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Posts Tagged ‘driftwood’

A Close Call

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , on December 24, 2009| 8 Comments »

The Ohio River rose and just as quickly receded.  Logs were left to dangle on top of the dam’s walls stranded there by the retreating waters.  Along the shoreline, new deposits of driftwood are laid out in parallel rows and tell a story of where this wooden wave crashed before relenting.

I’m always amazed at how quickly the water backs down.  Higher on shore, you will find where most of the bigger logs and limbs were trapped.  And, as the river draws back into its deeper channels, the lighter flotsam that was able to ride the waves is deposited about mid-bank in a debris field that features a lot of plastic.

As high water events go…this one was very mild.  I had no real idea how high the water would go when I blogged about the rising river.  A few more feet up the bank and the water would have reached my spot.  Here’s a shot showing the extant of the flooding.  Look at the color of the wood for the clue.  All the newest material is blondish-brown in color, while the older wood has had a chance to oxidize a greyish color from the summer sun.

This time I was lucky and my collection of Styrofoam and sculptures remained in place.  I checked out Pot Belly and Lorraine and they were pretty much as I left them with the exception of one detail.  Someone gave Lorraine a penis!  I guess they didn’t know she’s a lady…I guess you would have had to read my mind on that one since I didn’t provide any other clues as to their gender.  Most of the time that doesn’t strike me as being important in these pieces.  Here again is the happy couple high and dry.

I did make a quick, newer figure from the latest Ohio River junk.  My inspiration for this guy came from the green hand that says “Clap for the Lord”.  He isn’t a particularly handsome guy, but I am thankful that my site didn’t get washed away this time.  I don’t think I was ready to let it go especially when I still had so much material to use.

Just a few days a go, much of the northern and eastern sections of the U.S. were buried under heavy snow.  When that eventually melts, it will swell the streams, and creeks that are a part of the Ohio River’s watershed.  When that happens the river will rise here again.  How far it will get this time is uncertain.  It’s now officially winter and periodic flooding has been known to happen.  I know in my heart of hearts that the river will swallow up my studio site and I will have to establish a new base.  At least, I will have the consolation of discovering what the river has left behind.

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Adam’s Dragon

Posted in Absurd, animal art works, animals, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, unusual collection, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 8, 2009| 3 Comments »

Adam's self-portrait, 9/09

You can tell by looking at this photo that Adam is the life of the party!  I hand my son the camera and the first picture he takes is of himself!  The two of us went to the Falls the other day.  We hiked around and then made some art together.  Here are a few words and images recording our adventure.

Adam crossing over, 9/09

The river is in its summer pool meaning that it’s low this time of year.  The water in this photo is barely ankle to knee deep (and that’s if you step into a hole).  I usually wade over to get to the fossil beds on the Kentucky side.  Adam decided that he prefered the challenge of walking across this old telephone pole someone else had laid across the water and it was a good test of balance.  That’s what I like about walking over driftwood.  You need to pay attention to where you are going.  As we were exploring, Adam came across a piece of wood that reminded him of a dragon’s head and he decided to see if he could make the rest of it from other found materials.  I wonder where he got that idea?

Adam's Dragon head, 9/09

As you can see, Adam has a pretty good eye.  This old beat up piece of wood does resemble a dragon’s head or snapping turtle skull (that was my vote).  The eye socket is in about the right place and it does have a complete mouth with maxilla and mandible.  The other side looks just as good too!  Adam carried his driftwood from the river’s edge to the site that has served as my outdoor studio for months now.  Recently, I did a little “house” cleaning by rearranging  all my found materials.  While I worked on my piece, Adam was busy working on his.  Little Styrofoam people watched from a safe distance and from behind a tree.

Adam working on his dragon, 9/09

Finding material for the body and limbs was on hand, but there was the challenge of what to use for the wings.  Adam did a little scouting around and found this blue, foam-like mat that he cut in half with my knife.  The wings are pegged to the body to hold them in place.  I did help him when he asked for it…which was when we hammered the legs into the body with another piece of wood.  As we worked, I asked him how third grade was going and other topics of conversation, but there were also periods of silence as we focused on our projects.  I heard that’s how you can tell when men are comfortable with one another….when time goes by and neither utters a word to each other.  They don’t need to.

Adam's Dragon, facing right, 9/09

At last the dragon is finished and the beast seems to be roaring its approval.   Adam seemed happy with his efforts.  I’m pleased that for now, he still thinks its fun to come out with Dad to explore, make things, and use our imaginations.  I can’t conceive of  how a person can develop a love for nature unless you have some experience in it?  The outdoors can help nourish the body and spirit in ways that are hard to replicate in school.  We had some fun playing with the dragon which is a dangerous thing to do because they are proud and fickle beasts and one can never completely relax around them.  If you do… than this can happen!

