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Archive for the ‘Green’ Category

Styrofoam in Action

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, unusual collection, watershed, tagged , , , , , , , on June 22, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Figure with River Sun Disk, 6/09

Today was the first classic hot and humid day at the bottom of the river.  It can be amazing how much can change in a week.  All the vegetation was approaching it’s greenist and the waves were rolling across the sand.  Another river sweep occured today and I did my part by making this sculpture.  I found the foam, sticks, plastic, etc…along a walk I did Saturday morning.  This post is as much about the power of context…same figure, but different backdrops within the park’s confines.  Different possible narratives are suggested by changing the locations.  The first picture is one my wife said I should put in.  She likes that yellow disk I found and set up for the photograph.  I found it on the water’s edge and equate it with the sun.  Moving right along…River Sweepers, 6/09..  …. .   ..  .    .    .

 

A scheduled river sweep brought a dedicated group of concerned citizens together to pick up trash around the interpretive center.  I intersected them at the fossil rocks.  I wonder what they think when they trip across my studios with their caches of polystyrene?  Bless them for their labors, but try as you might…you just can’t get it all.  I know because I looked over the other side of the dam!

Fish Dance, 6/09

Alive this was a really impressive fish.  Probably one of the larger Freshwater Drum I’ve seen here.  They are kind of common and considered more of a trash fish than table fare by the local fishermen.  I put the sculpture next to the drum…it’s one way to get the river’s fish in the picture.

Dancing figure, 6/09

With a foot wedged into the crack along the fossil cliffs…the figure becomes a graceful dancing character.  The leaning tree adds another point of interest in this design.  It still needs a little more light on the figure.

Head in hand, 6/09

The milk jug cap folded in two made a great mouth.  The nose is a cap of a pen or marker.  One eye is a fishing bobber the other is a round piece of plastic with a hole in it.  I added the blue insulation foam crest to increase the presence of the head.  One last image…from what proved to be fruitful day on the river.Sun Dish and River, 6/09

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The Nine Day Life of a Sculpture

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , on June 18, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Jug Man, 6/08

We are going back in time now to June of 2008.  It’s this time…last year.  The Ohio River had just gone through a cycle of high water and there was lots of junk everywhere.  If one can be inspired by plastic containers and Styrofoam what would you make? 

Jug Man, 1st phase, 6/08

Here’s one potential response…make the world a “Jug Man”.  This was one of the larger figures I made that year.  Just a little shorter than me, still the body was a large hunk of polystyrene foam.  Talking with other river folk, there is agreement that these larger pieces are broken away from temporary boat docks.  I found all the colorful plastic containers in the immediate area of where this figure was constructed.  The big news going on in the world at this time was the rising cost of gasoline and how everybody was freaking out over it.  We knew it was “bound to happen” sometime soon didn’t we?  This is the figure during Phase I.

Fallen Jug Man, 6/08

I came back a few days later and discovered that “Jug Man” had either fallen over or was knocked over.  I noticed that the shoe prints in the sand didn’t match my own.  Since all the pieces were there, I decided to move the sculpture to another location closer to the river.

Jug Man, 2nd Phase, 6/08

I’m guessing that the wooden structure was part of some train trestle, anyway it was left here by the river and I liked its form.  It had a nice way of defining a space that seemed particularly sculptural and graphic enough for a photographic image.  I carried the body of  “Jug Man” across the sand and moved the plastic containers with it.  The yellow barge rope was an added bonus of this site.  I set everything up and walked away…Phase II

Falls of the Ohio, 6/08

A few more days passed and I returned to see if “Jug Man” was still standing.  He was there, but a bit battered.  Granted he wasn’t the most handsome guy, but he was jaunty in his own way.  The clown-like bingo dauber nose was snapped off, an eye was missing, the smile on his face and his blue vest were missing.

Jug Man damaged, 6/08

As long as most of him was here, I was committed to setting him back up.  I found another fishing bobber as a replacement eye, but the blue vest was gone for good.  The next images are of the last shots I have of him.

Jug Man, Phase III, 6/08

Phase III was relatively short lived.  Eventually, everything including the wooden structure was reclaimed by the river.  From beginning to end, the whole process took nine days.  Here’s one last look of last year’s gas-crisis messenger as he faces the river music…gone but not forgottan.

