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First Snow of 2016

Posted in Absurd, art and environment, Art and Nature, art and the environment, Artist at Exit 0, assemblage art, birds and birding, collections, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Found objects, Installation, lost and found, material culture, nature photography, photography, plastic, repurposed art, repurposed materials, sculpture, sense of place, Site specific art, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged Art, artist at exit 0, fake snowman, Falls of the Ohio, Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center, found materials, material culture, nature, photography, plastic bottles, plastic dinosaur, plastic duck decoy, sense of place, site specific art, Styrofoam, willow tree, winter on January 16, 2016| 5 Comments »

The new year is off to an auspicious start. First we had a bit of minor flooding that rearranged the park and the new and improved Interpretive Center has successfully opened. I was curious to see what the river had left behind and make my first foray upon the riverbank and fossil beds. On the day I had prepared to venture forth, well, it snowed the night before and covered many areas with a light dusting of what looks like confectioner’s sugar upon the landscape.

I come prepared…mostly. Even covered up, I could feel the wind and the cold which was blowing hard enough that it made my eyes water. Reaching into my trusty Dutch field jacket, I pull out my vintage “Wind-Dodger” goggles and put them on. I came across these goggles still new in their 1950’s box at a favorite junk store that is now gone. They were manufactured by the Kono Manufacturing Co., of Woodside, N.Y. I think the graphics on the side of the box sold me as to their value. Printed in red ink it read:

“The scientific construction of the Wind-Dodger fits the natural contours of the features-providing maximum exclusion of wind and rain and all foreign particles in the air. The elastic tape holds the Wind-Dodger firmly in place under every condition of work and play in all kinds of weather.” I am a big believer in the value of science.

Further more, printed on the side of the box, was added they were suitable “For Work” and “For Play” and would be useful to railroad men, farmers, mechanics, construction workers, as they engage in sailing, hunting, fishing, flying, skiing, and driving. It was a natural leap for me to assume that they would also be perfect for a river junk artist like yours truly. One thing that the Kono Manufacturing Co. forgot to say is that they also steam up inside the goggles and require frequent drying. Still, they prove to be better than nothing.

The scarf I’m wearing is the oldest piece of clothing I own. It was given to me by a friend and artistic mentor back in the mid 1970’s and somehow I have held on to it over the years. I realize that with a lot of the clothing I own…I can be ridiculously sentimental.

The biting wind and cold are a concern, but so is the footing. The snow covers up a multitude of sins that cannot be seen. It is still slippery out here and in places the mud hasn’t completely frozen. Much of what I think I can find out here will remain hidden until warmer weather returns. But, I’m out here anyway and so I make a quick walk around some familiar places and record what I can with my camera phone.

I discover that a favorite willow tree is now almost completely bent over and resting on the ground. A huge log that the river deposited on top of this tree has shattered one of its main branches. I suspect that it is not long for the world. Spring flooding will repeat this battering process and I assume the tree’s prognosis is not good. Of course, there are other things that present themselves in this frigid landscape that rode in with the high waters.

My eye is immediately drawn to this purple plastic “dragon” rocking toy. I find another giant reptile reference on the rocks nearest the river and here it is.

This plastic sauropod arrived in a fresh water wave. I believe this species was formerly called “Brontosaurus”, but has been renamed “Apatosaurus” since it was discovered that an earlier scientific find gave the new name priority over the older, more familiar name. I briefly allow myself to soak in the irony of finding an object made from ancient petroleum that washed up on these even older fossil beds that references this prehistoric animal. Heady stuff indeed! Nearby, was my next find that continued this line of thinking.

And, what happened to some of the dinosaurs? It is believed that they evolved into birds. Right on cue, I find this plastic duck decoy! It represents the male Northern Shoveler, (Anas clypeata). I have found many other plastic duck decoys out here, but this is the first for this pretty species. The winter river at the Falls of the Ohio is a good place to see different duck species. In fact, winter may be the only time of year to see many of them. The river is steaming because the actual water temperature is warmer that the surrounding air, but the wind is a little fiercer too. I decide to keep walking and soon come across an old project I did from last year.

