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Posts Tagged ‘Falls of the Ohio’

Spring at the Falls of the Ohio

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, birds and birding, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , on March 22, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Spring has officially succeeded Winter at the Falls of the Ohio State Park.  The river is high. Its waters increased by the thawing in the northern Ohio River Valley.  The river crested yesterday just below flood stage.  All my familiar spots are under a few feet of water now.  My record here is being rearranged.  It is amazing, however, how quickly the water recedes.  Spring is renewing this place in an especially physical way.

Lots of logs missing limbs roll and churn in the shallows by the river’s edge.  Once in a while you can hear a loud crack as something wooden is shattered in the water.  The trees roll over one another grinding their bark off which forms large floating mats that collect debris.  The corky squeak of wood grating against wood can sound like the grinding of teeth.

In places you could easily see the ever shifting currents by the objects floating on the surface of the water.  I walked along the park’s western shoreline.  The sound of three dueling kingfishers played out in an aerial display above my heads.  Although it still early…I’m always keeping my eyes out for migratory birds.  I was able to add a new species to my park bird list…the Bufflehead duck.  I came across a male with four females resting with their bills tucked into their back feathers.  They seemed to be just floating along with the available current at the limits of my camera’s telephoto lens.  I came back the next day to see if they were still around but they were gone.  I would have liked some better photos.

As I walked along I noted the mats of rafting wood.  You could see where a mat would drift against a tree and create an island.  I could spot the bright white of Styrofoam chunks like polystyrene passengers.  If I run into them again…I’ll turn them into sculptures.

When these mats are pushed onto the shore, this image shows a good example of the material aggregate that composes them.  It’s mostly wood chips, but you can see a lot of plastic and Styrofoam pieces too.  I have more than a hand full of those plastic cowboys and soldiers that I have found out here over the years.

I walked by one of my favorite trees.  I love its exposed, developed root system and wanted to see it covered by water.  Usually, I can rest in the open, small room the roots create under the trunk of the tree…but not today.  It have used this place to get out of the hot sun or driving rain many times before.

I kept walking until I reached private property.  I small creek with dirty river backwash demarcated a border.  Unfortunately, whatever is in the river is also now in the creek.  On the opposite side from me is a pasture with three horses and a goat.  This is a new background for me and I decided to improvise a figure from found materials and record a few images.

I quickly find enough junk to construct a figure.  Walking along this soupy creek I pick up fishing bobbers, foam, plastic, and wood. Here’s the piece in progress.  I never did use that plastic dauber looking thing.  This is an especially sad photo for me because I lost my knife within minutes of this image.  I don’t know what happened.  I either dropped it or left it sticking in a log somewhere, but when I returned to look for it the following day, it was not to be found.  Jim Gottuso gave me this knife years a go.  It only has two blades, but the small, sharp saw was perfect for driftwood.

These pictures hardly seem like a fair trade, but at this point I will take what comes next.  Sometimes the river requires a sacrifice.  I’m also thinking that I may see it again.  I might see it in a day-dream and its exact location will be revealed to me.  Since Kentucky is hosting the World Equestrian Games this year…this will be a good way for me to work a horse picture into the blog.  I’ve heard that we are expecting more than a half a million horse lovers to come to the Bluegrass.

I moved this piece around the edges of the property and finally left it standing next to a tree on this side of the riverbank. Here are a couple more shots of this piece.  The red object being held came from a large fireworks rocket.  When the sun is shining, the small bicycle pedal reflector makes a nice belt buckle.

I made another piece and have lots of other images from this weekend at the river that I will share over the next few days.  It was a long, grey winter and I’m glad that it has passed.  Here’s another image of the flower beds by the Interpretive Center, but taken on my way home at the end of the day.

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Father/Son Day at the Falls

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged , , , on March 12, 2010| Leave a Comment »

My son Adam surprised me the other day by wanting to accompany me to the Falls.  It turned out to be gorgeous and sunny and we shared this moment together.  In his mind, we each had a distinct role to play.  I was to be the “artist” and he would be the “explorer”.  In reality, those roles frequently overlapped and I think it’s fun and interesting when those distinctions blur anyway. 

We walked down to the water’s edge to see if anything cool had washed ashore.  Adam got sidetracked when he came up with the idea of writing his name in the sand.  He found a stick that felt good in his hands and set about the business of making his mark on the world.  Judging from how large the final result was, I’m guessing Adam has big ambitions for his life.  Or, as his father, it might just be me projecting my own hopes into gestural lines drawn in the sand.