Adam bitten by the dragon, 9/09

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A Walk with the Woodsman

Posted in Absurd, animals, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , , , on August 6, 2009| 4 Comments »

The Woodsman, 8/09

For generations, folks around the Falls (or the Wickets as they are known among the locals) have been gathering the driftwood.  Some use it to decorative effect.  I met a man who told me he gets $25.00 per arrangement for attaching plastic flowers artfully onto small, but nice pieces of driftwood.  I have also seen where people prefer their wood plain and display it along with their other yard art.  And then there are those who prefer to burn what they collect during the cold months.  Whatever your preference…there’s no shortage of wood around here.

Woodsman on the rocks, 8/09

The river has been up and the wood has been gathering at the high water points.  Once the river goes back down, there will be these neat lines of wood to remind you how far up the bank the river has traveled.  Insect life is abundant now.  I’ve seen many butterflies and other pollinating insects.  What caught my eye this time were the large wasps better known as Cicada Killers.  They are aptly named.  The female wasps are huge and are among our largest wasps.  Hunting the cicadas exclusively, the female wasp will paralyze it’s prey with a sting and drag it back to the hole it has dug in the earth.  In the burrow she will lay her egg on the still living but immobile cicada.  Soon the egg hatches and the larval wasp will feed upon the cicada and another generation will play out.  Here is a picture of a male Cicada Killer who has confused a dried willow leaf for a female and is attempting to mate with it.  Males are two-thirds the size of the females.

Cicada Killer, male, 8/09

There are all kinds of other giants around here.  Check out the tracks left in the wet sand by various creatures also drawn to the river.  It’s fun trying to identify the various animals that call the Falls home by their spoor.

Woodsman with tracks, 8/09

Now is also a good time to see lizards basking on the logs.  Here’s two pictures of a Five-lined Skink.  They like to burrow under the driftwood and hunt insects in the tangles.  Their young are the small familiar lizards with the blue tails.  This one allowed me to get close before darting away.

Five-lined Skink, 8/09

Five-lined Skink, detail, 8/09

One last image and thought before I turn for home.  I have been looking at old camp fire sites and feeling the ritualized antiquity in them.  It’s time now to take this wood I’ve gathered to my place.  I will build my fire tonight and connect with those who came before me in the hypnotic dance of the flames.Woodsman and camp site, 8/09

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An Abstract Man

Posted in Absurd, animals, Art, art and environment, birds and birding, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , , , on July 19, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Falls of the Ohio, 7/09

The river is low and the fossil beds are exposed.  I still can’t get over how this is the bedrock of the river.  Bowls of water pockmark the scalloped surface as the retreating liquid pools where it can.  It will take a good rain to wash the dirt away revealing details from Devonian times.  Still, some people are disappointed because you can’t find dinosaurs here.  The terrible lizards are still millions and millions of years into the future.

Black vultures, 7/09

Today the fishing was good if you are a Black vulture.  For us it’s a different story.  Although there were lots of people trying, I didn’t see anyone catching anything.  The weather has been odd for July.  It’s so cool outside you would think you were in Michigan instead of Kentuckiana.  The television says it has something to do with high pressure coming down from the north.

shelf fungus with chains, 7/09

I took a longer walk today than usual before making something.  Along the way I came across a decaying log with an old chain embedded in it.  Wood and bark grew over this wound when the tree was alive.   Now it’s at the Falls turning into humus as the fungi break down the wood.  I’m keeping an eye out for how long it will take to free this chain from it’s matrix of cellulose. 

"treehog", 7/09

Ever see a “treehog” before?  Today I came across this guy sitting on top of a tree that snapped in two during a thunder storm.  I’m looking downhill and the woodchuck is about eight or nine feet above the ground.  On a number of occasions I’ve watched them climb trees to obtain tender leaves to eat.  This one appeared to be just hanging out, watching life go by.  Once it spotted me, it ran down the tree and into the brush.

driftwood and inridescent water, 7/09

In the driftwood zone are small rivulets where the water trickles over the sand and under the silvery wood.  An iridescent sheen from minerals leached underground creates an oily rainbow slick.  I’ve begun to pay attention to this prismatic effect by photographing it several times.  The colors move with the water and contrast with the solidity of the driftwood.

Abstract man w/yellow sprayer, 7/09

I made this figure today.  I call him “Abstract Man with Spray Bottle” which is not an imaginative title, but a descriptive one.  Because of the profile view, this was the most different of the lot.  This piece seemed to work in multiple environments.  In my next post, I will show you images of this figure shot at various locations around the park.  I waited for the sunshine to burn off the cloud cover before I went home, but that didn’t happen while I was there.  I stopped by the lilies again and shot this view with the fossil beds in the distance.  There is a lot of compressed time here.

Day lilies and fossil beds, 7/09

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