ohio River, unusual collection, tagged Art, artificial and natural, artificial flower, artist at exit 0, barge cable, Falls of the Ohio, found objects, life, material culture, nature, nature and culture, photography, sense of place, willow roots on August 15, 2014| 12 Comments »

Each trip I take to the Falls of the Ohio results in lots of other images recorded on site. Although I may think all of my photographs are interesting in some way, for brevity’s sake…they can’t all make it into a post. If a storyline develops while I’m at the river, I will try to prioritize that and hope that at some other time in the future some of these other photographs will fit in somewhere? This post is an attempt to include some of the other pictures that were taken during my last excursion to the river. Although that visit resulted in my last published post about this tiny artist persona with a penchant for creating micro installations with plastic cup lids and straws…there were a few other sights at the river that caught my eye on this day.

The Wild Potato Vine is a common flowering summer plant at the Falls. The flowers are large and its leaves are heart-shaped and grow on very long vines. This plant is named for the large tuber it produces. I’ve noticed that out here, these large blooms attract large bumble bees. This is a genuine and indigenous wild flower which contrasts with my next discovery.

In a pool of stagnant water I came across this other interesting bloom. Don’t bother looking it up in a field guide to flowers because you won’ find it. I discovered it and so I take credit for naming it. I call this the “Yellow-flowering Mud Nymphea” and it “mimics” members of the lotus family. This plant has a single leaf that floats on the surface of still water or upon particularly juicy mud. Rising from that leaf is a large blossom (about the size of a child’s hand) that is a dingy yellow color and the petals have a cloth-like texture. Most fascinating of all…there are fake droplets of water that “bead up” on the individual petals. Imagine if you took hot glue and applied small drops to the petals…well, it would look a lot like what is happening on this plant. Knowing how this plant functions out here will require additional study. The Falls of the Ohio is a highly disturbed place and oddities are springing up all over. This just happens to be the latest mutant plant to add to a growing list.

Another topic I have explored in a past post see “Life in a Bucket” are real plants that grow in less than promising circumstances. Like many people, I have marveled at how plants can grow in narrow cracks in the sidewalks. The next trio of images are related to that phenomena. On my last adventure, I found three examples to share with you that demonstrate how opportunistic life can be. The image above shows a couple of sprigs of grass that are growing out of a small hole in a plastic, toy wheel. The wheel was probably originally part of a child’s tricycle. Over time, the detached hollow wheel filled with dirt and silt and retained enough moisture to allow grass seeds to germinate. Next is another wheel/plant combination that I see more commonly in the park.

This is a tire garden. Because old, ruined automotive tires are frequently thrown in the river (out of sight, out of mind) they frequently wash up here. Over time, they sink into the sand and mud and are very difficult to move. Opportunistic seeds colonize the central space where wood, silt, and other nutrients collect and before long you have a mini ecosystem growing out of a circular island in the sand. My next image is an amazing willow tree that I have posted images of before. Let’s look at how it is doing this year?

Amazingly, this willow is growing through the metal holes of the wheel. Previously, I had speculated on whether or not this tree would lift the tire into the air as it grew or be choked to death as the holes became too small? This year’s seasonal flooding has tipped the wheel up on one edge and exposed the roots of the tree. So far, it appears to be okay. I will be keeping tabs on this tree to see how it fares in the future. How the natural and artificial come together in the wider environment is an area of great interest for me. Our next example is a good illustration of this.

I walked passed this willow tree and noticed that a frayed, root-like, barge cable was intertwined with the living tree’s root system. Perhaps it’s the cable’s bright colors contrasting against the natural tones of the willow roots and earth that give it an aggressive appearance to me? The actions of the river help unravel these large nylon ropes used to moor and secure very large barges. Interestingly, I have seen various bird species hasten this process by picking apart the fibers for use as nesting material. The Baltimore Oriole is especially good at this and uses the colorful fibers in the construction of their hanging basket nests. The Ohio River, per tonnage moved, is one of the busiest waterways in the world for commercial navigation. I find the remnants of old barge cables frequently washed up upon the shore and buried in the sand and on occasion have integrated them into different projects.

Sometimes it’s just the incongruity or coincidence that I feel just finding the trash in this context. The photo above finds a partially crushed “Sunkist” brand soft drink resting upon a piece of rusty-colored concrete in the water on a sun-kissed day. I later noticed at home, the small damselfly that is also resting on the concrete. Do you see it? Or, how about the next one?

Washed ashore upon the fossil rocks was this smashed plastic lemon. It once contained “real” lemon juice. Over the years, I have found many of these lemon-shaped bottles. What I find interesting here is the presented combination of image and substance…a plastic lemon that once held genuine lemon juice. It doesn’t take much to pique my interest! I never know what I will find on any given day at the Falls of the Ohio. The river washes in “fresh” material on a regular basis. The river is like our subconscious and who knows what lies below its depths or floats upon the surface to be discovered by someone walking its shoreline?

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Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog

Art and images from the Falls of the Ohio.

Archive for the ‘ecosytem’ Category

Shoe Shaman of the Big Blue Nation

Muddy Falls and Galerie Hertz

High Water High

For the Dogs

The Shark Shepherd

The Giggle Bowl

Goose Island Coal Man Hike

Odd Fish Discovery at the Falls of the Ohio

Fossil Beds and the Coal Man

Other Falls of the Ohio Images, Post # 392

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Art and images from the Falls of the Ohio.

Archive for the ‘ecosytem’ Category

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