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Archive for the ‘Green’ Category

Spring Singers

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, birding, creativity, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , on March 10, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Since the river washed away my old studio site, I have started two fresh ones.  The studio situated by the roots of a fantastic cottonwood tree is in the park’s western section and is pictured above.  I will show you the second site in a future post.  My studios are very informal affairs and have more to do with stockpiling materials for future use.  Try as I might, I can’t carry this junk everywhere I go and so I need places to park it.  Of course, anybody is free to use whatever I place there and sometimes people take me up on it.  This western studio is where I made the figure with the gavel in my last post.

To reach the western studio is a longer walk from the Interpretive Center’s parking lot and receives fewer people.  That, however, doesn’t make it immune from the visits from the “Smashers”.  Years ago, that was the name my son Michael came up with for the kids that feel compelled to break every glass bottle they find in the park.  On more than one occasion, they also destroy my sculptures.  Such was the fate of the subject in my last post…the “Smashers” got’em.  That figure was so utterly destroyed that all I found were a few scraps of polystyrene and the toy hammer it was carrying.  I try not to dwell on it too much.  There’s always the next piece to make and the sun is shining today and spring is near and life is good.

The birds are feeling it and soon the migrants will be winging it this way from points deep south.  Today I was serenaded by Carolina Wrens and Northern Cardinals.  I saw my first Red-winged Blackbird of the new year and a Belted Kingfisher flew by my studio.  The trees are beginning to show the buds that will lead to blossoms and leaves.  A stray fly lands on my hand.  It has been a long winter and spring will be more than welcomed.

I quickly gathered enough sticks and Styrofoam to make three small figures.  I imagined that like the birds I had heard, these guys are also singing.  I moved them around a bit, but in the end, decided that I liked this one image the best.  I left them in the roots of another cottonwood tree and went home.  On the way back to my car, I came across a tangle of driftwood and found a child’s broken plastic chair mixed into the lot.  The brilliant red color caught my attention and I offer it as a parting gift to you.

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Have Gavel, Will Travel

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 March 5, 2010| 6 Comments »

I always keep a few images and ideas in the background in case I need something to post.  Since the upcoming weekend is looking like a spectacular one, I know I’ll be visiting the river.  Frequently, when I’m on site, I make more than one sculpture and this post is a case in point.  I made this figure the same day I did the “Lifeguard” piece.  The first image is of one of my collecting bags.  Believe or not, I found this flag-festooned bag out here on the river and it has come in handy.  Check out that beaver-chewed log and assorted chunks of river-polished polystyrene!

Although the figure is somewhat minimal, I like the overall image.  Those cottonwood trees really make a big difference.  I found the orange plastic toy gavel or hammer and this notion of an itinerant judge came to mind.  Perhaps he is coming to town to dish out his own brand of environmental justice?  Really, there was just so much junk along the riverbank on this day.

Here’s a detail of the figure.  This piece is composed of Styrofoam, plastic, wood, and rock.  When I was finished with him, I left him standing just where you see him in the photograph.  I’m always finding toys and I like the way they photograph in this riverine context.  Here’s part of a toy truck.

Frequently, when I see these images on my home computer…it’s easy for me to imagine that they are bigger than they really are.  I guess I never considered computers to be a form of magnifying glass, but they do seem to function in this way.  Here’s another shot I found compelling.  I like the way this object is being swallowed up by the sand.

Final image, I love the way the cottonwood trees and their arching trunks and roots present themselves along this stretch of the park.  The view through the hole is of Louisville’s skyline.  Can’t wait to see what I find next!

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The Lifeguard

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged , , , , on February 25, 2010| Leave a Comment »

He stands vigilantly at the park’s westernmost limits looking towards the hydroelectric dam and the bridge that leads to New Albany, Indiana.  The tailwaters below the dam are a favorite spot for fisherman who have boats.  This is a good spot if one is hoping to hook into a big catfish.  Under the spillway,  however, can be rough.  If due precautions aren’t taken,  it can be a dangerous place for boaters.  That’s why the lifeguard remains on duty.