I created this site specific piece using green plastic bottles after last year’s flooding. It was sited high upon a big mound of driftwood that was too big for this recent minor flooding to affect much. Originally, I had filled the underside of what I think is the remains of a boat dock with the green bottles. Time has shifted the bottles to the bottom of the wood form.

While the snow is beautiful and transforming as these snow-covered vines can attest to….it is also getting ridiculously cold! The fingers on my right hand hurt and sting from the cold because I have to take my glove off to operate my camera. Soon images of a hot cup of coffee began to intrude upon my winter reverie. It’s time to go home, but there was yet one more very pleasant surprise waiting in store for me.

As I was heading back to the parking lot…I came across an old friend whom I was happy to see! We first met at the Falls on an absurdly warm day in December when the temperatures were in the low 70 degree range! I had photographed him as he was decorating river trees in advance of the holiday season. My old Styro-Snowman buddy was just beaming! At last, he was in his element and I’m so happy that his patience was rewarded. Not wanting to intrude too much in his special moment, I bid farewell and took this parting shot as I left the river. Stay warm everybody…from the Falls of the Ohio.

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New Exhibits at the Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center

Posted in Art, art and environment, Art and Nature, Artist at Exit 0, assemblage art, collections, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, Found objects, fresh water, Installation, lost and found, material culture, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, photography, plastic, recycled art, repurposed art, repurposed materials, sense of place, Styrofoam, unusual collection, watershed, tagged Art, artist at exit o, assemblage art, Devonian Period, driftwood, exhibit design, Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center, Falls of the Ohio State Park, flint artifacts, fossil beds, found objects, Lewis and Clark, nature display, photography, plastic, pollution, sense of place, Shawnee language, Solid Light on January 10, 2016| 6 Comments »

On January 8 of this new year, the exhibits at the renovated Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center opened to the public with a grand ribbon cutting ceremony. The interior of the Interpretive Center had been closed for 13 months. About 6 million dollars had to be raised to upgrade the 22-year-old permanent educational displays. After a national search, Louisville-based exhibit design company, Solid Light, Inc. won this high-profile contract and solidified their growing reputation within the exhibit design field. Judging from the enthusiastic response of the people attending the reopening it was worth the wait. I played a very small part with a commission to create an assemblage from objects I found in the park and I was eager to see how Solid Light used it.

The displays are divided into four themes or sections beginning with “An Ancient Sea” that highlights early marine life during the Devonian Period. The extensive fossil beds in the park date roughly to 400 million years ago and are the remains of an early coral reef ecosystem populated with many species of coral, brachiopods, and early fish which make their first appearance during the Devonian Period. I was glad to see some of the older models that made up the original display were re-purposed into the new display. The exhibit is interactive and there are hands on elements that children will enjoy. Large, wall-sized videos help set the scene through many of the sections and in “An Ancient Sea” an animation depicting a shallow marine environment includes fish swimming through sun-dappled waters as trilobites search for food among the corals.

The second theme is entitled “A Changing Land” and covers all the geologic changes from the Ice Age to the appearance of the first Americans. For me, the highlight of this area is the inclusion of the Shawnee language which can be heard spoken inside a reconstructed shelter. It’s wonderful that the contemporary descendants of these ancient people were involved in the design of this display and acknowledges their presence at the Falls of the Ohio.

Previously, the remains of prehistoric man’s material culture (primarily represented through flint tools) were a focal point in the old center’s displays. For those worried that examples of the “real thing” would be replaced with virtual images and copies will be pleased that you can still explore original material through some inspired casework. Be sure to peek inside many of the drawers in the different themed areas to see fine examples of specimens and artifacts.

The third theme “Converging Cultures” recounts the history of the Falls area with the arrival of the Europeans. The Lewis and Clark Expedition is a key moment not only in the history of the United States, but of the Falls of the Ohio as well. Many of the men that comprised the “Corps of Discovery” were originally from Kentucky and Southern Indiana. Wall-sized videos in the Lewis and Clark Theater recount the biographies of many of the men who made this epic transcontinental journey. The story of John James Audubon is also noted and forms a transition into the last themed area of the new displays.

