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Coal for Christmas…2018 Comes to an End

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, Art and Nature, art and the environment, Artist at Exit 0, assemblage art, environmental art, flip-flops, found materials, Found objects, Louisville, Kentucky, material culture, Ohio River, Plastic art, public art, recycled art, repurposed art, sense of place, Site specific art, Styrofoam, tagged Art, art and nature, creativity, photography, plastic on December 31, 2018| 6 Comments »

Coal Barges trapped against the dam at the Falls of the Ohio State Park

Runaway coal barges on the upstream side of the dam at the Falls of the Ohio State Park.

What a poor excuse for a blogger I have turned out to be! Just my second post of what has been an extremely active year which, however, is not ending on positive notes! Just in from the news room…2018 was Louisville’s wettest year on record. We are just over 69 inches (it is pouring now as I write this) of rain for the year breaking a record created in 2011.

That’s not that long ago and welcome to the new norm. When I started my Artist at Exit 0 River Project, I was partly curious if could I “witness” climate change within the relatively small confines of this well understood park situated in my own backyard? Certainly, the increased levels of precipitation over time point to this. The Ohio River during 2018 had high water moments and February set a new all-time record for rainfall for that month. The river had high water moments during July, September, and December a couple of times. We have had monsoon-like storms that literally have dumped billions of gallons of water on our area. Almost everything dealing with the weather is becoming an event. The city is digging out a couple of massive stone catch basins for all the excessive rain water that overwhelms our sewer system with some of these storms.

The disaster currently playing out breaks my heart. On Christmas day we all got coal for presents. An upstream tow pushing 15 barges loaded with coal broke loose hitting our Second Street Bridge. Of course, the river was way up and at least six of the barges have sunk releasing by a current estimate about 9000 tons of coal into the river! There are still barges trapped against the dam (see above photo) This is an ongoing, unresolved situation and even more coal could end up in the water. I will stop here with this, but 2019 will begin this way.

Final Styro-figure group of 2018.

This is an image of my last figurative group of 2018. The river has knocked them down now, but parts of them haven’t completely drifted away. After the loss of my first absurd Styrofoam group of the year, subsequent high water events and vandalism prevented this from going much farther. Much of the second half of 2018 was taken up in maintaining my various “plastic gardens” scattered throughout the park and skirting around encroaching waters. This, however, has always been my main site which is easy to access and plentiful in terms of found materials. At this site, I continued working with found flip-flops creating double spiral designs and meandering patterns dug into the sand. I continued working with found cigarette lighters which remains this year’s medium for me. I have estimated that I have picked up at least 800 spent cigarette lighters this year alone! I continued to create and maintain other plastic assemblages from debris found in the park. I have worked with found balls, soft drink bottles with questionable contents, and aluminum can bottoms which are the only part of the aluminum can that survives the river here and yes I have worked with coal too. Rather than tell you…here are a few images to show you.

Found plastic assemblage in the western section of the park nestled in the root system of this wonderful tree.

Found plastic assemblage created on site in the eastern section of the Falls of the Ohio State Park.

Found plastic assemble with purple jack-o-lantern in the western section of the Falls of the Ohio.

Last look at this plastic assemblage set up in the western section of the park. High water eventually took this piece down.

Double Spiral Found Flip-flop Arrangement

Found flip-flops were used to create this double spiral design.

Meandering pattern made with found flip-flops.

This piece eventually incorporated over 160 found flip-flops picked up in the park. Wiped out in early December.

Found Flip-flop piece at my outdoor atelier at the Falls of the Ohio

Final flip-flop piece before the river rearranged my studio site during late December.

Found cigarette lighters on a great pine stump.

A great pine stump was the site for this found lighter project.

Lots of sunken tires out here and they make good micro sites for projects.

Meandering found cigarette lighter design on found mattress

This mattress came in with the river and makes a good site for these found lighters.

Sunken tire and found soft drink bottle with contents piece

Found soft drink bottles with contents set in a discarded tire.

Found soft drink bottle with contents piece.

The colors come from sport and other soft drinks in their plastic bottles.

I also did my share of smaller figurative pieces. Here is a favorite that originally was a slow motion video shot with my iPhone. I started to play around a bit more with video by offering small video “tastes” of some of the things I do to amuse myself at the river.

My bird observations have manifested themselves in found objects that have become their own creative ornithology. Here are a couple recent favorite sightings of these very rare birds.

A high Ohio River has this Butcher Beak searching for food near the water’s edge.

On Sand Island by the Falls of the Ohio, I spotted this rare Black-tailed Tern in migration.

A 2018 highlight was coming across this Violet-tailed Bower bird finding river treasure for its bower.

I realize that I can’t post everything I made this year, but here were a few of the projects that still resonate with me. I will keep making art and seeing where life goes from here. I hope we all have a great 2019! I will be watching with interest what happens with our coal spill. I have already tested out a few ideas. See you next year from the Falls of the Ohio.

From this Summer…a coal man formed in a drift of coal dust and gravel.

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Welcome to 2018…Artist at Exit 0!

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, Art and Nature, art and the environment, assemblage art, driftwood, flip-flops, found materials, Found objects, lost and found, lost sandals, material culture, nature, nature photography, Ohio River flooding, plastic, public art, recycled art, repurposed art, sense of place, Site specific art, Styrofoam, tagged Art, art and nature, nature, Recycled Art Styrofoam Art, sense of place, site specific art on July 4, 2018| 4 Comments »

I will admit to being shocked to see that this is indeed my first post of the year on the old riverblog! My only excuses are that I’ve prioritized my time to be in the field as much as possible and much of what I’ve documented has also appeared on other social media outlets. I am very appreciative for those who continue to visit the riverblog and I will try to be more regular with my reports. Here is our story thus far. The new year began well enough and we had our first snow in January. The Styro-sculpture group I had dubbed the “The Re-Assembled” had survived all kinds of abuse and managed to hang on and grow.

The "Re-Assembled" in the Snow. Jan 13, 2018

The little high spot on the riverbank that I call my outdoor gallery and atelier under the willows was looking good. Naturally, we expect to see some minor high water issues in the park during late winter and early spring as snow melt throughout the extensive Ohio River Valley watershed moves downriver. I continued to visit the park when I could and made new figures and projects from materials I had collected and recycled many times before. Our area and the Ohio River were soon to experience a big change and naturally my driftwood atelier would be in the way. Here is the last image I have of “The Re-Assembled” intact among other projects before the Ohio River eventually claimed them all through flooding events that happened from mid February through April. The first flood of 2018 would be one for the record books, but it was quickly followed by two more minor high water moments that continued to rearrange the landscape under the old railroad bridge.

Outdoor studio view with the last of the "Re-Assembled" Styrofigure group with plastic assemblage and flip-flop pit. Falls of the Ohio State Park

After all you see here was swept away…and then swept away again. I continued to skirt around the wide margins of the river documenting my river finds and adding to my various found object collections. Here is a little taste of the high water we experienced from the observation deck of the Interpretive Center. At my site, I watched the river move up the bank ever so quietly. I marked the water’s advance with little sticks in the sand just to keep an eye on things.