The lifeguard is a unique individual and his commitment is total.  His very body can be used as a flotation device!  In a more conventional emergency, he is expert at throwing his buoy near the distressed person in the water and pulling them to safety.  On this stretch of the Ohio River, the currents can be especially unpredictable.  There are many warning signs around the park and Interpretive Center to call attention to this danger.  Heed them.

His weather-beaten visage is in contrast to his heart of gold.  Over the years his walnut-colored eyes have seen much.  Despite the sometimes foolhardy antics of his fellow creatures, he still believes everyone is worth saving.  That’s the broad brush he paints with.  It’s nice knowing that if you needed to…you could put your life into his hands.

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Master Plan for Public Art

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , , on February 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I really needed this day and it did not disappoint.  The sun came out and the only snow left is in the deepest, shaded part of the woods.  The river was lower than I thought it would be and I followed the meandering driftwood line from east to west.  I picked up “parts”  for the day’s sculpture and filled my bag.  When I had enough stuff, I stopped, found a cozy log to sit on and dumped the contents of my bag on the sand and gravel.  I pulled my trusty knife from my pocket and unfolded the sharpest blade.  With the constant sound of running water around me, here is this day’s work.

I found a nice expanse of exposed limestone and began this figure.  It’s a little different in that it’s made using three chunks of Styrofoam. There are plenty of beaver-chewed willow sticks all around which will work for the figure’s limbs.  I wanted to see if I could make a figure that’s a little less static than usual.  I see this figure as having a pelvis and a lower back that flexes.  While I am making this piece, I’m breathing deeply, and thinking over events of the past week.  Yesterday was a memorable day because a committee I serve on made a big announcement about a public art strategy for Louisville.  For many years I have been an active member of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Public Art, or MACOPA.  I chaired the Preservation Committee which always seemed kind of ironic to me since my personal art is far from the material concerns and needs of Metro Louisville’s monuments.  With all the movers and shakers of our art community assembled in Metro Hall,  Mayor Abramson announced the plan we commissioned from CREATIVE TIME that was distilled from the many round table discussions with stakeholders that were held over the course of a year.

In brief, this is what’s being proposed.  The current committee will reform as two groups.  The first group will be attached to our metro government and will manage and care for the city’s existing public art inventory.  The more novel group, will become an independent 501-(C)(3 ) that over time would be able to commission and fund artist driven public art ideas.  As you can imagine during these hard economic times, no one wants new taxes and in Louisville, the area’s developers are not in favor of a percent for art program.  In fact, we learned that across the country, percent for art programs weren’t doing as well as you may first think.  So, what will be the funding mechanism that will allow this new not for profit to prosper?  Already on the books, is a regulation for construction projects exceeding 100, 000 square feet to provide some aesthetic amenities (even art).  Developers can now opt to give that money to the new public art committee to be used to commission new works in unique sites across Metro Louisville.  This still requires approval from the Metro Council, but since the business community likes this idea, it should get passed.  In two years, the new committee (tentatively called COPA, Commission on Public Art) will hire a professional director and staff and begin with a couple trial projects.

There are benefits from forming a more professional, stand-alone group.  Our public art committee has consisted mostly of volunteers who over the years have been able to realize a few modest projects.  Louisville has been fortunate to have had recent civic leaders who at least recognized how useful public art can be in touting the city’s quality of life.  But what happens if a new administration comes along that isn’t as pro art?  They could decide to withhold resources and kill the program.  Having the new public art organization exist apart from government is designed to protect it from less friendly administrations.