This last section is called “The Falls Today” and focuses upon the Falls of the Ohio as a rich contemporary ecosystem. Some of the old taxidermy mounts have been reused to highlight some of the many species that live within the park. Another large video display, this time a virtual aquarium, speaks to the richness of life in the river, particularly the species of game fish that are of interest to fisherman. There is also a call to responsible and sustainable living and the need to keep pollution at bay. This is where I come in. I was commissioned by Solid Light to create an assemblage of found objects that is representative of what can be found in the Ohio River. Here is the finished result that was placed within its own case with graphic elements added.

The panel within the case is 8 feet by 4 feet large. I posted about the panel as I was creating it and showed many details of the more than 100 different objects that comprise it. Of course, everything I’ve attached here was found within the context of the park. The early reaction is that children in particular love looking at all the odd elements especially the found toys. My panel is among the last things you see as you leave the exhibits area to exit the building. I’m glad that there has been a greater emphasis in this new interpretation to include the current state of the world. One could argue that as interesting as the past is…it is the present that is of the greatest concern. Further reinforcing this idea are the results of the minor flooding we experienced the previous week. As the river has subsided, another massive new inventory of junk has washed into the park. As I was leaving the ribbon cutting ceremony and walking to my vehicle, I could clearly see how much more work needs to be done. Until next time…from the Falls of the Ohio.

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Green Bottles Revisited

Posted in art and environment, Art and Nature, Artist at Exit 0, assemblage art, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, Installation, lost sandals, material culture, nature, Ohio River, photography, plastic, Plastic art, public art, recycled art, repurposed art, repurposed materials, sense of place, watershed, tagged Art, art and nature, art and the environment, artist at exit 0, assemblage art, driftwood mound, Falls of the Ohio, green plastic bottles, lost and found, material culture, photography, sense of place, snow globe on October 26, 2015| Leave a Comment »

That big summer rush is over now. The Interpretive Center panel is finished and this past Saturday, I picked up all the works I had on display at Eastern Kentucky University. I now have no other plans for my art which feels good for a change. I like staying busy, but don’t want to be so on the go that I don’t enjoy what I do. Art is one of those things we eat greedily until it time to move over to the next course. The process of creating and displaying new works has become such a consumptive activity on its own and it’s funny that I don’t hear more artists talking about the good and bad aspects of this. With this officially being Autumn, I went looking for traces of color at the Falls of the Ohio.

I showed up under the old railroad bridge with a mostly empty collecting bag. At this time of year, it isn’t so much the interesting objects that just floated in here with the latest flood, but rather the interesting items that have come to the surface after all this driftwood started to break down. As proof, I offer this recently discovered snow globe or dome. It’s too hard to see from my image, but there is a winter holiday scene inside the dome! It will be cold soon enough and Christmas as well. I’m all set with this little decoration that still has bits and pieces of fake snow inside.

Today I have no plan other than to wander. As luck would have it, I revisited an area that I haven’t checked out in the past 2 1/2 months. One of my favorite pieces I made this year involves setting up green plastic bottles inside an old boat dock that was deposited on top of the driftwood pile and that happens to be in this spot. When I was here last, the vines had pretty much ensnared and intertwined with all this wood and made walking a bit treacherous. All the greenery from those vines is now history, but the woody stems are still a tripping hazard. Coming across my piece from earlier in the year…I decided to reconstruct it as best I could. All the bottles were still here and the light was looking especially good.

Under the wooden dock are four compartments that I filled with the bottles. They can only be seen from this side and so this piece has evaded detection for the most part because it is not visible from the path that skirts the periphery of this driftwood mound. I just happen to like how the light gets concentrated within these green plastic bottles and activates the work in just the right conditions. The wooden compartments add a little structure to what would be generally be thought of as a chaotic composition.

Although we still have plenty of “green” in the environment. You can also see where “yellowing” is happening with the foliage. I expect as the season wears on and transitions to another that this Green Bottle piece will subtly change over time.

