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Archive for the ‘Styrofoam’ Category

Life Around a Willow Tree

Posted in Absurd, animals, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, Originality, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged , , , , , , , on October 2, 2010| 15 Comments »

I was walking through the woods on a sun-dappled day looking for migratory birds when I came across a new friend.  We talked for a little while before introducing ourselves.  Both of us remarked on the dry weather we have been having and I said that it’s official now.  September was the driest ever in the commonwealth of Kentucky since records have been kept dating back to 1871.  We have had a spits-worth of rain… that’s it.  Overall, this has been our third driest month ever, beaten only by two Octobers over the course of the past century.  We both wondered if this was an omen for this October?  We certainly hope not.  Having created some common ground, I introduced myself and she said to call her Minnie, Minnie Buckethead.

As it turned out, Minnie is an interesting old lady with a fascination for everything in the woods.  I asked if she had seen any migrating warblers and she had.  American Redstarts, Black and White Warblers, were moving with small groups of other birds including Carolina Chickadees and Tufted Titmice.  I had seen nothing.  I definitely need to get up earlier in the day to catch the bird show.  Perhaps Minnie was taking pity on me and she said that there were a few other things happening in the woods and would I like to see them?  How could I turn down such a nice offer from an old lady?

We walked over to a large willow tree and I saw Minnie crane her neck and squint her eyes from the sun and she scanned the willow bark.  “Here” she said and I checked out what she was pointing at.

At first I thought it was a bee, but it was larger and more robust and not as big as a bumble bee.  There were others.  Walking around to the shady side I could determine that they are hornets of some kind.  The hornets and other insects were licking whatever was exuding from the willow tree.

“Don’t worry, they won’t get you”, she said.  The hornets were so preoccupied with the sap that they were quite tame.  Walking around the tree gave us this sight.  Three different species of butterflies also taking advantage of the willow bark.  The one in the foreground is the Red Admiral.  Although I hadn’t seen the hornets doing this before, I did say to Minnie that I had observed many butterflies on these willows and wasn’t it nice that so many living creatures could set aside their differences to take advantage of this common resource.  She just smiled.

I was appreciative of Minnie showing me the tree and so I tried to impart a little knowledge to her about the local cicadas.  I had come across a dead female in the sand,(identified by the hypodermic needle of an ovipositor she uses to lay her eggs under the thin bark of a tree).  I asked Minnie if she knew anything else about their life cycle and she said she didn’t and so I went on.  I told her that after the egg hatches under the bark, the nymphs drop down and burrow under the ground and attach themselves to the tree’s roots.  With this species, after a couple of years of sucking tree juices, they emerge from the ground and become adults which for cicadas, is a brief moment in time.  They mate, lay eggs, and then die after a glorious two weeks or so.  You find their split skins where they transform as juveniles into adults near where they emerged from the ground.  Here’s a pictures of the dead cicada, the split cicada skin, and a fresh adult.

With any life cycle it’s hard to know exactly where to begin and I suppose that’s the classic which came first question… the egg or the cicada? I’ll leave that to brighter minds than my own for now. 

Minnie listened attentively and then asked me to follow her.  She had something else to show me before we parted company.  We walked away from the willow tree to an area where several large logs were decomposing.  She pointed a thin finger at a yellow patch on one log’s side and I could see it was some type of fungus.  It seemed to be spreading outward as it broke down the tissues inside the tree. 

It was both fascinating and oddly repellent. On another nearby log was yet another fungi which I could identify as a fresh bracket or shelf  fungus.  The bright colors also seemed on the lurid side to me.

Minnie talked to me about what a wonderful system that nature has created to break things down after death.  Like these fungi were doing to what were once living trees.  She talked about how life depended on materials being able to decompose in order to release the nutrients that are needed for life to move forward.  This is what it means to live naturally and that we should look at the systems that the planet has in place and to learn from them.  With that, I took my leave and waved good-by to the old lady in the woods.

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The Pipe

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , on September 29, 2010| 7 Comments »

With the river receding all the Adventurer could do was wait and bide his time.  He came by the river and he was determined to leave the same way.  It hasn’t been all bad though…this has proven to be an interesting place and he has enjoyed many of the hikes he has made in the park.  It is a curious place though full of nature and history, but also marked by sights that seem inexplicable considering the importance of the setting.