As the river rose and then receded, I kept filling my collecting bags with materials and my camera with images. It’s funny how each high water moment seems to bring its own kind of debris. Among the found objects and materials I sifted from the sand and driftwood included hundreds of cigarette lighters ( I have removed more than 500 of them this year) and lost flip-flops. Here is a good sampling of some of those projects that I made with those river finds.

Found cigarette lighter oval on washed up picnic table with Louisville in the distance.

The above image is that day’s found lighters arranged on a picnic table that washed into Ashland Park which is contiguous to the Falls of the Ohio State Park. The skyline of Louisville, KY is seen from across the Ohio River. Here is another lighter piece arrangement at my ever shifting outdoor studio.

That day's found lighters arranged by color on a wooden beam that washed up in the Falls of the Ohio State Park. 2018

This lighter arrangement on the wooden beam proved tempting for someone who needed all these lighters because they all disappeared. One more lighter project before moving on to flip-flop projects. I know, that sounds real tempting!!

Found lighter spiral arrangement on a stump, Falls of the Ohio State Park. 2018

Simple but colorful design created on a found stump using brightly colored plastic lighters collected on that day’s adventure. As this year has developed, I have looked more upon creating images utilizing these micro sites.

Improvised found flip-flop piece on wood panel on a high Ohio River with Louisville in the distance. 2018

The river is still very high for this found flip-flop arrangement. I am also continuing to enjoy using these lost sandals as a stand-in for our kind. So much can be implied through the idea of a foot print.

Found wooden john-boat with flip-flop arrangement, Falls of the Ohio, April 2018

Detail, Found Flip-flops in Found Wooden John-boat, Falls of the Ohio, April 2018

We had another flooding moment in late April which again changed the character of my outdoor studio and the area around the old railroad bridge. In its aftermath, an immense and impressive mound of driftwood and other river debris has been left behind. My old site is history and both the UFO (Unidentified Floating Object) and the recent john-boat project were affected. It’s only been since May that a sense of the routine, seasonal environment at the Falls of the Ohio State Park has begun to settle in. I’ve compressed a lot in this post and it breaks my heart to leave anything out, but that seems to be the way to go here. As the debris mound begins to settle and new junk works its way out, I will continue to show up and document what I find and how I used it. From the Falls of the Ohio…the Artist at Exit 0.

Styro-figure with Bullhorn with Meandering Found Lighter Arrangement, Falls of the Ohio, April 2018

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River Report at the End of the Year

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, Art and Nature, assemblage art, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, flip-flops, found materials, Found objects, Installation, lost and found, material culture, nature photography, Photograpy, plastic, Plastic art, recycled art, repurposed art, repurposed materials, sculpture, sense of place, Site specific art, tagged Art, artist at exit 0, creativity, environment, Falls of the Ohio State Park, flotsam and jetsam, Life on the Ohio River, Plastic litter, sculpture, sense of place, site specific art, Styrofoam art on December 29, 2017| 5 Comments »

Artist at Exit 0 site the day after Christmas 2017

It’s the day after Christmas at the Falls of the Ohio on an admittedly nippy day. I stopped by my trusty site under the now bare willow trees to see how this latest group of sculptures and artworks are faring? Each time I come out here, I’m just as likely to find things knocked down and destroyed. A couple of posts back, I documented my site and the figures that were created there beginning in May of this year. I initially called the Styro-figures “The Assembled” and after they were vandalized they became “The Re-Assembled”. Well, even this group is now history after every standing figure was decapitated and speared! Here are some before and after images. I used this final image of “The Re-Assembled” with the peace sign on my Christmas cards this year.

Final View of "The Re-Assembled" with Flip-Flop Peace Sign, at the Falls of the Ohio, early Dec. 2017

"The Re-Assembled" decapitated and impaled, Dec. 2017

Every head was destroyed and that is where much of the personality of each figure resides. I gathered what remained of the heads and bodies and added them to the pile. I picked up what loose fishing floats that I had adapted for eyes and other plastic parts I used that were still in the area and placed them in my collecting bag. The found flip-flop peace sign was obliterated. It wasn’t up a week yet! Interestingly, the colorful plastic container arrangement I have on site has survived three attacks! It has essentially remained intact with me adding to it every once in a while.

Scrambled found flip-flop peace sign at the Falls of the Ohio, Dec. 2017

Of course we can’t leave things there! I visited my site in early December with Jason Moore, an art student at Murray State University who came to my presentation there last October. He was in town on winter break and asked to tag along. Together, we started the process of straightening things up and beginning some new pieces. I put him in charge of the flip-flop pit which was a very new medium for him. The only guidance I gave him was that he needed to use every sandal on site! He had one false attempt before arranging the flip-flops in this design.

Jason Moore, first attempt at a flip-flop design at the Falls of the Ohio, Dec. 2017

Jason Moore with his found flip-flop design at the Falls of the Ohio. Dec. 2017

As Jason tries his hand at this site specific piece, I set to work on creating what turned out to be an imposing figure that towers over you on site. After pairing a new head with a new body I began creating this figure’s features. As I’m doing this…I’m also aware that I am now re-re-reusing many of these materials. Some of this stuff has played a part in multiple figures.

A new head begins, Falls of the Ohio, Dec. 2017

This is where a new work begins. I searched through my collecting bag looking for the found components to make up the eyes, mouth, nose, and ears. I then find a stick to attach the head to the body and then look for driftwood, tree roots, etc…to make the limbs. Here is how the head eventually presented.

Detail of my new figure's head, Falls of the Ohio, Dec. 2017

I thought the toe thong “thingie” from an old flip-flop made a decent mustache! Let’s pull back a little to take a wider look at things. This image shows the new figure dramatically illuminated as the sun sets.

New Styro-figures just before the Winter Solstice, Falls of the Ohio, Dec. 2017

Jason created the small figure with the plastic squirrel and I added the round-headed, portly figure. Another week later I would add a fourth this time blue-bodied figure to bring us to the present.

Styro-skulls on the polystyrene pile, Falls of the Ohio, Dec. 2017

It has been a very interesting year and as it ends it’s good to reflect a bit. Perhaps creatively… this has been one of my better years. I think the work overall has taken on a more formal look as I continue to work with different materials. I’m out here as often as I can get away. A big change is in using other social media platforms to “publish” what I’m doing which was something I once reserved exclusively for this blog. I’m on Facebook and Instagram regularly which has been a fun way to share pictures. I’ve had a couple of exhibition opportunities this year which was great and unexpected. I’m even ending the year and this post…with some very positive press which also serendipitously came my way.

Here is a link to a lot of content that the News and Tribune, a southern Indiana newspaper, put together about my Falls of the Ohio Project. Albertus Gorman News and Tribune Article This link has a video shot at the Falls of the Ohio as I demonstrate what I do.

I will leave it here for this year and hope that everyone out in the wider world has a very Happy New Year. See you at the river during 2018.