Walking over the mound, I came across an area that was completely obscured by vines a few weeks a go. What I uncovered in place was a series of found flip flop sandals I had parked here until a better idea showed up. For now, I record the lightweight shoes and move on. It might be transformed into something different the next time I pass this way.

The cottonwood trees that flank part of this driftwood mound are much “yellower” than before. When I first came out here during the month of May, everything around me was verdant and dark green. After setting this piece up again for the second time, I turned and walked away and cleared my head by walking to the riverbank. I will periodically stop by here and maybe after a few months will be able to create a series of images documenting this site specific assemblage as it changes with the seasons. For now, I will check out if the fishermen are having any luck…at the Falls of the Ohio.

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Park West Petrochemical Rainbow

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, Art and Nature, Artist at Exit 0, assemblage art, creativity, driftwood, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, Found objects, material culture, Ohio River, photography, plastic, Plastic art, public art, recycled art, repurposed art, repurposed materials, sculpture, sense of place, watershed, tagged Art, artist at exit 0, assemblage art, colorful plastic, driftwood, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, found objects, nature, photography, plastic, recycled art, repurposed art, sense of place, site specific art on August 16, 2015| 2 Comments »

Hot, sticky, and the humidity had me sweating the moment I entered the park. Today’s outing seemed more like an extreme sport than an attempt at art making. I decided to focus my efforts in the western section of the Falls of the Ohio State Park. I knew the recent flooding we had experienced would more than likely deposit a lot of junk and debris along the driftwood cluttered shoreline. I was right about that, but first I had to “earn it”. To access the shoreline in this area of the park required going over, under, and around large trees that had either blown over by high winds or were undermined by the soil being washed away from the riverbank.

One thing I noticed being in this section of the park…was that all the purple loosestrife seemed to be gone. Normally, one can expect to find a whole host of butterfly and other insect species sipping nectar from the colorful flowers. On this expedition, I did not see one bloom from this admittedly invasive species. I think the Ohio River’s recent bouts of high water must have affected them? I find this somewhat unusual since I associate them with growing in very damp areas. Perhaps in their case, too much of a good thing is actually a bad thing? I will do some research to see if my hunch is true. Regardless of no purple loosestrife, there were plenty of vines to snag and trip over making the footing tricky…as if the soft mud and irregular surfaces of the driftwood weren’t enough of a challenge!

With the hot sun beating on me, I faithfully search the riverbank and collected the colorful discarded items that were first “gifted” to the river and then to me. Walking from one promising area to another…I found enough plastic junk to make my next site specific piece. Here’s another look at some of the objects that I found on this day.

The really bright and colorful plastic objects virtually scream at you when you bother to pay attention. Otherwise, it’s all just part of the material crap we create and dispose of indiscriminately. Maybe because I’m looking for this kind of thing…I see it more easily. I’ve trained my eye to spot the unnatural colors mixed among the gray and brown tones of the driftwood. I decided to set up a display in a particularly promising area between two debris fields that was also close to the river. I looked around and gathered some old milled boards and set them up on short, cut logs and before long had a table-like altar to lay my plastic treasures upon. Following are several looks at the completed work.

Here’s a view from behind the piece. You can see other bottles and junk mixed into the driftwood in the foreground. I set this piece up on an area of cracked and drying river mud.

Now a view from the front. I placed this work here to take advantage of the sunlight which was beginning to set in the late afternoon. I also wanted the verdant darkness behind all the colors to help create greater contrast. There are three tiers of boards that I used for this display. As is usual, I found less of some colors and more of others. In this instance, I could have used a few more orange plastic objects, but just one small plastic bottle was all I found this time.

In the late afternoon, all the various colors in this plastic are energized by the sun’s electromagnetic spectrum which causes this junk to glow. It’s the “golden hour” and one of my favorite times of day for its ability to infuse and unify the everyday with magic. I have stayed out on the river far longer than I first anticipated. The gnats and mosquitoes have had their way with me. Plus all my granola bars for energy have been consumed and my water ran out a couple of hours a go.