Take for instance this experience he had walking along the river’s edge in the western section of the park.  Passing herons stalking fish in the shallows, the Adventurer could see something obviously man-made jutting out of the riverbank and into the water and he moved closer to see what it was.  It kept getting bigger and bigger the nearer he came to it.

The closer the Adventurer approached the more he could make out the large, rusting metal pipe that had become exposed from the river’s retreating water level.  What had happened to the raft to strand it had also exposed this pipe for all to see.  It also appeared to have separated in the process.  The Adventurer’s heart began to sink.

Wow thought the Adventurer!  This is normally hidden from view when the river is higher up the bank.  What in the world could this be and what is it doing in this fine park?  The Adventurer’s head began to fill with questions.

This was another man-made waterfall, but one our friend did not expect to find.  The water flowing from the pipe appeared clear, but foam and suds were produced from where it splashed into the river.  The Adventurer’s fine sense of smell thought he detected the odor of laundry detergent?  He had noticed something similar emanating from an adjacent creek that was fed by a storm sewer from the nearby town.  It had been a long time since the last storm…where was this water originating from and what was it doing emptying into the river?  Was this treated water and could it be harmful in any way?  How long had this pipe been hidden here and was it even necessary?  The Adventurer thought all these things and more.

He walked by the pipe and turned to look back at it.  The Adventurer was struck by its hardness and rigidity of form and thought how many of man’s solutions to problems could be described in the same way.  What an eye sore.  Once upon a time this could be thought of as a solution to something, but was it appropriate now?  You could tell that nature had intervened and was eroding it away from its supports.  The Adventurer just shook his head.  Water is life and fresh water is the fastest disappearing resource.  Can we afford to keep dumping everything into the river as though it didn’t matter? The Adventurer thought of all the other little towns and cities along the river’s route and his chest tightened and he felt even more trapped than before.  Surely in this place that is so important to the record of life and the history of this country…we can do better right?

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Styro-Buffalo

Posted in Absurd, animal art works, Art, art and environment, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Louisville, Kentucky, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged , , , , , on September 26, 2010| 23 Comments »

The autumnal equinox has come and gone and with it the this long, hot summer has given way to temperatures twenty degrees cooler.  We are thankful for this and without trying to sound ungrateful…could use a little rain as well.  Artist at Exit 0, the unofficial artist at the Falls of the Ohio, was looking through some older images of his and was reminded of a former project that was offered as a physical prayer and remembrance of times gone by. 

On occasion, references have been made in the riverblog that one of the historic features about the Falls of the Ohio is that it once was an active bison trace.  Animals forded the river at this location and in fact many of the major roads in Kentucky are old buffalo trails that have been paved over.  For millennia, bison were a resource that people could count on until they were slaughtered on an industrial scale in the 19th century for a variety of reasons…none of them good.  To the indigenous people, bison were more than their supermarkets and great spiritual significance was associated with them.  It’s probably a miracle of some kind that these animals continue to exist to the present day.  Artist at Exit 0 has made several bison pieces over the years…but this was his favorite one.

Here it is presented as a simple art object.  Constructed from river-polished polystyrene, driftwood branches, and nuts this piece was about as large as a good-sized dog.  What the artist especially likes, however, are some of the images showing the Styro-Buffalo in the context of the Falls.

The Styro-Buffalo was photographed on the fossil cliffs near the western section of the park.  The images were recorded with a 35mm camera and conventional print film that was developed at the local drugstore.  I recently read in a Wikipedia search, that the white buffalo is an extremely rare animal and their births occur in approximately one out of every ten million births.  Whether this takes into account leucistic (white fur, blue eyes), albinos (white fur, pink eyes) or other genetic anomalies is not certain.  We had a female, white bison calf born in Shelbyville, KY in 2005 at a buffalo ranch and tourist attraction called Buffalo Crossing.  The animal was named “Cantje Pejute” from the Lakota language which translates to “Medicine Heart”.  A recent search on Buffalo Crossing was inconclusive as to whether the ranch is still open to the public and with it the fate of this particular animal?

Here is the Styro-Buffalo photographed at sunset on the fossil rocks.  One critic who commented on this image considered it overly romantic.  It was meant to be a pejorative statement since apparently there is little room in contemporary art for work that includes nature as part of the work’s context.  The quest for the sublime and awe for nature are not generally in fashion in the high contemporary art world.  Artist at Exit 0 was okay with that comment only because it underscored and confirmed personal observations about the contemporary art world that Artist at Exit 0 feels mirrors the general disconnect he perceives from our kind for the environment.  If we persist in this attitude…we too may go the way of the buffalo and again it will be our choice. 