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A Short History of “The Assembled”

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, Art and Nature, art and the environment, Artist at Exit 0, assemblage art, creativity, Falls of the Ohio, flip-flops, found materials, Found objects, Installation, lost and found, lost sandals, material culture, Ohio River, plastic, Plastic art, public art, recycled art, repurposed art, repurposed materials, sculpture, sense of place, Site specific art, Styrofoam, tagged "Folk Fiction" exhibit Clara M. Eagle Gallery, "The Assembled", Art, artist at exit 0, creativity, Falls of the Ohio, lost and found, material culture, Murray State University art department, nature, plastic legacy, public art, sense of place, site specific installation, Styrofoam, the absurd on October 8, 2017| 2 Comments »

While my poor riverblog has been waiting for me…I have quietly been having one of my more creative years at the Falls of the Ohio State Park. When I visit the river, I’m making several projects with the junk I find as I walk along this familiar landscape. My previous post shows some of the ways I have played with color and form using other commonly found and mostly plastic materials. I also had fun this summer creating my own absurd brand of figurative sculpture from the river-polished polystyrene I have collected and stored out here. Beginning in May of this year, “we”, meaning myself and the public, have successfully added new figures to a growing site-specific installation at my favorite outdoor atelier under the willows.

One wonderful development is that on three different occasions, visitors discovering my site have interacted with or added their own figures to this group from the materials I have left behind for that purpose. I did “harvest” a couple of figures after they made their first appearance here for a group show I’m participating in October 2017 at Murray State University. That exhibit is entitled “Folk Fiction” and I’m elated to be showing at my old undergrad alma mater. Besides, it’s always good to have survivors.

Autumn began with a visit from my equally anonymous nemesis…forever branded by my sons as the “Smashers”. Whomever they are…they don’t play well which has resulted in the recent vandalism of several of these figures. More about them later. Now seems as good a time as any to provide a short history of this figural Styrofoam group I call “The Assembled”. This story begins at the river on May 14, 2017 with the creation of the first sculpture.

After a wet spring with frequent bouts of high water, I was able to configure a site under the trees and near the old railroad bridge. Over the next several months I kept adding recently found materials from the area while I pursued different art projects. This was the first Styro-figure I created here and he’s a bat-earred naturist! After he explored the landscape of this day in many other images, he eventually took his position greeting visitors to my outdoor studio and soon to be growing gallery. As this installation grew, each new figure was photographed in different contexts at the park before joining the others back at my eastern most studio site.

"The Naturist" stands watch over the Styro-larder during May 2017

“The Naturist” was the first figure to join “The Assembled”.

My next figure is also the largest. I remember needing to wait until enough of the absorbed water was gone from this big hunk of Styrofoam to just be able to lift it. I call this piece the “Queen of Clouds” because the sky was so beautiful on the day it was made.

I remember that the wind kept blowing this figure over and it was difficult to get it to stand in place while I shot this short video. The large fan blades that make up this sculpture kept falling off until I found a better way to attach them to her head. The nose is a large wooden fishing float I found out here. It’s mouth is the plastic cap from a deodorant stick.

Two Styro-figures at my outdoor studio during June 2017.

The “Queen of Clouds” parked at my studio under the willow trees.

Here’s another large figure from the month of July. I really like how expressive the head turned out on this one. His mouth is a red reflector that really caught the light well. I dragged this one down to the Ohio River and documented it with this short video and lots of photos. Afterward, it too joined “The Assembled” at my river studio.

One of the fun moments during this project was discovering visitors had added two new figures enlarging this group to four! By days end, it was five figures with my latest absurdity with the bright red reflector mouth. I was starting to get excited by the opportunity to create a nice little crowd this summer since plenty of Styrofoam remained to be used and people were playing along instead of just destroying what was on hand. I also started to piece together a couple of other projects nearby. One began at first with just a handful of found flip-flops of various colors and sizes. Each visit to the river usually resulted in more found foot wear to add to the design. I also created a colorful rainbow-like arrangement from discarded plastic containers that also was a stand alone piece, but also went well with the other projects. As the summer was approaching its height, wild grapevines were beginning to frame my grouping at the Falls of the Ohio.

Styro-group "The Assembled" in July 2017 at the Falls of the Ohio.

Three more figures joined the group.

As the summer wore on I couldn’t wait to visit my spot and listen to the oriole’s call and the sound of running water. My site was always changing and my sculptures had survived a few summer storms as well as being vulnerable to vandalism. So far, so good and so I continued to add new pieces here when I visited this section of the park. Here are a few more for your enjoyment.

Small Styro-character I called “Mr. Mosquito Nose”.

Rare view of “The Assembled” with “Mr. Mosquito Nose”.

I took “Mr. Mosquito Nose” home with me after this picture and he will reappear in an exhibition I’m participating in the early fall. This next piece turned out to be a visitor favorite. He began with me finding a flipper that I used for his headdress and the fishing lure that became his nose. Between what I found that day and what was already in my collecting bag…I soon had the makings of an orange and greenish-yellow theme for this shamanic or high priest figure. The staff he sports is capped with a found plastic jet toy I came across on the riverbank.

"Shamanic Figure with Staff and Flipper Headdress"

Shamanic Figure carries a staff capped with a found plastic jet toy.

Here he is in context with the other figures as the month of July began to pass. If you like trains crossing over bridges then you might like a couple of the videos I have here including this one showing an early flip-flop project at this site.

Another day and another figure and in this sculpture’s case…it’s pretty silly and strangely neurotic looking with its crossed fishing float eyes! Here he is posed sitting on a driftwood log with one leg crossed over the other. Soon he too would be added to “The Assembled”.

"Indecisive Dude" at the Falls of the Ohio.

“Indecisive Dude” sitting on a weather-bleached log.

Here is a video that is a good overall site view of my outdoor atelier and it shows this latest figure in the fold. It also features a passing train crossing over the old railroad bridge and yet another flip-flop arrangement in the form of a large spiral in the sand.

I like the way the spiral turned out and I tried working with the found colors as best as I could. There is so much individual variation between each sandal…right or left, large or small, bright blue versus dark blue, etc… I do feel that this piece really added to what I had already started here with “The Assembled”. Here is a still image from that moment.

My outdoor studio site at the Falls of the Ohio, August 7, 2017.

Spiral flip-flop arrangement along with “The Assembled” at my studio site, August 7, 2017.

We are into the month of August now and I keep adding figures and rearranging my site on a regular basis. It’s generally a very good month for me if I can get out to the river three or four times. Plus, I like to also do projects in other areas of the park and so a few weeks might pass before I next visit this particular studio site under the willow trees. I thought this next figure turned out nicely. It was aided by finding a nice hunk of polystyrene that was irregularly shaped enough that it could imply motion. He has a friendly demeanor to him if you can ascribe such qualities to an altered chunk of river-polished Styrofoam?

Smiling Figure next to discarded cooler.

Smiling Styro-figure next to an old cooler that washed into the park.