I’m fading fast and still have a long hike to make. All the obstacles that were there on the way in will also be there on the way out of the park. I took one last look back at my most recent project and decide that it is the best I can do at this particular moment. I’m calling this one, the “Park West Petrochemical Rainbow” so I can remember what section of the park I visited when I assembled this piece. I picked up my collecting bag and walking stick and made sure I wasn’t leaving something I might need behind me. The rest is one foot in front of the other. I let the fading beauty of the light distract me from my discomforts. Food, water, and a nice shower are waiting for me at the end of the line. See you later from the Falls of the Ohio State Park.

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Eventually, the River Goes Back Down

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, Art and Nature, Artist at Exit 0, assemblage art, driftwood, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, Found objects, fresh water, lost and found, Louisville, Kentucky, material culture, nature photography, Ohio River, Ohio River flooding, photography, plastic, recycled art, repurposed art, repurposed materials, sense of place, watershed, tagged Art, artist at exit 0, assemblage art, coconut, Falls of the Ohio, found objects, material culture, nature, photography, plastic, plastic bottles, repurposed art, sense of place on August 9, 2015| 5 Comments »

Eventually, the water does go back down and reveals after the fact, all the newest changes that the river has made in the park. You saw part of that in my last post with the way one favorite willow tree has been shaped by this latest event. In many places in the park, you can find logs that floated here from some potentially far away places.

Just a few weeks earlier, I posted images of Asian carp jumping over this very same spot. The walls of the dam were no obstacle then. Now the dam has been “graced” with many logs that were stranded along the top. They will stay here until the next flooding event or until something else shifts the balance.

Because this is summer and we have experienced so much rain, all the vegetation is really lush. Familiar paths are overgrown and the heat and humidity seem trapped at ground level. I am completely sweaty in no time at all. I went and checked out the green bottle piece I had made many weeks a go and it is still relatively in place. I assembled it on top of a large driftwood mound that this latest bout of high water was unable to fully reach. I can tell that the mound has shifted some and all of the bottles have settled within the upturned boat dock. Now, the entire mound is covered in vines. This makes it especially tricky to walk over. I snapped a few pictures and moved to the safety of the riverbank. There are lots of areas to explore and who knows what we shall find?

Slogging through the mud and wetness along the river’s edge, I make this amazing discovery. It’s a River coconut! I wonder what the tree that produced this hairy fruit looks like? Since much of the water that reaches us here flows from the north downward, I imagine that this is one hardy tree. I guess the coconut’s shagginess is a coping mechanism for cold winters? As we walk, there are more discoveries to be made.

Further down the riverbank I encounter this object. I am holding it as I am because initially, I thought this was an extra-large toy wristwatch minus the hands and numbers. Since I have been able to examine it more closely from the leisure of my home…I am now thinking that this is a child’s pro wrestling inspired championship belt? All the glued on rhinestones must have fallen off while the river carried it away from wherever it originated from.

Walking further west…I discover the remains of a riding toy. This is a blue plastic dolphin that came to rest in the Willow Habitat. There are more plastic items to find. Next was perhaps my favorite find of the day.

This is so small, that I’m surprised I spotted it among all the other small items both natural and artificial. It’s of course a plastic doll shoe, but this one has a nice patina acquired from being in the river for a while. I still find many dolls and doll parts, but this little doll accessory is a rare find. Unfortunately, there is also plenty of other plastic in the park that isn’t so hard to find. Here’s one such example as I found it in place.

Three plastic bottles and containers rest in a pretty disgusting looking puddle. The orange color is actually something I find occurring here naturally and may be due to some red oxide that exists below the many levels of clay and sand. Of late, I have been collecting various plastic bottles and creating other site specific pieces with them. On this particular day, I made a relatively small one due to time constraints. I have often found that it is good to have some limits with this river art. Simply, there are so many things one can work with and I have added to my vocabulary of forms and materials slowly over the years.