We found an old motorcycle helmet which Adam immediately claimed.  He did, however, remove the Styrofoam lining and he gave that to me.  I once made a nice turtle using a similar foam lining from a discarded bicycle helmet and he remembered that.  Wearing old jeans (aptly named high waters), Adam allowed the river to wash over his feet and he was surprised by the still frigid water and the stickiness of the mud.

Here’s a picture of Adam the “Log Rider”!  The yellow handlebars are from some riding toy we found in the sand.  This is Adam’s favorite picture from this day and he wanted me to be sure to include this one.

Once we found a good place to rest and eat our chocolate chip cookies, I dumped the contents of this collecting bag onto the sand.  From a previous foray, I had pre-stashed some foam chunks near this spot.  While Adam played, I worked on a large figure to help us mark this day.  I had relocated an especially large piece of Styrofoam that I had previously used to make two other figures.  This would be the first time I have re-re-recycled something.  I asked Adam to take my picture while I worked, and here I am in action.  The wooden stairs I’m sitting on washed up here last year.

Who knew that this artist has such a big head!  The mouth on this one is a reflector from a bicycle wheel.  The nose is the horn from another bicycle I had found months earlier.  The eyes are large fishing floats.  The ears are made from found wood and that yellowish object on top is the plastic part of a lawn dart.  When Adam and I finished assembling the entire figure, I took his picture next to it so it can help you judge scale.  All in all, it was a wonderful day for father and son and we need to do this again soon.  Maybe next time, we can convince older brother to come along too?   Peace!

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The Lifeguard

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

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

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

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

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Ring-billed Gulls Mystery

Posted in art and environment, birding, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, Ohio River, tagged , , , , on February 23, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Walking through the willow habitat two days a go, I came upon a dead Ring-billed Gull laying belly down in the last of our snow.  It was missing its head and I thought some other animal had made off with it.  When I turned this bird over on its back, the head was detached and hidden under the body.  A single spot of blood on its belly was the only other sign of damage that I could see.  I assumed that a bird of prey had captured it and perhaps disturbed, had abandoned it before it could make it a meal.  I had never been as close to this type of gull and I admired its white feathers, red orbital ring, and the black banding on its bill that gives this bird its name.  I placed the head in proximity to the body, and took this final portrait.  Then I walked away.

That was last Saturday and I returned the next day to explore a different area of the park.  Spring is near and the endemic birds are starting to feel it.  I watched a pair of Downy Woodpeckers courting and the Cardinals, Song Sparrows, and Carolina Wrens were all singing.  I can’t wait for the migratory birds to start passing through!  As I was walking along, I came across yet another dead Ring-billed Gull and thought how odd I should see another one of these so soon after seeing the first.  At least with this one, I could see that something had been eating it.  I took its picture too and left it.

About a hundred yards away and near the concrete staircase that leads up to the Interpretive Center, I found a third dead gull!  I carefully examined this bird, but could find no signs of damage.  This bird was so fresh that death had yet to stiffen it.  I saw no evidence that a bird of prey had captured it.  I guessed that perhaps one of the few Peregrine Falcons that live near here might be a good candidate for our gull killer, but now I’m not as sure.  The bit of damage I found with the other two, may have resulted from some ground dwelling animal finding an opportunistic meal on the riverbank?  What happened to this third bird?  Was it sick, frozen, or had its internal clock reached its expiration date?  Here are images of this unfortunate, but still beautiful bird.

This was how I found it lying on the rip-rap.  I carefully lifted it up and spread its wings for a photograph.  I could see the diagnostic white spot among the black tip of each wing and the dusty yellow of its webbed feet.  The bit of red along the gape of its bill (which I first mistook for blood) is a sign that this bird was approaching breeding condition. 

Our Ring-billed Gulls arrive at the Falls of the Ohio in autumn and overwinter.  By the spring, they usually migrate back to the Great Lakes region where they are among the few gulls found in the interior of the country.  In the years I have been visiting here, I had never come across a dead one before and now I have seen three in two days!  Has anyone else out there recently observed something similar happening with this species?  I can’t end on such a sad note.  And so, I offer this last image of Ring-billed Gulls doing what they do best…flying.

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Master Plan for Public Art

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Snow Tested, Squirrel Approved

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

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

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

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

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

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

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F and J, part two

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

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

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

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

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

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Shaman from the Birdfoot Clan

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , on January 20, 2010| 1 Comment »

A pox on the weatherman for lying.  Today did not turn out sunny and in the 50’s.  It was foggy, cold, windy, and gray.  I started the morning by misplacing my trusty pocket knife.  You never realize how much you need something until you miss it.  It was given to me by my friend James, who is a potter and blogger.  I hurriedly threw another knife into the bag and headed out the door.  Among the other items I could have used, but didn’t have included:  a hat, a warm coat, and gloves.  I was carried along with the idea that eventually the sun would burn away the fog.  Two days later…I’m still waiting.  One way to stay warm is to keep your mind occupied by other things like taking pictures and making art.