Once the coffers become full, artists can submit proposals for public art projects.  To manage these projects, artists must partner with a fiscal agent, like another existing not for profit art organization, to provide some financial oversight and navigate the various legalities involved in such work.  We shall see in a few years if this will be effective?  The transition from the present committee to the new commission will be crucial.  I will be looking forward to a different spirit that looks at art in public spaces as being more than just placing objects on a site.  When MACOPA chose CREATIVE TIME over other good candidates, we were hoping their more contemporary approaches would find resonance in Louisville.  Public art does not need to be permanent art.  I’m proud to have done my small part in this process and will be interested to see what happens.  For now, I’ll keep practicing my own special brand of public art on the banks of the Ohio River.

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From Cutter to Cheddar

Posted in Absurd, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , on February 14, 2010| 2 Comments »

It’s official, the winter doldrums have set in.  Like many parts of the country we are already above “normal” snowfall amounts and more is on the way.  Coming out to the Falls has become an endurance contest especially when the wind is blowing.  Looking through my past posts, I have become wistful for the sunshine and bird song.  Walking along the river’s edge, I found enough material for a new figure and this latest post.

He’s a bit of a stark fellow…just Styrofoam, sticks, coal, and plastic.  There is more material here, but the snow is covering it up.  Walking both the edges of the river and woods, an idea  in the form of discarded aerosol cans presents itself.  I will start with this first can.  It’s another reminder to me on how the environment in Kentuckiana has changed within my memory.

Although this is anecdotal, it seems to me and others who live here that mosquitos are more plentiful than ever.  In the early history of the settling of this area there were many more wetlands and Yellow Fever was a real threat to life.  Over time, the swamps were drained and the native mosquitos become more of a seasonal nuisance.  Now it seems we cycle through several different species of mosquitos during the peak months.  I’m not an expert on these flies, but I know we have small and large ones, mosquitos that have stripes on their legs and they all don’t appear at the same time.  As of a couple years ago, we also now have ones that transmit West Nile Fever.  Accidently introducing exotic species is upsetting the ecosystem and is a form of pollution as much as this found can of repellent.

Readers of this blog will notice how I have a penchant for including images of automotive tires of all kinds.  To me, they are symbolic of both our ingenuity and our willingness to overlook the consequences of said ingenuity.  Mosquitos love them because they need foul, standing water to breed.  Whether left standing up or lying down, the interior of a cast-off tire holds water perfectly.

I found these cans within a small area and set up my figure to bear witness.  Their contents once included a lubricant, an automotive cleanser, and spray starch.  I found another can further down the shoreline and wondered if we really need this product too? 

Call me old-fashioned, but I like my cheese in a more conventional way.  Despite the “REAL” assurance, can it be authentic cheddar cheese if it shoots out of a can?  That makes me want to scream!  Makes me wonder if it really is that much different from the mosquito repellent?  If I smeared myself with this stuff…would it keep mosquitos away?  Perhaps I can apply for a grant and run that experiment?  Looks like another case of said ingenuity!

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Snow Tested, Squirrel Approved

Posted in Absurd, animals, Art, art and environment, collections, creativity, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , on February 7, 2010| 1 Comment »

On a very chilly day and after a snow storm, I was able to visit the Falls and take stock of the happenings.  The snow came quickly and from an eastern direction.  You can see that from the trees where snow built up on one side leaving the opposite side clean.  As I had suspected, the rising river from the previous week had played havoc on my trusty studio site.  It took me awhile to recognize where that spot had been.  I will have to wait until after the snow leaves to determine if any of the materials I had stored there are still in the area.  As for the sculptures I had left to weather in place…

… they are still there, but disarticulated.  The rising water level with its floating logs and driftwood, knocked everything down, and carried parts of my work, back out into the river.  The image above is what remains of Pot Belly, a large work from several posts ago.  I found his head, but he was missing all of his features.  His partner, Lorraine, was near him, but had suffered the same fate.  Further down the park, I came across Penguin Boy (sans life-jacket and head) and what was left of the uncle figure.  By now, I am over any sense of loss.  I will miss coming to that particular spot under the willows, but I know I will make other make-shift studios and they too will wash away.  As for the large pieces of Styrofoam that are still around, I probably will recycle those into other sculptures provided they stay.  This time of year and early spring are usually when we get the high waters.  With all the snow that has fallen (even more is scheduled in a couple of days) the resulting melt water will overwhelm this part of the park again.  Perhaps it will flood several more times, who knows?  This is all just a part of the process.