Like some of my previous efforts, I chose a particularly promising area that seemed to have a “wealth” of plastic bottles and containers. I then set out to find colorful examples to make an assemblage with. I like contrasting the high artificiality of these bright objects with the more subdued organic efforts of Mother Nature. The high-keyed colors are often cheery. I think that even on a subconscious level, we recognize the former products that were in these bottles even without their original labels which have washed away. From our own household experiences and uses, we are reassured by the soap that will clean our clothes or the oil that keeps our engines humming and in good condition. That’s where the tension lies in these simple assemblages…we know that this is far from the case. Since we now know that these containers and the products they once held were extracted from nature at great cost. In the aftermath of use…that cost continues as the packaging is disposed of irresponsibly. This particular artwork is heavy on the black which influences things as well. I simply found more black containers on this day and used them. After a few photographs, I picked up my collecting bags and headed home exhausted from slogging through the mud, heat, and humidity. I’ll leave this post with one more view from the Indiana side of the Ohio River. On the way home, I noticed a small flock of Canada Geese gliding past the skyline of Louisville and the river seemed at peace for the moment. Catch you later from the Falls of the Ohio.

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Willow Portrait

Posted in art and environment, Art and Nature, Artist at Exit 0, Falls of the Ohio, Ohio River flooding, Photograpy, repurposed materials, sense of place, Site specific art, watershed, tagged Art, artist at exit 0, black willow, Falls of the Ohio, giant necklace, nature photography, Ohio River flooding, sense of place, site specific installations, tree portraits, willow trees on July 31, 2015| 3 Comments »

Last weekend I visited an old friend and was shocked by the state that I found it in. In this case, my friend is a favorite Black Willow tree (Salix nigra) that grows within the Willow Habitat in the eastern section of the Falls of the Ohio State Park. We have just come out of a particularly wet June and July that saw the area this tree grows in being mostly underwater. Record amounts of rainfall have kept me on the very fringes of an encroaching Ohio River. Of course, I rushed back into the park when opportunity presented itself and things looked like they were returning to “normal”. Usually, lots of water is something that willow trees can appreciate. In this case, however, the willow trees near the old railroad bridge were submerged twice this year by the flood waters. In addition, floating and semi-submerged logs batter the stationary trees when strong currents push against them. Spreading willow roots do their best to maintain their hold upon the land. To add injury to insult, receding river levels often strand their floating driftwood loads in what’s left of the branches and crowns of these willow trees. The weight of this wood is a big burden which then further shapes the living willows. This is what happened to my friend. I found the formerly nice arc of its main branches and trunk now growing nearly horizontally with the ground. I decided to put together this post of images of this particular tree to see if I could detect other changes over the years.

Looking through thousands of images, I found this shot from November of 2010. Looks to be a cold morning. I’m not certain when this particular tree caught my attention, but it must have been around this time. I’m sure, however, that the processes that shape these trees were already at work. I can imagine this willow growing straight and tall if circumstances were different.

The next image dates to early June of 2011. This is the same tree with its long, narrow, and slightly saw-toothed edged leaves out in full. Already you can see an impressive and exposed root mass anchoring this tree in position.

Here’s an image from March of 2012 showing water encroaching upon our willow tree. I wonder how large the root mass actually is that keeps this tree alive in what seems an unpromising place?

A month later, April 2012, and the waters have returned to their seasonable pool and the tree is beginning to leaf out. From the way the three main trunks of the tree are all leaning west…I suspect that the weight of deposited driftwood? helped “train” the tree to grow in this position.

September 2012 and the leaves are beginning to show hints of autumn yellow. Soon the willow will drop all of its leaves which will eventually gather around the base of this tree.

Two shots of one of my favorite Falls projects. For over ten years I had been collecting the hard, yellow foam cores of contemporary soft balls that wash into the park minus their leather coverings. I decided to make a large necklace from my special river pearls that I named “La Belle Riviere” or The Beautiful River which was the name the French missionaries gave the Ohio River very early during its exploration. I posed my “necklace” and photographed it in many different places and positions. The images I made while it graced this willow tree were among the best.

The following images are from 2014. This one was taken in June. And, the following two are from August of the same year.

Now for some winter images. These more stark pictures were taken during February of 2015. We had some decent snow falls this year. I like getting a good variety of images showing the park during all the seasons.