I stayed out until the tips of my fingers were getting numb and my nose was dripping.  I would have gone home sooner, but I was finding stuff to work with and soon had enough for a figure.  Here are most of the pieces before assembly.  The materials I used included:  Styrofoam, beaver-chewed willow wood, bits of plastic including the red cap from a marker, a reflector, coal, glass, and a bit of twine.

You find the creek by walking west along the Woodland Trail.  This is where this sculpture and these pictures were made.  During the last high water incident, driftwood and logs were deposited along the high banks of the creek.  Some of the logs will conform perfectly to the contours of the hillside while others remain a jumble of giant pick-up sticks.

Here’s the figure in progress.  The knife I’m using is for filleting fish and I found it out here about three years a go.  This is the first time I have ever used it for anything and it is sharp enough to sharpen sticks and poke holes in the Styrofoam.  In the cold, I tried to work as quickly and as surely as I could.  By now, I have worked with these materials and forms so many times that there is little wasted motion.  I’ve learned to create within many limitations. 

In the springtime, I look for migrating waterthrushes in this area.  And in the summer, as the logs dry out, I may try to walk across the creek on top of  one of them.  For now, things are damp and slippery and not worth the risk.  I finished the figure and took one last shot before heading home.  Finding the branch that looks like a bird’s foot was the inspiration for this guardian figure.  In the background, the creek joins the Ohio River marking the territorial boundary for the Birdfoot Clan.

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Nice Ice

Posted in art and environment, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, tagged , , , on January 17, 2010| 1 Comment »

Presently, the ice and snow are gone at the Falls of the Ohio.  A warming trend the past few days has pretty much taken care of that.  Over the last several years, snow at the Falls has been a relatively scarce event and we have been limited to a couple dustings now and then.  It will be interesting to see how this winter plays out.  Will there be more of the white stuff or was that it for this year?  Certainly, there is this love/hate relationship with snow.  In Kentuckiana, we really don’t receive much snowfall, but when it’s in the forecast there is all kinds of anxiety that manifests itself in bizarre behavior.  The suggestion of an inch or two of snow can cause a run on certain grocery items and the local school systems fret about whether they should close or not!  I confess that I like the snow.  I appreciate its transformative power in an otherwise drab and dull season.  I also like that it can cause you to pause and reflect on what’s important and that’s beneficial.

My last few posts have shown some of my artwork in relationship to ice formations at the Falls.  Following are some other shots I made out here that I thought were interesting images.  Water defines this planet and to see it behaving in its frozen state is a beautiful experience.  Many of the best formations occur closest to the river and hang on the smaller willow trees that exist there.

Don’t these shapes look like ice “jellyfish”?  I marvel at how these formations build up.  I’m guessing that these shapes are created from several things happening in quick succession.  Melting that occurs from the sun shining on the ice higher in the tree causes a drip to run down these narrow branches.  At night, the fog and mist generated from the warmer rivers coats the terminal end of the branch and then refreezes.  The ice finds it easier to build up on preexisting ice.  Anyway,  I like the way it plays with light!

Here are a few pictures of ice-covered willows near the river’s edge.  It’s been awhile since the river itself was frozen and is something I’ve witnessed only a couple of times.  It’s not a routine event.  If memory serves me, the last time that happened was 1996?  Maybe someone out there remembers?

That car tire has been half-buried in the mud for over a year!  Here’s another tire I came across.  This one, however, is coated in ice creating a frozen circle.

There are a few months more of winter a head of us and so if it snows again…I will be sure to come back out here with my camera.  I’ll end with this last image of snow covering the driftwood at the Falls of the Ohio.

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Sand Gestures

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, Originality, public art, watershed, tagged , , , , on December 31, 2009| Leave a Comment »

A drawing can be as simple as a single mark made upon a surface or be as rich and complex as you care to make it.  Engraving a line in the sand with something as familiar as a stick must be among the most ancient of art forms.  At the Falls of the Ohio, one is never far away from a wooden stylus of any length.  The extensive sandy shoreline provides an ample surface to decorate, however, the beach doesn’t lend itself to fancy displays of draughtsmanship.  Keeping things simple seems to look best to me.  I also enjoy other people’s sand drawings which seems to have a connection to graffiti, but without all the potential for vandalism.  If you don’t like what you drew, rub it away, or wait for nature to erase it.  Around here, wind and water make short work of these ephemeral images.  Little harm is done.  Following are a few of my recent scratchings:

Here’s hoping we all have a peaceful and prosperous 2010.  Happy New Year from the Falls of the Ohio!

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