Here is the video from the end of this day showing this piece in the context of my studio under the trees. This clip also reminded me that it was a hot day peppered by annoying gnats that also buzzed around the camera. I will mention that generally speaking…biting flies and mosquitoes are not usually an issue to visiting the park.

Still two more figures to go before the fateful day the Smashers appear and reality reasserts itself. I improvised all my figurative sculptures on site from materials collected out here. I still feel it’s important for me to respect the hard-won shapes that nature has provided. Interestingly, I still feel that the river “humanizes” Styrofoam in particular by knocking of the hard edges and generalizing the overall forms.

"The Happy Hunchback" listening to birds singing.

“The Happy Hunchback” strolling through the willow woods listening to bird song at the Falls of the Ohio.

Moving very slowly and deliberately, the “Happy Hunchback” cranes his neck toward the treetops. It’s late August, have the orioles and indigo buntings already left? If it weren’t for the other life forms also inhabiting the Falls of the Ohio, this multi-year “art” project would not have sustained my interest alone. I can’t believe my luck! Between the time of this figure and the next…a visitor added another sculpture and awarded my Shamanic sculpture “Best in Show”!

“Best in Show” Award…presented anonymously.

I had stashed this green plastic ball with my rainbow-colored plastic containers. Makes a fine award and I have to admit, that I did put a lot of time into this particular figure. I’m sure I had the biggest smile I can muster when I first saw this. Whomever you are…thank you!

"The Assembled" at the Falls of the Ohio, mid September 2017.

“The Assembled”, mid September 2017 with “Best in Show” figure.

Another view from that day showing my overall site with a different found flip-flop design and my plastic container color spectrum on the left.

Outdoor studio and gallery, mid September 2017 showing "The Assembled", heart-shaped flip-flop arrangement, and plastic container color arrangement.

My outdoor studio and gallery with heart-shaped flip-flop design.

Just one more figure to go before that fateful day when the Smashers stop by and temporarily put a hitch in the magic that was this summer at the Falls of the Ohio. I am amazed that nothing negative had happened sooner. In the back of my mind, I understand that the river always has the last word in this process and so I don’t get too attached to the things I make out here. Weeks would go by before I would re-visit this site in the eastern section of the park. I was also spending a lot of time in the western section of the Falls of the Ohio which has a different quality to the landscape and receives fewer visitors. I like to visit there when the purple loosestrife flowers are blooming because they are magnets for butterflies and other insects. Moving on, here’s the last figure to officially join “The Assembled”.

"Raccoon Eyes" sipping from a found cup at the Falls of the Ohio, September 2017.

“Raccoon Eyes” enjoys a found beverage at the Falls of the Ohio, September 2017.

With his spiky hair-do and wide smile, the likable “Raccoon Eyes” likes to pause for refreshment when he can at the Falls of the Ohio. Locals visiting the park bring these giant cups and I guess seeing all the other debris that has washed into here makes it okay to leave more trash behind? The world is just absurd…and hence this project. Old “Raccoon Eyes” took a hit, lost and eye, along with one of his arms when the Smashers came by. Here is one more video this time showing my site before fate intervenes.

The little figure I ended the last clip with went on to have an adventure of his own and didn’t become a part of “The Assembled”. He’s a close if diminutive cousin. The Smashers came and went and it’s fortunate that more wasn’t actually destroyed. My naturist character, who was the first character here, had his head split in half. One of the volunteer figures that appeared was decapitated and I found its head in the tree branches above where it once stood. The “Happy Hunchback” lost all the features in his head and was rendered permanently senseless. The “Best in Show” figure lost and eye and his staff, but looks repairable. I think whomever did this ( teenage boy(s) loom large) must have had second thoughts while in destruct mode, because it looks like some sculptures were barely touched. I like to think that this is what happened and perhaps a little remorse set in before complete havoc was wrought. I found a nearby stick that I remember setting aside for future use that more than likely served as the weapon. I can imagine the temptation to not “light saber” all of them into bits must have been great. This is my best interpretation based upon reading the scene.

"The Assembled" after being visited by the Smashers. Early October 2017

View of “The Assembled” after recent vandalism.

Of course you know that I’m not going to leave it here. When I came upon the scene, I took some pictures and then off for a trek across the fossil beds and had a great day walking to the hydroelectric plant. Yesterday, I brought my friend Peter Erwin along for a visit to the Interpretive Center and afterward we visited my studio site. Using what I had on hand…I repaired what I could and recycled other parts to create new personas to replace the previous ones. I think it’s going to be okay and I look forward to experiencing the continued evolution of this developing site. I still have a little more work to do, but this is where I left it yesterday. As for this post…one of my longer ones…reveals the level of engagement that this special place still holds upon me. I think it also appropriate at this time to rename this group of survivors…I’m now going to call them “The Re-Assembled”! Until next time from the Falls of the Ohio.

"The Re-Assembled", Found Styrofoam and other materials, Falls of the Ohio, October 7, 2017

“The Re-Assembled” at the Falls of the Ohio. October 7, 2017

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Flip-flops, Mystery Fluids, and Spent Cigarette Lighters

Posted in Absurd, Art, Art and Nature, art and the environment, Artist at Exit 0, assemblage art, creativity, driftwood, Falls of the Ohio, flip-flops, found materials, Found objects, fresh water, Installation, lost and found, Louisville, Kentucky, material culture, Ohio River, Ohio River flooding, plastic, Plastic art, public art, recycled art, repurposed art, repurposed materials, sense of place, Site specific art, tagged Art, art and nature, artist at exit 0, backwash, cigarette lighters, Color spectrum in art, driftwood, environment, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio State Park, flip-flops, Genius loci, material culture, plastic, repurposed art, sense of place on June 5, 2017| 6 Comments »

Each year has a different character to it and for what I do at the Falls of the Ohio, a lot depends upon what I find. Last year, there was an abundance of plastic bottles in a full spectrum of colors that stood out among the natural driftwood. This year, we have had a mostly high river due to locally intense rains throughout the Ohio River Valley. There have been successive waves of wood and plastic that have had me wandering the wrack lines filling my collecting bags and stuffing my computer with images. The Falls are not a big area, but the dynamic changes that rearrange the riverbank keep it interesting. This year I have concentrated mostly on formal arrangements on site using flip-flop sandals, plastic soft drink bottles with colored backwash in them, and I have also been astounded by the number of cigarette lighters I have been finding. Following are a few of the many compositions I have already made this year. Chromatic arrangement in Flip-flops, Falls of the Ohio, Feb, 2017

Made this one on a sunny day in February. I found all these flip-flops on a single walk along the riverbank which is how I still like to work out here. I get ideas for projects based on what that day’s walk presents. Kind of like going to the grocery store and seeing what’s ripe and in season.

Flip-flop arrangement on the sand, Falls of the Ohio, March 2017

Why flip-flops? First, they are a ubiquitous part of human life around the river and they float and travel great distances to reach the park. I also like the idea that these sandals are unique to the people who wore them and have their “soul or spirit” imprinted on them. They come in a variety of colors and sizes and can be as variable as people. There is also that saying about not understanding others until you can stand in their shoes.