Jug Man, back view, Phase III, 6/08

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2009 Rock the Rocks

Posted in Absurd, Art, collecting art, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, Ohio River, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, unusual collection, watershed, tagged , , , , , on June 17, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Fruit Seller

So far, everything I’ve featured on this blog was made on site at the Falls of the Ohio State Park.  I do, however, make independent art works from the same materials collected in the park.  Over the years, I have removed more than may fair share of junk off the riverbank and to my wife’s chagrin, brought it home.  I do prefer working on site, but making more conventional art objects from the same found materials comes in handy for other purposes.  I have made, exhibited, and yes, sold work through various shows and galleries.  I have also given as gifts many of these sculptures to family and friends.  And I wonder if this is true in other places as well, but I do get many requests from not for profit groups to donate items to fund raising auctions.  Among Louisville artists there is ongoing conversation as to whether this is a good practice if you are seriously interested in establishing a market value for your work.  For the most part, I don’t worry about this and feel it’s up to the individual artist to do what works best for them.  When I can, and when I have a personal connection to the organization and or believe in their mission…I’ll give them an artwork.  The above piece is such a case in point.  I call this work the “The Fruit Seller” and it’s made from 100% found materials from the Falls of the Ohio State Park.  It’s the second piece I have donated to the park to support their “Rock the Rocks” fundraiser. The sculpture from last year did pretty well in the auction.  Materials gathered and incorporated include Styrofoam, driftwood, mussel shells (the ears), various plastics, fishing bobber (nose), and walnut shell (mouth).  Of course, all the plastic fruit is from the river as is the reflectors and beaver-chewed sticks used for the legs and even the painted base was found.  If anyone is interested in learning more about the park, here is their website’s link:  www.fallsoftheohio.org  The event is scheduled to occur on August 22, at the park’s Interpretive Center.

Fruit Seller, back view

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Styro-Heron on the Ohio

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, birds and birding, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , , , on June 14, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Fixed wier dam, 6/09

After several days that featured heavy thunder showers, Saturday morning opened clear and bright.  I had a feeling that this would be a special day and it didn’t take very long to be proven right.  In less than five minutes I had my first memorable encounter of the day below the fixed wier dam.

Mink, 6/09

Running along the shoreline,  investigating every nook and cranny was this mink!  Please excuse the exclamation mark, but this was the first one I had ever seen at the Falls. It’s been over twenty years since I first visited this place.  There have been times I thought I came across their tracks, but I’m no expert in this area.  This mink kept moving which made it difficult to photograph.  It ran right up the sloping concrete wall of the dam and I lost it in the underbrush! 

Black-crowned Night Heron, 6/09

Bird life was plentiful today.  I was scolded by wrens and laughed at by chickadees as I sat in my outdoor studio surrounded by the materials I have gathered to make my sculptures.  I watched orioles and blue jays, catbirds and grackles, and a pair of eastern kingbirds courting and chasing away every other bird to enter their territory.  I also watched the herons and decided to try to make one from my poor materials.  The bird above is the Black-crowned Night Heron and there were many out fishing today.

Foaming Brain's head, 6/09

When I reached my “studio’, I could see that the site had been visited.  Most of the sculptures that I had made over the previous weeks had been damaged or destroyed.  As I have mentioned before, this is an experiment in human nature…albeit one without a hypothesis.  For the most part, I want to believe that people are good…until I’m proven wrong beyond a shadow of a doubt.  One of the many services my art seems to perform is as an outlet for unfocused aggression.  Naturally, I would have liked it better if instead of destroying these figures, new ones were created by other hands than mine.  I leave all the materials I’ve gathered on site for others to use if they feel so inclined. I’m also alright with the idea that if someone liked a piece…they can take it home with them.  Whatever is left behind nature eventually claims anyway.  I remind myself that it’s also okay to let this stuff go…it’s liberating and besides, I’ll just make more.

Styro-heron, 6/09

Styro-heron, 6/09

Since today’s action was happening near the wier dam, I photographed the Styro-heron I made near this area.  This bird is primarily polystyrene foam, driftwood, plastic and that’s it.  I have no idea what the object serving as tail feathers is, but it’s made from Styrofoam too.  The eyes on my bird are tiny, plastic fishing bobbers.  The blue herons around the Falls are very difficult to approach, but they do love it here.  Through spotting scopes, I’ve seen as many as fifteen birds fishing together from the fossil rocks on the Kentucky side.  World wide, this is a very successful species.

Styro-heron, 6/09

An alternate shot and one that shows the other side of the sculpture.  I’ll end with an image of a real Great Blue Heron taken at the Falls a few weeks ago during a time of high water.