 This post is offered in friendship to 47 Whitebuffalo who’s fine blog is full of social conconciousness and art.  Her link is included in my blogroll on my home page.

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Two Question Marks and Two Commas

Posted in Absurd, animals, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, Styrofoam, tagged , , , , on September 23, 2010| 3 Comments »

When we last left the Adventurer he was marooned on the riverbank waiting for the Ohio River to return.  Until the water reappears his crudely constructed log raft is stuck.  Taking advantage of the downtime, our hero is exploring and seeing what there is to see.  At this place called the Falls of the Ohio there appears to be a good variety of butterflies present.  Following are a few images that were relayed to me by the Adventurer along with a small lesson he gave me about Lepidoptera.  Here’s a sequence of images that our friend wanted me to share with you not only because he found this to be beautiful but interesting too!

How lovely!  This is the first of our “Question Marks”.  In fact, this is the common name of this butterfly that is known in the scientific community as Polygonia interrogationis.  This is a fresh specimen in its fall form with its powder-blue wing edges.  The spring and summer forms sport much darker hindwings on their topsides.  The wingspan is about 3 inches across.

Here is the same butterfly with its wings folded and as you can see it looks very much like a dried leaf.  The Question Mark derives its name from the small, silvery “?” question mark-like design on the ventral side of its hindwing.  This specimen in this image doesn’t show this to its best advantage, however, what the Adventurer wanted to share is that other smaller butterfly entering the picture on the top left corner.  This is something not noticed until the pictures were downloaded from the camera.

Here are the two butterflies sharing a leaf.  The plant is a cocklebur and you can see its ripening seeds in the background.  Soon these burrs will develop their Velcro-like hooks and attach to the clothing of autumn hikers.  I have had dozens attach themselves to my shoe laces!  Now for a close-up of that little butterfly.

This is the second “Question Mark” because neither the Adventurer nor I know what to formally call this one!  I enjoy collecting field guides of all kinds and I like to cross reference material as a way of learning more about the subject on hand.  I know this is a member of the skipper family which are primitive butterflies that share characteristics with moths.  In fact, some scientists don’t consider skippers to be true butterflies at all!  In my guides there seems to be many of these small, golden-colored skippers and identifying them is tricky and best done by experts.  This butterfly was so tiny and perfect and almost…unnoticeable.  In the enlargement it appears to have a forked proboscis for feeding.  I wonder how this design will help it eat and does it go for the usual butterfly fare?  Okay, moving on… let’s look at the Commas.

The Eastern Comma or Polygonia comma is a common butterfly in this environment.  As you can tell it is closely related to the Question Mark butterfly.  It derives its name from the small comma (,) like mark on the underside of its hindwing.  Both of these species are angle-winged butterflies and when their wings are folded up, appear like dried leaves.  These guys can be fairly aggressive as butterflies go and as proof…the Adventurer wanted you to see this specimen photographed against the silvery driftwood of the Falls.

He said this was the most ragged specimen he ever saw that was still alive!  This butterfly seemed to have no issues with flying despite its hindwings being mostly gone.  You can see how alert this one is by the attitude of its antennae.  This Comma is near the end of its seasonal run and its wing condition may be due to aerial combats with other butterflies and insects.  I imagine as Comma butterflies go, this one may have revelled in being a Comma!  This one may have been among the fittest of its kind?  The Adventurer hope you enjoyed this little side track and in closing offers another view of that nice Question Mark butterfly.  Thanks for visiting!

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The Waterfalls

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Louisville, Kentucky, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , , on September 21, 2010| 4 Comments »

The Falls of the Ohio was never a classic waterfall such as Niagara Falls or even Cumberland Falls in Kentucky.  It’s been described as a series of rapids that drop the river level about 26 feet over a length of about a two and a half miles.  This is the only place in the nearly thousand mile length of the river that posed a major navigation obstacle. Traditionally, the Ohio River hasn’t been a deep river, in fact in historic times the water level could get so low in the summer that you could literally wade your livestock over from one side to another with ease.  That’s why this area was also a bison trace and indigenous people crossed the river here for thousands of years.