Making things is the best antidote in a situation like this.  I might be temporarily rootless, but my need to make images from objects remains strong.  I tell myself that coming out here, especially on such an inhospitable day is a sure sign of dedication and commitment to my art.  Perhaps it is, but who really cares except me?  When you strip it down, it has more to do with my own needs than anything else.  I muse about this blog being a vicarious way for me to recall some of my work.  Anyway, laid out on a snowy log are the materials I found to make that day’s figure.  By this time, my finger tips are numb which makes handling small objects more difficult.  While I am fumbling away, this squirrel is watching me as I work and I’m having a regular conversation with it.  I ask how the winter is going and apologize for not bringing any food with me among other topics of mutual interest.

With the added distraction from the squirrel, here’s what I came up with on this day.  Finding the star wand was my big find along the riverbank and I incorporated it with the figure.  I’ll let that object add to any sense of a narrative that an observer might care to construct.  I was too cold to care about matters like that!

I left the figure near the Interpretive Center, but kept the wand.  Believe it or not, I have a collection going of found and mostly bubble wands and this adds some depth to that collection!  I should assemble that for a photograph and post it.  As I left the park, I did take one more image from the Indiana side of the Ohio River.  Past the railroad bridge, a portion of Louisville’s modest skyline can be seen.   Stay warm and dry everybody!

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F and J, part two

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, collections, creativity, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , , on February 5, 2010| Leave a Comment »

For me, the toughest part of the winter is getting through all the grayness.  Spring is a month and a half away.  Thanks a lot groundhog.  Family and work  obligations coupled with the crummy weather are keeping me closer to home than usual.

When I look at my Falls images from this winter, the park has an almost exhausted feel to it.  The river spent itself washing wood and our material culture upon this shoreline.  The large object my son named “The Plug from the Bottom of the River” has been around for months…but I love the sense of theatre it presents in this landscape! What is this thing really and what is it doing here?  Before it disappears in the next flood, I should stage some Styro-spectacle on it.

The parade of found river objects will never cease.  I tell myself that I should use this time to organize all the loose ends (objects and images) that an investigation of this scope produces.  Of late, I have had a few more inquiries about presenting aspects of this project in one form or another.  It all sounds good, but I know some things are presented more as trial balloons, but that’s also a part of the creative process.  It’s about stuff bumping into each other and seeing what connections are created.  The last time I was out to the river I stopped by and photographed some earlier works from last year.  For the most part, I think they hold up fairly well considering their construction as well as many of the parts used are ephemeral.

In a world where we all live speeded up lives, it is easy to forget that we also need a chance to be fallow.  That’s what winter is best for…incubating ideas and marshalling energy.  I may have to go down into my basement and take care of business there.  The physical evidence of this project is spilling out of bags and boxes.  I think I may be able to substitute my wish to go outside with rediscovering and reorganizing what I have already found.  There’s sure to be a few gems hidden among that driftwood.  Well, I’m telling myself that…until the sun shines again!

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We Two Together

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , on January 28, 2010| 4 Comments »

Sometimes the river looks made of light more than water.  I thought of that many times on this day.  I had already made two figures and it was time to turn for home.  I posed my latest creations next to each other and in the same area I have worked in for months.  I found a child’s life jacket and placed it around Penguin Boy.  For his taller uncle, I secured him to a willow tree using a stringer to hold fish.  This will keep him from falling over.  I also found a blue plastic container and placed that in his hand.  The contrast between the orange of the vest and the blue of the jug added a colorful note on an otherwise somber day.  I’ll be curious to see all this in brighter light if “they” make it that far.

And the two together…

Working around in my studio site with its odd assortment of Styrofoam chunks and wiggly, expressive sticks and roots… I came across the gift left by a visitor who commented here, several posts a go.  I found the squirt gun and will have to think of a way to incorporate it in something interesting!  Thanks for the tokens!