Great Blue Heron, 5/09

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Bottle Collection

Posted in Absurd, art and environment, collections, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, sculpture, unusual collection, watershed, tagged , , , , , , , on June 13, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Bottle Collection

I posted a new collection in my pages section.  Comprised of images instead of objects, this “portfolio” features plastic bottles, some with contents, that have washed ashore at the Falls of the Ohio State Park.  This collection documents a family of objects we rarely pay attention to and yet comprises a noticeable addition to the river’s flotsam.

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Ohio River Neptune and Groundhog Head

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, birding, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , , , on June 12, 2009| Leave a Comment »

River Neptune, 6/08

Recently, I started a new job and so my trips to the river are extra special.  I do, however, have  years of digital images to draw from and so these works can live again.  Many of these were originally seen by few if any people.  This is the Ohio River Neptune from this time last year.  He’s holding what’s left of a toy trident…probably from a Halloween devil costume.  The head is Styrofoam with some waxy residue coating it.

Canada Geese with young

While making the Neptune figure I recall seeing Canada Geese parading their goslings around the creek mouth that feeds into the Ohio River.

Ohio River Neptune

Here’s where I left Neptune standing on an old railroad tie.  His body was a nice portly chunk of Styrofoam.  This was sited in the park’s western side near a favorite stand of cottonwood trees.  This little grove has amazing exposed roots that support these trees and form overhanging canopies that you can sit under.  Fewer people venture out this far from the parking lot.

Groundhog Head

This post promised a groundhog’s head…and here it is.  I snapped this image of a young whistle pig poking its anterior out of its burrow.  Around here, you do need to pay attention to where you walk because it’s very easy to twist an ankle or break a foot stepping into one of their holes.

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Audubon’s Apotheosis

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, birds and birding, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , on June 8, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Audubon's Apotheosis, 6/09

John James Audubon is one luminary that the Commonwealth of Kentucky claims as one of it’s own.  Like Daniel Boone before him and Abraham Lincoln after…Audubon did live in the state before moving on to other locations.  At least the wandering Audubon considered himself a lifelong Kentuckian.  Currently, we are “celebrating” the bicentennial of Audubon in Louisville.  The connection that the famous naturalist has to this area and to the Falls of the Ohio in particular is a linkage I enjoy.  I have created several “Audubons” since I began this project…here’s the latest.

Audubon, bird detail, 6/09

When Audubon lived here, Louisville was a frontier town.  The landscape then is completely different than it is now.  The trees have changed, many of the animals are gone including the famous passenger pigeon that Audubon first drew at the Falls.  Much of my project stands in contrast to what Audubon knew…and is one reason I use the materials I do to construct these little figures.  Reading Audubon’s journals makes me hungry for a world that doesn’t exist anymore.  The challenge is to keep it from degrading further.  Materials I used for this piece include:  various polystyrene foams, wood, plastic, coal, and nuts.  I made this sculpture early in the day, but the light was so bright and harsh, I re-photographed it before sundown.  I still think I can work on this image more.

Audubon's head, detail, 6/09

I found this little hickory nut and split it in half to form the eyes.  The mouth is part of a walnut husk.  Over the years I have portrayed Audubon in various guises.  This one is by far the most “romantic” of the lot, but that’s okay.  My friend Raymond Graf created an official life-size bronze Audubon for the City of Henderson in western Kentucky.  In Audubon’s time the town was known as Red Banks.  Today, there is a state park there that has one of Kentucky’s crown jewels…a museum preserving the largest collection of Audubon art and family heirlooms and worth a visit if you are in the neighborhood.  Audubon now lends his name for conservation purposes…hence the apotheosis.  So, let’s look at a few birds I saw today worth protecting…

Rough-winged Swallow, 6/09

This Rough-winged Swallow is far from the most colorful bird, however, it is still interesting.  At the Falls, small groups of these birds build their nests in holes dug into the sides of the riverbank.  Even the most ordinary animals are worthy of consideration and not just the spectacular ones.

Black Vulture, 6/09

We have two vulture species at the Falls.  This one is the Black Vulture…we also have Turkey Vultures.  I have photographed both species many times over the years.  The Black Vultures in particular like to hang out in bigger flocks.  I have seen both species feeding side by side on dead fish.  It is intriguing for me to think that some of the birds I have seen here may be descendents from the species that Audubon saw, recorded, and drew.  I’ll end with two last images.  One is the makeshift studio where I’ve been working and made today’s sculpture.  The other is one of many variations I tried today of placing the figure in some kind of context.

outdoor studio, 6/09

Audubon's Apotheosis, variation, 6/09

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The Inhaler

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , , , on June 7, 2009| 2 Comments »

Eight tires, 6/09

The river clean-up has come and gone.  Around the park are clear plastic bags pregnant with rubbish.  In a way, the garbage hasn’t gone anywhere…it’s still waiting to be taken out.  All my sculptures are where I left them as are my caches of branches and Styrofoam.  Time to make a figure from this day’s experiences! 