That leads us to my most recent photographs. For parts of June and a lot of July, this tree was submerged from view. I never did get a good look at it with the driftwood that rafted onto it.

The willow tree has bent completely over and is “resting” on some of its branches. The tree is still in leaf, but turning more yellow, (perhaps due to all the stress it has endured?) So far, this tree has been a survivor and I hope that it can somehow “bounce back” from this turn of events. We shall see. I will make a special attempt to record what happens to this tree from here on out. I will close this post and the month of July with one last image of this remarkable willow tree. Until next time…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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More Fun with Plastic Jugs

Posted in art and environment, Art and Nature, Artist at Exit 0, assemblage art, creativity, driftwood, found materials, Found objects, fresh water, Installation, lost and found, material culture, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, Ohio River flooding, photography, plastic, Plastic art, public art, recycled art, repurposed art, repurposed materials, sculpture, sense of place, Site specific art, watershed, tagged Art, artist at exit 0, assemblage art, driftwood, Falls of the Ohio, Ohio River, Petroleum Rainbow, plastic containers, plastic rainbow, Rainbow, sense of place on June 28, 2015| 3 Comments »

Balancing on the spine of a water-soaked log, I crossed over to the western section of the Falls of the Ohio State Park. A gorgeous day with the river high from torrential hurricane remnant thunder storms the valley experienced a couple of days a go. It has been a few weeks since I was last in this section of the park. Everything is green and growing and pressing upon the life around it. This was another productive excursion to the river and I made several site specific works with the plastic I found. I’ve decided to break those posts up into several stories because many of the pictures came out well.

For this piece, I selected an area that I knew would have lots of plastic washed ashore. With the river currently high, the searchable area is constricted by the encroaching water and high-walled riverbank and by dense vegetation. When I unloaded my collecting bags and the contents of a milk crate I pressed into service…this is what I picked up. Interestingly, this collection also includes plastic palettes from rival cola companies. The rest of the best includes plastic containers for petroleum and laundry products. As you can see, most of the labels have come off of the bottles due to river immersion. I picked a place with lots of growing grape vines and set up my latest bottle piece. Here is a quick sequence showing the progress…starting with building a three-tiered structure using local wood and logs I found in place.

There are always surprises in what colors are available in a given area. In this section of the park, black, green, and purple colored plastic was harder to come by. I used five boards, three small logs, and a large log (hidden in the grape vines) to build this three layer structure to hold my found bottles. I worked on this piece and another one I will show later moving back and forth between the hot sunlight of this assemblage and the piece I was making in the cooling shade. Here are a couple more bottle details which I like to show off the color.

Everything about these containers is so highly artificial that they contrast with all the greenery around it. So much thought and effort went into the design of these bottles to make their intended contents as desirable as possible. That part worked because these plastic bottles were consumed in large numbers and many of them found their way carelessly into the Ohio River.

The reality that this was made from discards is balanced by the good cheer I feel from the rainbow-inspired colors arranged on the weathered wood. If I had not put them into this form, they would be nearly invisible plastic units scattered over the land. These bottles are ubiquitous in our lives and even without the labels…we recognize what many of the products were.

This is where I left the latest of the Petroleum Rainbow series…pressed by verdant grapevines and an ever encroaching river. Since I made this piece last week…our area has been buffeted by torrential rains and high winds. It wouldn’t surprise me to see that water now laps at this assemblage’s “feet”. It has been a remarkable week in other ways with the upholding of the Affordable Heath Care Act and making marriage a right for all throughout the land. I hope that these great quality of life decisions we make will keep the state of the environment a high priority too. One last picture before leaving…also taken in the western section of the park….so long from the Falls of the Ohio.

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Muddy Falls and Galerie Hertz

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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High Water High

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog

Art and images from the Falls of the Ohio.

Archive for the ‘watershed’ Category

First Snow of 2016

New Exhibits at the Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center

Green Bottles Revisited

Park West Petrochemical Rainbow

Eventually, the River Goes Back Down

Willow Portrait

Super Wet July

More Fun with Plastic Jugs

Muddy Falls and Galerie Hertz

High Water High

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