Of course, having a river that can be this shallow poses an impediment to river traffic.  Louisville is where it is because when the river was low you had to either portage your boat, hire a special pilot to guide you around the rocks and waves, or wait until the river level rose again to move on.  When the river was high, the Falls could be heard.  John James Audubon once wrote, ” The rumbling sound of the Falls as they tumble over the rock-paved bed of the rapids is at all times soothing to the ear.”  All that changed when the Army Corps of Engineers constructed a dam in the 1920’s.  The purpose of the dam is to provide a stable pool of water for the barge traffic going through the locks of this important intercoastal waterway.  It has meant billions of dollars in river goods can travel easily with coal being the most lucrative cargo.  That dam also defines what the Falls of the Ohio are now and in the heart of summer, the famous fossil beds are exposed for all to see.  Well, except for the majority of the fossil beds that are now regularly underwater on the opposite side of the dam! To say that this area is far from its original state is an understatement.  Most people don’t have knowledge of this and so this place is just as marvelous as ever!

“Oh honey, we made it!”  “The waterfall looks beautiful and I’m so glad we are here together to share this.”  The new couple on their own personal journey of discovery have decided to check out an American landmark.

“This is such a famous place and I will always remember this day because we spent it together!”  “I feel completely refreshed in the presence of you and nature.”  “The water spray is so cooling.”

Care is needed because you don’t want to get swept away.  The sound of running water can be hypnotic and you can lose yourself in it. ” I’m happy that you are here for me and I will be there for you too.”  Such is the promise that they made to each other standing by the waterfall.

“We have our entire futures ahead of us, but for now, let’s remember being happy in this moment.”  “The two of us are like this water in that we are on a long  journey and who knows if we will ever cross this spot again?”

“This has all been so beautiful, but I’m getting hungry.”  “Are you ready to go?”  “I’ve heard that there is another waterfall not too far away from here…wanna check it out later?”  Behind them, water was pouring through a special slot in the dam that allowed water to pass over these rocks and to provide a little more water for this bit of wetland that remains. When you are hiking out here and you think of it… it can be a little disconcerting knowing that the top of the river is now that high over your head!

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The Adventurer

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Louisville, Kentucky, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , on September 17, 2010| 5 Comments »

One day I had this wild idea to build a raft and drift down the Ohio River and so I did it.  Sort of.  Here’s my trusty vessel where it sits today.  I’m amazed that it held together long enough to get me here. I thought I might just go with the current for a couple of miles or so, but I was swept into the main channel and I rode it out as far as it would go and here I am.  Stranded.

Don’t worry about me…I’m alright.  I just hung out here so long and the summer was so hot…that the river dried up around me.  I found this spot on the riverbank that I like that always seems cool even during the most scorching days.  I also liked looking at all these shades of green in the algae.

It’s refreshing standing under this shower and on the warmest days it would only take minutes to completely dry off while walking under the sun.  I’ve always been a sucker for waterfalls and I have struck up a relationship with this one.  Something about water going over the edge of a precipice from some height helps people attain a feeling of the sublime and awe as felt in nature.

I’m going to miss this place if ever I can get out of here.  The local landscape has some charm and the change of the seasons.

Soon it will be the Autumnal Equinox and the days will continue to grow shorter as the leaves change color and drop from their branches.  It is a time for shifting gears and making plans.

Alas, for most of this summer the rain has been in short supply.  Each day without a significant down pour, the river keeps receding away from me and delaying my departure even more.  We need, I need it to rain again.

For the moment, I’m at a standstill and will need to be open to what nature has in mind.  I know a new adventure is just around the corner from here and it will be worth the wait.  In the meantime, maybe it would be a good idea to work on my raft?  From this angle it looks rickety.  I’ll search the riverbank, maybe I’ll find a life vest too.  I have found them before!  When the river comes back I’ll be ready.

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Lady in a White Dress

Posted in Absurd, art and environment, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Louisville, Kentucky, public art, recycled art, Styrofoam, tagged , , , , , , on September 6, 2010| 7 Comments »

Ah, how nice it is to be in the great outdoors and filling my lungs with fresh air!  The passing weather front has made life bearable again and the fleecy white clouds are a reminder that Autumn is near.

Visitors are down on the fossil beds trying to imagine what life must have been like all those supposed millions of years a go.  I can see a few fishermen too, but I think the water is too warm and the fish won’t be in the mood.  I wonder if when our kind passes into the next geological age…what presences will we leave behind?  Will our very bones turn to stone too and leave a layer here for “others” to discover?  I doubt it.