Flip-flop ring, Falls of the Ohio, April 2017

A work from April of this year made with flip-flops. Some colors seem to be harder to find than others particularly a true red or yellow. Once in a while, I will also pick up and use the sole of some other kind of foot ware if I think it will come in “handy”.

Cottonwood Tree Composition, late May 2017, Falls of the Ohio

My latest flip-flop composition from late May. Sited in the western section of the park, this piece is situated by a favorite cottonwood tree that I have shown in posts many times before. It uniquely has a space under the roots that you can stand under. It is a favorite place for locals to party. Now for the next part of this post…”Mystery Fluids”.

Found soft drink and sport drink bottles with partial contents, Falls of the Ohio, April 2017

Usually found floating in rivers and other bodies of water are these partially consumed sport and soft drinks capped and in their bottles. At the Falls of the Ohio I find them intermixed with the driftwood and everything else too. Often, it is the bottom of the bottle that is sticking up from the wood. I think being starved for color is why I gravitated towards this common element of our waste stream. When the light hits these bottles just right…the colors can be very jewel-like and attractive. Here are a few of the projects and images I made with them this year.

Found bottles and contents with the skyline of Louisville, Feb. 2017

Found bottles and contents, western section of the Falls of the Ohio, April 2017

Found bottle composition with contents, Falls of the Ohio, 2017

I have photographed these bottles in a variety of contexts and combinations over the year. Their contents are amazingly well-preserved and I have never found one that had mold growing in it. It could be that conditions have rendered these bottles sterile? Did they get too hot, too cold, not enough oxygen? Certainly, there is plenty of sugar, electrolytes, and preservatives in them. On site, I usually have arranged them on the back of stranded logs or boards that have floated in here and then I take my pictures and walk away. At my main outdoor studio…I have now been caching some of these bottles and flip-flops too for later in the year when the water level is low. Now for the final category….found cigarette lighters.

Found cigarette lighters by various manufacturers, Falls of the Ohio, June 2017

Took this photograph a few days a go and represents my record for found cigarette lighters in one day out at the Falls of the Ohio. I think there are 103 lighters here all gleaned from the driftwood. I have always known that cigarette lighters are out here, but not until now have I concentrated on them. When you begin looking for them, they can be everywhere up and down the riverbank and intermixed with the driftwood. Once upon a time, the ability to create fire was a special and important skill. It’s more than the climate that is changing. Before I show you what I made with a hundred lighters, here are some earlier attempts.

BIC lighter color line, found cigarette lighters from the Falls of the Ohio, 2017

This found lighter composition is unique in that only “Bic” brand lighters were used. The are arranged on the back of a log. I still like referencing light through color. The irony of our dependence on fossil fuels to make things like plastic and energy is that it comes from sequestered carbon created from sunlight by plants living millions of years a go. Now we need to just look up in the sky to see that same source of energy in the here and now.

88 Cigarette Lighter Oval, Falls of the Ohio, 2017

I think from April?, but definitely the western section of the Falls of the Ohio State Park. Created this oval from 88 found lighters. The river was still very high and this arrangement is up against the riverbank.

Found Lighter Circle, Falls of the Ohio, 2017

68 Found Lighter Circle, Falls of the Ohio, 2017

Lighter circle made with 68 found cigarette lighters. You can see the marks my fingers made in the sand adjusting the lighters to expand the circle.

Nearly forgot about this one! “Stump Star” composed of 48 found lighters, a yellow reflector, and of course…a stump. Made under the willow trees, the light playing through the tree canopy made this piece hard to photograph. It just occurred to me that I have no idea where butane comes from? All of these once stored compressed butane. As these physical objects age and are exposed to the elements, their metal components are the first to corrode and rust away.

Another day and visit to the river. I try to maximize each opportunity out here by making as many site specific pieces from the various materials I encounter. Here’s a quick piece with my the toes of my shoes poking in for good measure. I call this one “Keep Calm” because there’s one lighter that says that…or “From Clear to Blue” because if you look closely you can see between the white and blue lighters is one clear one. So far, that’s the only one like that I’ve seen out here. Okay, one more to end with and it’s the one with over a hundred lighters. I made another composition with these lighters, but decided to try a more open design and it turned out better than the first. Double-spiral Cigarette Lighter Composition, Falls of the Ohio, June 2017

When given the chance to go to the river or write about past experiences…I will opt for the river, unless the weather is bad and it has already rained hard today. I’m staying busy and engaged with art all around me which has had a calming effect on me considering all the political decisions people are making regarding the health of the environment and everything else too. If you are interested in some of what’s in the Ohio River and other rivers in this country…then I’m your blog. Until next time from the Falls of the Ohio.

Double Spiral found cigarette lighter composition at the Falls of the Ohio, June 2017

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Riverbank Projects on a Grey Morning

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, Art and Nature, art and the environment, Artist at Exit 0, assemblage art, collections, driftwood, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, flip-flops, found materials, Found objects, lost and found, lost sandals, Louisville, material culture, nature photography, Ohio River flooding, plastic, recycled art, repurposed art, repurposed materials, sense of place, Site specific art, watershed, tagged Art, art and the environment, artist at exit 0, Falls of the Ohio, flip-flops, flotsam and jetsam, found objects, Genius loci, nature, Ohio River, photography, plastic bottles, plastic color spectrum, plastic pollution, sense of place, spirit of a place, walking along the riverbank on March 13, 2016| 8 Comments »

The river has finally given us a reprieve from the high waters of the past month. I got an early start from my home in Louisville and crossed the Second Street Bridge on my way to the Falls of the Ohio. Today, I decided to do something a little different and wandered the eastern bank of the Ohio River on the Indiana side which technically is not in the Falls of the Ohio State Park proper. I just kept walking and walking and had no trouble filling my collecting bags with potential art materials. Overall, it would turn out to be a good day and I managed a couple of modest projects which are the subject of this post.

I walked as far east as I could without feeling like I was wandering onto private property. I figured if someone were to challenge me, they probably wouldn’t object to me picking up the plastic and river-polished Styrofoam that soon filled up my bags. As it turned out, I didn’t encounter a person all day long. It could be that hiking along a muddy riverbank isn’t most people’s cup of tea, but that’s just speculation on my part! I did come to one spot that afforded a nice view of Louisville’s skyline. To take these pictures, I stood in what was once a creek that originally fed into the river. That must have been some time ago, however, because the view behind me is somewhat industrial. Now it’s a spot where the water backs up when the river is high. Everywhere I wandered I found lots of junk mixed into a driftwood and ground up tree bark matrix. Here are a few of the items I found that were a bit more interesting.

Here is a picture of miniature plastic river corn poking out among the woody debris. There’s something about finding plastic plants out here that still provokes me. I picked this corny cluster up and into the collecting bag it went to ultimately join the other fake food items that I have assembled over the years.