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Penguin Boy

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , on January 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The big-nosed figure had a nephew, a child of the high river.  His name is Penguin Boy and he was assembled on the same day as his much taller kinsman.  Once you see the pictures, it might begin to make sense?  This story continues my last post.  With the Ohio River rising again, the creeping waters would eventually filter through the driftwood and lift my studio away.  It is bound to happen, does so most every winter before the change of the seasons.  I’m using the biggest pieces of Styrofoam I have collected from the river, before the water takes it all back again.  Here’s the second foam figure I made from river finds this day.  He’s considerably smaller and a little odd-looking.

For months, Penguin Boy existed as junk I found along the shoreline at the Falls of the Ohio.  I spontaneously assembled its elements and tried to create an image with it before the short winter light diffused into tomorrow.  The figure’s eyes and nose are three different fishing bobbers.  The ears are two plastic lids from snuff containers.  Penguin Boy’s mouth is a squished bottle-cap and the name came to me because of the shape of the body.  I don’t know what the yellow “T” is on top of the head, but it is hard plastic.  Here are a couple close-up views of the head.

That certain demented look comes from the eyes which are two different sizes.  I have always been fascinated by the fact our faces are not completely symmetrical.  I remember from art history how the northern renaissance painters had noticed this and used it in their early portraits.  I always thought this helped psychologically charge their likenesses and gave them personality.  I moved Penguin Boy around and added a deflated soccer ball which gave one arm more of a sense of purpose.

While I’m photographing this figure, the river is just pushing logs into the shallow water.  One of my feet is already wet and the knowledge that the other foot is dry is of little comfort!  I added this piece to the ensemble I have going back at my studio.  I changed Penguin Boy and took a few snapshots with his larger uncle, gathered my stuff and left.  I’ll show you images of this duo the next time around.  One last image before I go.

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Faces for Facebook

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , on January 24, 2010| Leave a Comment »

 It’s a 50 degree day in mid winter and the river is rising.  I tried to make the best of the few hours I had to work outdoors this weekend.  It could have been sunnier, but at least it stayed warm and dry.  I made two figures and photographed them at the Falls of the Ohio.  Here’s the largest of the two in progress with a couple of old friends over wintering in the background.

I decided to try to use two of the bigger Styrofoam chunks I had stored at the studio site.  Eventually, the river is going to cover this area and so it’s use it or lose it time.  I have enough stuff in my bag to make quick decisions and there’s lots of driftwood to use everywhere around me.  The Ohio River seems restless and the constant waves have driftwood and logs pinned to the shoreline.  To make the features on this head I used mismatched fishing bobbers for eyes.  The asymmetry in the eyes makes for a more intense effect.  The large nose is the plastic head off of a toy golf club.  The ears are pieces of Styrofoam.  The mouth is suggested by a broken toy sand shovel I stuck into the foam.  I found some plastic collar to transition the head into the body and the rest is driftwood sticks.

I recycled the big Styrofoam piece from an earlier work made last spring.  It’s a little more battered the second time around.  When I added the head and legs, it made this figure taller than me.  I posed it around the studio site and then photographed it near the water to see if I could find more light.  Eventually, I moved the figure back to my studio area and posed it next to the second figure I made today.  I will show you that one next time around.

I had two people approach me while I was working who are also Falls enthusiasts and had seen my art out here before.  One young woman, an art student at the University of Cincinnati, was looking for driftwood.  She planned to pull a mold from the wood towards the goal of creating a bronze sculpture of her own.  After exchanging first names, the second conversation had a turn of its own.  The gentleman told me that he too had come down to the Falls for years and had seen other projects of mine.  For awhile, he said that a picture he took of one of my Styrofoam heads was his image of himself on his Facebook page!  I wonder which one it was and don’t know why I didn’t think to ask him at the time?  Imagine, having a face good enough for Facebook!

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