It’s all so mind-boggling to me that life could have evolved out of some stagnant pool of algae ooze.  I’m not sure I believe that because here I am in my white dress floating over this landscape.  That would have been too unrefined a beginning for someone who is closer to the angels than to the amoebas!

Surely, all this exists for our benefit?  I mean what other use could it have?  Do we think that the animals or plants have the means to develop this site or have the wherewithal to see a bigger picture?  If it’s all going to become history anyway shouldn’t we use our resources as we see fit?  Isn’t that what Darwin meant by survival of the fittest?

Nature is okay, but a little untidy for my tastes.  What the natural world needs are beings like us to organize this place and turn it into a garden.  When I visit the Interpretive Center I think I will plant that idea in the suggestion box.  There are so many more useful ways to experience this landscape  if only the people in charge would clean things up a little.

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Dog Day Birds

Posted in Absurd, animals, Art, art and environment, birds and birding, creativity, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, Louisville, Kentucky, nature photography, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged , , , , , , on September 3, 2010| 14 Comments »

It’s official, this summer was our toastiest.  I looked at the lead article in the local newspaper and words like historic and unprecedented are being used.  We beat the old record that stood since 1936 by a degree and a half!  In meteorological terms that’s a lot.  This was determined by factoring the daily highs and lows and taking the average temp for the day. Louisville had more than 80 above average temperature days this summer which was more than any other city in the country.  No wonder working at the Falls felt so harsh.  We had a number of high pressure systems that just hung around the Ohio Valley making life difficult for everything including these vultures.  Of late, every year has had something climatically anomalous about it.  Too dry, too hot, too wet, too cool…missing are words like usual, normal, ordinary, and uneventful.

The variety of bird life at the Falls has been down this year too.  When you are a creature that is sensitive to the environment and have the advantage of great mobility…your instincts can tell you to go elsewhere.  I think this is what happened this year.  I will be really curious to see what comes by on the Fall leg of migration.  This year the Black vultures did well as did the Canada geese.  I could count on seeing those two species in good numbers most anytime I came out to the river.

From what I can see “anecdotally” the Canada Geese are on the rise here.  We have few predators to challenge them.  I have seen some very large flocks out on the water and they are keeping the grass clipped short along the riverbank too.  Friends told me that in the “old days”, you could find large stands of native river cane on the margins.  That’s something I don’t ever recall seeing out here.  One of the values I place upon this blog is to act as a record of the environment as I find it.  We have journals and first hand accounts of what this place looked like two hundred years a go and I believe that two hundred years from now…people will still be interested in the Falls of the Ohio and how it has been changed by civilization.

One of my favorite summer birds are American Goldfinches.  There is something cheerful and friendly about them.  The male with his bright yellow and black plumage is an unmistakable bird.  Many times I have watched the dipping and rolling courtship flight and listened for their call notes.  In the past, I have seen this species in mass, but not this year.

I’ve had conversations with people bragging about their fishing luck or skill, but none of them can hold a candle to a cormorant.  The Double-crested Cormorants in this picture are able to find and catch fish when nothing else can.  Of course, it helps to be able to swim and pursue prey underwater!  These birds are wary and very hard to approach.  In other places of the country, fishermen have persecuted this species because they compete very successfully against the rod and reel.

One of the few interesting and new birds to write about is the Azure-winged Mockingbird.  I have encountered them by my studio under the willow trees.  They are fearless and will drive away larger birds.  Among their notable features is the way they flash their wings against their bodies which makes them look more aggressive.  I have wondered as I make my Styrofoam sculptures, if these birds are drawn to the mosquitos and gnats that find me!  This is not a common bird and has been rarely recorded here.  I expect that in a few weeks, it will be winging its way to Central America.  I wonder if this year’s events in the Gulf of Mexico will compromise it and other birds in some way?  The forecast for this holiday weekend looks great and I’m anxious to spend a bit more time out here on my projects.  I’ll close with one more image of my mockingbird friend and a sculpture still around from several weeks past.

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Styro-Odysseus

Posted in Absurd, animals, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , on August 26, 2010| 12 Comments »

Battered and tired the old soldier looked wistfully to the west.  They said it would be an easy war as wars go.  And sure enough the enemy that wore a uniform was quickly overwhelmed.  Much, however, had changed since Styro-Odysseus began his career as a common soldier. 