The Inhaler, 6/09

The Inhaler, detail, 6/09

As alarmed as I am about the water, the quality of the air is also a matter of concern.  We live in the bottom of the Ohio Valley and during the summer the air can get quite thick with the residues of burning coal, ozone, and pollen.  At the coroner’s office, they can tell if you lived in this valley just by the types of fungi found in your lung tissue.  The river is getting cleaner…believe it or not, but the air we breathe needs help too!

The Inhaler, 6/09

People believe the atmosphere, like the ocean, is limitless.  If you were to walk in a straight line for two miles and wrap that distance around the globe…well, that’s all the air there is to breathe.  From space, the atmosphere is so thin you can barely make it out.  It’s a bubble enclosing a rock.  This figure began with finding the inhaler.  More and more people are being affected by breathing issues like asthma.  Oxygen bars are popular in other places in the world.  I wonder if that would work here?  The body of this figure is made from what I call “large curd” polystyrene…I don’t run into this stuff that often.  Time for another puff.

A Trio of Figures, 6/09

Someone placed the brush in the hand of the figure wearing the clock.  Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to tell if anyone has been by recently.  I really enjoy it when other people play along.  It adds another dimension to my river project.  I did have a family with four kids watch me work on this today.  The children loved what I was doing, but the parents….?

Found cartoon dog face, 6/09

Tomorrow is shaping up to be another nice weather day.  I will try to make and post something else.  This little dog face I found today makes me smile.

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Birds on a Line

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, birding, collections, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , on June 6, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Styro-kingfisher

From the archives come these images of faux-birds made at the Falls of the Ohio.  In an earlier post, I had mentioned suspending my birds from waste fishing line to try to create the illusion of a flying bird.  Here are images from one day’s experiment when the wind was blowing a bit more than usual.  I also used a piece of aluminum wire and fashioned eyehooks and s-hooks to do the hanging.  In most of them, the fishing line is really obvious and to my mind…kind of funny in a no-tech sort of way.

Flying Kingfisher

I call this one the “Flying Kingfisher”.  It’s made from Styrofoam, driftwood, coal, and plastic.  The wings are fragments from the lids of minnow buckets used to carry live bait.  The next bird is a Chickadee or something!

Head-on Styro-chickadee

Flying Styro-chickadee

This “Flying Styro-chickadee” was made with my son, Adam’s help.  It now flies from the dining room’s chandelier in a small flock of other birds.

Three Flying Styro-birds

As a boy, I made many plastic model airplanes that are out of fashion now.  You know…the ones where you had to read the instructions and carefully glue the pieces together.  The Styro-birds have the same feel to me as when I made those plastic models.  I bet I made at least one kit representing just about every type of aircraft flown in both the world wars.  I also remember painting them to look as authentic as possible.   These birds, however, are as is and made from junk I collected along the Ohio River.

Styro-birds on the sand

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Tires on the River Highway

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, collections, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, recycled art, watershed, tagged , , , , , , , on June 4, 2009| 3 Comments »

Floating tire

What would a river clean-up be without discarded automotive tires?  They seem as ubiquitous as the driftwood in the water.  You get so used to seeing them that in effect…you don’t see them anymore. 

Tire and driftwood

That’s where having a camera can be of assistance…it breaks that circuit that prevents us from remembering that these objects should never find a home here. 

Circle in the water

Finding a floating circle in the water always grabs my attention.  It’s no longer just a tire, but the pattern of perfection, the symbol of civilization.

Beached tire

How did we become so indifferent towards them?  Isn’t the wheel the same great device it was when it was first invented?  It was once a big deal…is it no less marvelous and worthy of being disposed of properly?

Discarded tire

One of the nice things about being a parent of young children is that you can remember some of the wonder of the world through their experiences.

Sinking tire

I guess that’s also what makes photography so effective a medium…it gives the viewer an opportunity in a split second, to experience vicariously, what the photographer saw.

Sunken tire in the sand

I worry as a parent that we won’t leave this place in as good a shape as we found it.  It’s become a vicious cycle that needs fixing.

Tire Drawing

I don’t know if “art” can be the tool to make the repair?  But if we can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, which art can do, we might just recapture some of the lost wonder in the world.

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