And now for a toy figure that probably represents a disk jockey character complete with over sized jewelry and a microphone. I don’t recognize this character and it occurs to me that I’m now hopelessly out of synch with cartoon popular culture. My sense is that programs come and go so quickly now that the plastic crap these shows spawn far exceeds the actual life of the shows themselves.

Moving closer to the railroad bridge that I like to work around…I found this realistic toy lion. I think this is an example of how you can develop “a six sense” for finding stuff, because this lion was the same color as the wood chips and debris it was mixed into. Stuff that is neon colored like many plastic items are makes them relatively hard to miss. Let me show you what I mean.

Here’s my latest color spectrum arrangement made from found plastic. I gathered these components up along my walk on the riverbank just east of the park. I found a place that was relatively sheltered by the wind that had just picked up after my arrival. Today, I found a bit more purple than I usually come across.

Most of the plastic items in this assemblage are bottles of various sorts. This time, I did add a few “humorous” toy finds like the plastic frog and rubber duck wearing sun glasses. Since I still had a few hours to devote to today’s walk…I decided to venture further west and into the park to see what changes the river had made and to make one other piece I had in mind.

After filling my bag up with plastic bottles, I then switched to collecting lost flip-flops. In a relatively short amount of time I had picked up enough of these cheap sandals of varying sizes, colors, and designs to make something with. Since this is spring and we certainly have had our share of rain…it stands to reason that flowers would soon follow. I began my arrangement by taking the larger flip-flops and using them as the base. Gradually, I worked towards the center overlaying and stacking the smaller sandals that a child would wear. The result was something that I called a “Chrysanthemum” in my plastic-addled brain.

I did enjoy having a little bit more of the riverbank to explore than I have had this past month. We still have lots of potential for rain and high water. I think on my next trip out here I will explore what the high river has deposited in the western section of the park. I wonder if my ball collection is still around or did that eventually get reclaimed by the river? I guess I will need to wait until next weekend to find out. For now, here is one last image from this trip out at the Falls of the Ohio.

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Two Arrangements in Plastic

Posted in Absurd, art and environment, Art and Nature, art and the environment, Artist at Exit 0, assemblage art, collections, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, flip-flops, found materials, Found objects, Installation, lost and found, lost sandals, material culture, nature photography, plastic, Plastic art, public art, recycled art, repurposed art, repurposed materials, sculpture, sense of place, Site specific art, watershed, tagged Art, art and the environment, artist at exit 0, assemblage art, colorful plastic containers, Ekoart, Falls of the Ohio, found objects, material culture, nature, photography, plastic, plastic art, recycled materials, repurposed art, sense of place on January 24, 2016| 6 Comments »

Over the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday weekend I was able to make it out to the Falls of the Ohio State Park on a couple of occasions. It helped that this was a three-day weekend. I was curious to see what was lying around the riverbank after our first dusting of snow had blown away. As I was expecting, I found a lot of plastic bottles and containers, Styrofoam, and plenty of driftwood. I first inspect an area for the larger pattern left by the river. The stuff that floats most readily often defines the high water mark on the riverbank.

This is a typical detail of stuff that builds up on a driftwood mound. There are many automotive and boating references particularly plastic bottles that held various petroleum products. There is also a wealth of plastic beverage bottles to illustrate the carelessness of some folks recreating on the river. I have a mental image of this stuff eventually flowing downriver, into the Mississippi River, and out into the wider world through the Gulf of Mexico. What I see at the Falls of the Ohio is only what I see. I know there is a glacier of plastic and junk that by passes me and will show up somewhere downstream. With each succeeding flood, I keep thinking that all the stuff that had been accumulating upriver has already been washed into the watershed. That, however, doesn’t seem to be the case and the amount of “fresh trash” that shows up in the park seems not to have a limit.

Both days that I worked at the river were very cold ones. The piece I made using found yellow and green plastic was the coldest with temps hovering around 10 degrees and it was colder than that with the wind. After picking up what caught my eye, I retreated to my little studio area near the U.F.O. (Unidentified Floating Object) that is this welded and painted steel platform that washed into this area over five years ago.

I saw a possibility in the space under the UFO that was formed when the river shifted the driftwood mound. I cleared the space a little bit and found a plank and stump in which to set up what I would eventually call “Arrangement in Yellow and Green Plastic”. All the bottles and other colorful plastic items were picked up in the immediate area. The wind was really biting and so I sought shelter by the treeline. It took a little patience to make this piece because the wind kept blowing away the lighter items. Eventually, I fit everything together and held it in place by strategically using found bottles that still had weight to them because mud or sand had become their new contents.

My photos of this piece vary from one another because elements kept blowing off. I was struck that I could make a colorful gradation using primarily yellow and green plastic found just in the willow habitat. I favor doing these color pieces because they also reference the electromagnetic spectrum and without light, those ancient plants that lived and succeeded millions of years ago would not eventually become the crude substance from which these bottles were fabricated. It’s interesting to me to think that much of the energy we derive from fossil fuels is captured starlight from an ancient time. We owe it to the plants to be able to stabilize this energy through photosynthesis and fix it into their very tissues.

Eventually, the cold started to get to me and I was fast losing what little light was present on this day. I might have moved the blue plastic drum out of the bottom picture, but it was frozen into the ground and full of sand and mud and would have been a challenge to lift. After awhile, I began to like it for the additional color it lent this scene. One thing concentrating so much color in one area does is call into attention the brown drabness that subsumes everything else.

I returned to the river two days later. It was still very cold, however, a big improvement over the previous day. The sun was shining and the wind was absent. Having completed and photographed one colorful plastic arrangement, I set about creating a new one in a different palette of colors. Searching the area I decided to work at…I could see plenty of red and blue plastic items spread out among the driftwood. It took me an hour or so to pull these bottles and objects together. I wished that I might have come across a few more violet or purple items, but I guess these are colors that are used less than straight up red or blue? I know that in terms of lightfastness, red and purple plastic fades away quicker than many other colors.

Using a bit of the geometry I was feeling from the willow trees and the way the sunlight was hitting their trunks…I decided to site “Arrangement in Red and Blue Plastic” on the sand. There’s a distant view of the Ohio River through this informal avenue of trees. Watching how the shadows of the tree trunks were being cast upon the sand was an important element in the overall composition of this piece.

Among the items comprising this work are a blue plastic child’s putter golf club, the cap to a plastic cane that held Christmas candy and several flip-flops of the right color. When I finished this piece, I left it in place as I did the other arrangement. Perhaps the next time I return to this area, I may combine the two groups of plastic? I could create another grand rainbow with the addition of finding more orange in particular. I probably would throw in some black and white plastic items since they are here in quantity as well. I felt relatively good about this weekend’s projects and some of the images that resulted. When I am occupied with a project, I really don’t feel the elements in the same way. I suppose there is a bit of mind over matter happening too. When I do feel the cold, however, is when I decide to turn for home and come across a frozen sight like these containers locked in ice! Stay warm and safe everybody…from the Falls of the Ohio.