Victories were no longer clear-cut and the peace was hard to recognize. Nobody could remember what they were fighting for?  After many years of trying to win the hearts and minds of the occupied people it was time for Styro-Odysseus to return to the muddy shores of his origin.

He had his country’s thanks, but all the old soldier wanted now was the comfort of his family and familiar surroundings.  His valor was now a thing of the past.  It would take all of Styro-Odysseus’ remaining energy to walk the distance towards the life he most desired.  His armor, shield, and standard that he once wore with pride grew heavier with each passing step.  He thought often of the innocence of childhood and green fields.

Along the way, Styro-Odysseus could not help noticing that the country he had risked his life for had fallen into neglect and ruin.  In places it looked as though the war had happened here.  He could not understand his countrymen’s apathy?  He wondered if people still cared?

Rounding a bend by a river, the returning veteran had the oddest sensation that the people had in fact been bewitched and turned into geese.  That would explain the poor condition of so much he observed around him.

Meeting fellow travelers along the way Styro-Odysseus learned that much of his beloved land was in a similar condition.  The ordinary man had become disillusioned by evil pundits who were masters of instilling fear and preyed upon the best intentions of the good.

Styro-Odysseus had much to think about.  It seemed to him that righting the course of his own country might prove to be a greater challenge than fighting a foreign enemy.  What force of arms could be used to fight the new enemy that resides within? What could inspire the people and renew the idea of a shared common purpose?  While Styro-Odysseus’ mind grew cloudy…his feet kept on walking and soon he reached a familiar path.

Styro-Odysseus was home and he forgot the great weight he carried upon seeing his family.  For now, he would set aside his armor and forget the duties of being a soldier for at least a little while.  He would try to allow what sweetness that remained in the world to begin the healing process.  The old soldier would rest and renew his energy for the next task at hand.

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Figure with Very Long Arm

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, Falls of the Ohio, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged , , , , , , on August 22, 2010| 11 Comments »

The heat and humidity remain unabated.  I think this is the hottest summer I have spent at the Falls of the Ohio.  Yes, there were always super hot days in the past, but this year we have had many more of them.  I was excited about this weekend because I have three days off, few family obligations, and I planned to go out to the river to see and make what I could.  I have collected some large pieces of Styrofoam and it’s time to use it before the river eventually rises and carries it all away again.

On this day, I have made one of my tallest figures ever.  This one is a head taller than I am and when you add the extra long arm…it is even more so.  I can’t say that I worked up a story to go with this one…yet.  If, however, he hangs out long enough, I’m sure I will think of a narrative.  For now, this is what I made and in the process I drank all the water I brought with me and soaked through my shirt.  A mixture of sweat and sun block kept running into my eyes which led to a few choice words said by me.  Fortunately, there wasn’t anybody around to hear them!

After I made this figure, it seemed to me that it had some affinities with the Wallace and Gromit characters.  I think it’s because of the close-set eyes and large nose?  I like that this guy has a sense of humor which can’t be said about some of the figures I have made before.  He’s probably amused that anyone would choose to spend their day off engaged in this activity!

What prompted this sculpture was the long stick I eventually used for one of his arms.  The body is somewhat elongated and the extra long arm brings this out even more.  Perhaps the arm is an evolutionary adaptation for picking fruit from the higher branches of the tree?  In this way, it works similarly to a giraffe’s neck with its ability to reach the topmost leaves.

The brutal sun kept me close to the shade of the willows, but even this had its issues.  There are mosquitos in the shadows and the humidity is trapped by the vegetation and foliage.  Being uncomfortable made me less patient with myself.  Every once in a while I would get distracted by the song of a wren or the myriad insect life around me.  There are still many butterflies and wasps visiting the flowers and willow trees.

I had a few technical problems to work out. The main one being how will this sculpture stand upright?  Even though the sand and mud are soft, this figure is clumsy and comes down to a point.  My solution was to rest the figure on a tripod of sticks.  Two of them can be seen, the third “leg” lends support from behind the figure.  Once it cools down, I would like to move this sculpture around the different vignettes that the Falls offers and see if I can improve upon the photographs.  For the moment, I consider these evidence that I made something on a fairly uncompromising day cut short by the heat.  I decided to leave early and left this figure resting against the trunk of a tree.  I can’t wait for it to cool down a little.  I can tell Autumn is around the corner.  I detect a hint of yellow in the leaves around me that were a bright green not too long a go.

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