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Super Wet July

Posted in Absurd, animals, art and environment, Art and Nature, Artist at Exit 0, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, flip-flops, found materials, lost sandals, material culture, nature photography, Ohio River, Ohio River flooding, Originality, Photograpy, public art, recycled art, repurposed materials, sense of place, watershed, tagged Art, artist at exit 0, Asian carp, day lilies, Falls of the Ohio, Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center, flooding along the Ohio River, mud flower, nature, photography, sense of place, snapping turtle, story telling on July 19, 2015| 2 Comments »

I’ve been to the river three times this month, but this is my first post for July! Where to begin? It’s been eventful in so many ways. First, the hard drive of my computer crashed which put me out of business for a few weeks. All the while this was being dealt with…the river has been high due to what seems like at times, monsoon-intensity rains. Not light, gentle rains, but strong storms that dump inches of rain at one time and are often accompanied by high winds. I suspect that this year’s June and July will be among the wettest combos recorded around here. There has been tragedy too. Five people lost their lives in a boating accident while watching the 4th of July fireworks display in front of downtown Louisville. The river was especially high and fast flowing when their pontoon boat struck a parked barge sending people into the water. It took several days to recover the bodies. We may think that we can manage the river through levies and dams, but nature often has other ideas. Where is all this water coming from and can be this be further evidence of the planet’s changing climate? When I see before and after pictures of what were former glaciers or images of huge ice shelves breaking off of Antarctica…that fresh water goes somewhere right? Seems there is a lot of moisture being drawn up into the atmosphere which then precipitates out over the land. Too bad it doesn’t seem to be going where it is needed the most.

For the moment, all my usual haunts at the Falls of the Ohio are under water. Usually during this time of year, the fossil beds are at their most extensively exposed. I love being able to walk over the fossil beds which makes me feel like I’m on another planet. Once the water recedes, there will be a newly rearranged landscape to explore along with its attendant material culture that gets left behind. This is how I obtain my art supplies.

This is a view along the Fixed Wier Dam and Upper Tainter Gates in the eastern section of the park. The water level had been higher and is in the process of going down a bit. I noticed fish activity and was surprised to see Asian carp congregating in the swirling, muddy water.

About midway down you can see a carp that is doing its own impression of a salmon going upstream. Let’s zoom in for a closer look.

Here are a few more details of fish jumping. I was surprised that my cellphone camera was able to catch this action. Some of the fish I observed were very large. I would estimate the largest ones I saw were plus 50 pounds.

And here is one more image catching a fish in mid air.

There are a couple of species of Asian carp and they are all highly invasive and non-native. To see these fish jumping to overcome obstacles on their way upriver shows how determined they can be. These fish feed on algae and other tiny water organisms. They out compete native species and are highly prolific. Extensive campaigns have been launched to control or eradicate these fish with limited results. The big fear is that they will make their way into the Great Lakes were they pose a huge issue for that fishery. In Western Kentucky, at Land Between the Lakes, a commercial fishery has been created to harvest these carp by netting them. Because they eat tiny micro organisms, they can not be taken by rod and reel unless you happen to snag one by accident. The goal is to create a commercial demand for its flesh and apparently they are a coveted food item in China. Although a demand for these carp may be created…they are also in our waters for good now. The fish I photographed are on their way to Cincinnati and points northward along the Ohio River and all its tributaries and streams that feed this great river. Carp were not the only creatures around on this day. Check out this guy!

Walking along the edge of the flooding, I came across this large, Common Snapping Turtle that was bulldozing its way to the river. It emerged from underneath some high weeds and was unaware of me at first. As I came closer, it started to pull its head underneath its shell as much as it could while raising up on its legs to appear even more menacing and large. This big turtle did hiss and lunge for me a few times and after a couple snapshots…I left it alone. This turtle was large enough to remove a finger if that unfortunate person should offer it. Although it moved slowly for the most part, it did have the ability to strike quickly and its neck could reach out further than you may have anticipated! I have found dead snappers at the Falls before that were washed into here by flooding or were caught and killed by fisherman. This is the first live one I have seen here and it was a beauty! Being confined to the margins of the swollen river did have some benefits. I came across two remarkable flowers that I would like to present. Here is the first one I discovered on the Fourth of July.

This is the first of two Giant Mud Flowers (from the genus Siltana) that I have discovered at the Falls of the Ohio. They are large perennials that appear only when the conditions are just right. Apparently, all the flooding we have experienced along the river has proven ideal for this rare bloom. This flower sports large, fleshy “petals” that are organized around a central core that emerges first from the soil. No leaves are visible and much is unknown about this rare plant. It is believed that after blooming, the Mud Flower puts its remaining energies into producing a single, round seed about the size of a golf ball. Attempts to grow this plant under controlled conditions have thus far proven to be unsuccessful. Here is a different flower which may or may not be a related species?

This specimen was found during mid month in a different section of the park. On the surface, it compares well with the preceding example. Noticeably, the thick petals are of different colors and the central core is a different structure. Botanists may eventually determine that these two Giant Mud Flowers are related, but different species too. Much is needing to unlock the key to how this species survives and whether there are any pollinating agents involved at all? I am going to end today’s trip with one more flower photograph. This was taken in front of the still renovating Interpretive Center. There is a wonderful day lily garden here with many different varieties. The center is hoping to be back open to the public come this fall. I want to thank park director, Kelley Morgan for inviting me to talk during their volunteer appreciation dinner. I loved being in a room full of left brained people who must have thought where did this “odd duck” came from? Everyone was very nice and interested in what I do which admittedly, deviates from the norm! What I like is that however we view and use the park…we all have a passion for this very special place. Here’s hoping my next post will occur under dryer circumstances!

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Big Jug Rainbow and Stump Flower

Posted in Absurd, animals, art and environment, Art and Nature, art and the environment, Artist at Exit 0, assemblage art, collections, creativity, driftwood, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, flip-flops, Found objects, Installation, lost and found, lost sandals, material culture, nature photography, photography, public art, recycled art, repurposed art, sense of place, Site specific art, tagged Art, art and the environment, artificial rainbow, artist at exit 0, Big Eyed Click Beetle, Falls of the Ohio, flotsam and jetsam, lost and found, nature, photography, plastic containers, rainbow colors, sense of place, tree stump, willow trees on June 18, 2015| 11 Comments »

Life in a bucket. I’ve seen this before and written about it in an older blog post. Regardless, whenever I encounter something like this I remain amazed at life’s ability to thrive in less than optimum circumstances. A little river mud in an old broken plastic bucket gets colonized by a few windblown grass seeds, add a little rainfall and sunshine and life does the rest. Well, some life can do this and some can’t. The future will be determined by the life that can adapt and be resilient in the face of adversity. Walking on the fossil beds at the Falls of the Ohio I wonder about our chances for success living on a planet that we have diminished to suit our own ends. I have no doubt that whatever the future holds, life will find a way. Whether or not that includes us remains to be seen.

On that jolly note I introduce my latest two projects! I got up fairly early in the morning and got a head start on the heat. By the early afternoon, I was whipped, exhausted, and wet from the humidity trapped in the local vegetation. Summer is officially upon us. It’s interesting how many conversations I’ve had this year with people similar in age to me who have remarked that as the years pass by their tolerance for the heat and humidity decreases. This was one of those days I could commiserate with them! As I was walking along the Falls landscape, I noticed an area that seemed to have a good supply of plastic containers and decided on the spot to do another petroleum rainbow piece. This is how I started out, literally beating the bushes for containers of different sizes, colors, and shapes. The material lying on the driftwood was easy to access, but in other places the vines were beginning to cover and camouflage what was under their urgent greenness.

I started out collecting various plastic jugs that originally held contents of one gallon or greater…hence “big jug”. I soon expanded that as the need for particular shades of colors became a priority. I would have liked to use more “orange”, but couldn’t find enough plastic containers in this area that day that were that color. Still, I managed a small sliver of “orange” to mark the transition from “red” to “yellow”.

“Big Jug Rainbow” is situated under a stressed willow tree that is bent over from the weight of lots of driftwood that was deposited in its canopy by flood waters. A nice verdant cave was formed and it felt like a good framing element for this piece. Here is what it looked like from the other side of the tree.

The willow trees in this habitat are twisted up and have lots of character. They remind me of the forms you find in bonsai trees, except their size is obviously much larger. In a past post, I’ve mentioned how this area’s beavers like to prune off small branches and eat the bark. This helps shape the trees. This year, I can see in dramatic fashion another element that contributes to the trees’ overall forms. The weight of the deposited wood bends the branches down and the willow continues to grow under this burden. The driftwood will remain in the tree until the river rises or the wind knocks the deposited logs down.

Bleaching, exposed driftwood atop a willow tree with my “Big Jug Rainbow” under its influence. Happy with this piece, I collected my bag and walking stick and headed further under the trees seeking shade and relief from the sun. Along the way, I was delighted to run into one of my favorite insects found at the Falls of the Ohio.

This is the Eastern Eyed Click Beetle or Big Eyed Click Beetle, (Alaus oculatus). This is one of the larger beetles you will find in our area and this is the largest of our click beetles. The biggest specimens are nearly two inches long or roughly 45mm in length. They have this wonderful, cryptic bird-dropping coloring. The eyespots on the pronatum or thorax are dramatic and large. The females lay their eggs in or near rotting wood (in abundance here) and I’m sure to come across these slow flyers at least a couple of times per season. Last year, I was startled when one landed on the back of my head and got tangled in my hair. It gave me a momentary fright to have some then unknown large insect crawling on my head. Fortunately, they don’t bite. The larvae on the other hand will eat other insects they encounter.

As has been my recent custom, as I walk along I collect any lost flip-flops that I find. At day’s end, I find a place to make something with the day’s finds. I came across this table-like tree stump that seemed like an invitation to do something with. I emptied the contents of my collecting bag and created “Stump Flower”.

The circular form in the center I believe is a sand toy? I found it laying nearby and thought it helped suggest a flower head. I think as I return to many of the places where I’ve made these flip-flop projects…I will re-gather them and perhaps recycle them into a more complex form. At day’s end, the walk back to my vehicle took a lot of effort. I did go by my “Big Jug Rainbow” piece and took one last image of it from some distance. You can barely see it through all the leafage, but it is there in all its artificial glory. That bottle of warm water I had stashed under the car seat sure tasted good! Thanks to everybody for stopping by…until next time from the Falls of the Ohio.

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Green Bottles and Flip-Flops

Posted in Art, art and environment, Art and Nature, Artist at Exit 0, assemblage art, driftwood, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, flip-flops, Found objects, Photograpy, plastic, repurposed art, sense of place, Site specific art, tagged Art, art and nature, art and the environment, art process, artist at exit 0, collection, creative process on June 1, 2015| 4 Comments »

May was a quick month and this year is flying by. I’m still exploring much of the flotsam that was left behind by early Spring flooding. At several places in the park you can encounter large driftwood mounds and debris fields that are aggregates of the natural and artificial. I was exploring a large mound near the railroad bridge and came across this large, wooden, manmade structure that was laying partially exposed. I was curious about what this could be and so I picked a route over the driftwood to take a better look.

Walking carefully to the other side, I discovered that this wooden structure is a fairly long boat dock that the river had claimed. I was taken by the dock and its visual proximity to the railroad bridge. The idea that this could make a nice location for another site specific work soon came to mind. I have been having fun making images and assemblages of plastic bottles that washed into here and looking around…well, despite the overwhelming browness…there is also a lot of colorful plastic mixed into here.

What I could see was a “wealth” of green plastic soft drink bottles that lemon/lime carbonated beverages come in. So, I walked around the mound and boat dock and collected all the green bottles I could find. In the interest of full disclosure…there are also a few green glass bottles in here, but 95% of them are plastic. My idea was to activate this area by massing all the green bottles I could collect and store them “inside” the boat dock. Here are several views of what this looked like after I was finished.

The wooden dock echoes the structure of the bridge behind it. I feel that this site specific piece successfully worked with its immediate environment. The green of the bottles plays against the verdant green of the vegetation. As of this posting, this artwork is still intact. Many things I make out here are either destroyed by visitors or eventually fall apart on their own. If you were looking at this dock from the other side…nothing would betray the surprise that exits on the flip side. Here’s a few more views of my plastic green bottles piece. I’m needing a good title for this one, but nothing has registered with me yet.

While I was searching through the debris field, I was also looking for lost flip-flops. I found a nice number of them consisting of all sizes and colors which I stored in my collecting bag. After finishing the idea I had for the bottles…I looked around for another location to do a flip-flops site specific piece. My search took me to the nearby fossil outcropping and rocks. I emptied my bag upon the rocks and played around with several configurations until I hit upon something I found visually interesting.

I arranged the sandals from right foot to left and from largest to smallest. The oval shape echoes some of the ancient coral forms present in the rocks which date back to the Devonian Age over 350 million years a go. One of my all time favorite fossil discoveries was made in Laetoli, Tanzania by famed archaeologist Mary Leakey in 1978. She found preserved in hardened volcanic ash, a set of bipedal hominid footprints of a possible family group that dates back 3.7 million years and at the time were the world’s oldest human-like footprints. Flash forward to the present, these flip-flops are the descendants of those ancient tracks. When I’m out on the rocks at the Falls of the Ohio…I often think about how deep time is and how far back the history of life goes.

June is already shaping up to be a rather interesting month at the Falls of the Ohio and I will be interacting with the park in some different ways than I usually do. More about that as the month progresses. For now, I will end with one more image of my flip-flops piece as I left it upon this ancient landscape. See you later!

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Art and images from the Falls of the Ohio.

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Coal for Christmas…2018 Comes to an End

Welcome to 2018…Artist at Exit 0!

River Report at the End of the Year

A Short History of “The Assembled”

Flip-flops, Mystery Fluids, and Spent Cigarette Lighters

Riverbank Projects on a Grey Morning

Two Arrangements in Plastic

Super Wet July

Big Jug Rainbow and Stump Flower

Green Bottles and Flip-Flops

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