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Posts Tagged ‘Falls of the Ohio’

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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This is Art, Trash…

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , on December 8, 2009| 2 Comments »

It’s the first real taste of winter and the few people out at the Falls today are hardy fishermen and me.  The only birds I encountered were a quartet of Carolina Chickadees moving through the tops of the now “nude” willows.  All this year’s leaves are lying brown and curled up around the bases of these trees.  Nearer the river, each footstep is greeted by the sound of the thinnest ice crunching underfoot.  Later as the sun arcs up, this ice will disappear and become mud that sticks stubbornly to my shoes.  I walk the shoreline picking up and photographing the things I find interesting or worth keeping.  Because it’s cold, I don’t plan to stick around for hours.  I remind myself of the other times I’ve visited the Falls when it was really windy and freezing.  Because survival knows no fashion, during those times I would wear my “Elmer Fudd” cap…the one with the ear flaps!  Not even my best friends have ever seen me sporting that one!

After checking out the latest river offerings, I circled around my studio spot.  With the vegetation down, it’s become much more visible from the informal trail that meanders nearby.  Immediately, I can see that things were not as I left them.  Someone else has stopped by and made use of the materials I have gathered and banked at this location.  Here’s a closer look at what he or she has created.  I studied it for a while before forming an opinion.  I was a bit surprised by my own feelings.

This is the Styro-tableau as I found it.  It consists of three polystyrene sculptures and one hand-lettered sign.  Whoever this artist is has recycled the head of one of my older pieces (the Watchful Willie figure) and attached it to a “body” of their making.  There is also a stylized, abstract “fish” and a smaller, abstract “figure” that’s really crude and falling apart.  It must have been made sometime during the week.  Also nearby, are a few older works I’ve left behind, but those pieces are undisturbed.

I appreciate that this artist has tried to create some sense of movement out of these static materials.  It’s not an easy thing to accomplish.  The arm and hand shading the eyes is a nice touch.  What I’m less enthused about is the use of the blue marker and the hand-lettered sign.  The admonishing tone of the “message” is not my cup of coffee.  I’m also not wild about the idea of breaking the Styrofoam up to make the work.   I do, however, acknowledge that when you invite others to play…you can’t always control the game.  At least whoever made these works attempted something creative which is a message I much prefer sending out into the world.  Here’s a better look at the fish sculpture.  The spines are beaver-chewed willow sticks.

I think this would still read as a “fish” without the marker.  In my own Falls  work, I try to keep things “pure” by using only what I find here.  Although it’s possible that the marker was also found on location…the sign to me would suggest otherwise.  I wonder if the person or persons who made these sculptures also made the works in my previous post?  After encountering this latest  grouping the desire to make something of my own left me.  I instead decided to gather river-worn glass for a series of ornaments I’m making at home.  I’ll show you those later.  I am amazed that an earlier sculpture I assembled a few weeks a go is still standing upright!  Usually these take a stick or rock to the chest not long after they are set up.  This is in a particularly muddy area and so visitors might be reluctant to come near it.  For now, I’ll end with that image.

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Late November Finds

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, collections, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, unusual collection, watershed, tagged , , , , on November 30, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Just to help pad a month of posts shortchanged by computer woes…I’m publishing some recent finds of mine at the Falls of the Ohio.  I found these objects (and more) the last three times I visited the river across the way from Louisville.  Something about the lay of the land and the prevailing currents push all sorts of floating stuff onto the park’s shoreline.  I found the colorful gourd above about two feet away from this neon yellow-green softball that was losing its cover.  Here are more recent gourd images.

First, here’s a round, variegated gourd…followed by a knobby, elongated, variegated, squash.  Perhaps they are Thanksgiving decorations?

Although it looks like it could be some kind of strange seed pod, the “laces” give it away.  It’s a novelty American football…with “French ticklers”?  Definitely, one of the oddest balls I’ve come across and worthy of being added to my “Balls of the Ohio Collection”.

I came across this tiny smiley-face ball lying face up in the sand.  Another tiny find was this toy hat.  I added a walnut to give you a sense of its scale.

I kept the hat and don’t be surprised if you see one of my Styrofoam figures wearing it someday.  A few months a go, I did a post about “sea life” in the Ohio River.  Well, I recently came across another candidate for that story.

The pincers on this sand toy crab pivot back and forth.  My last image is a flattened inner tube.  Usually, I find tires, but this believe it or not is a rarity.  The way it is just laying there all sphincter-like in the light, caught my eye.  I’m working on new categories of objects seen in the Falls context and I will include them here as they develop.

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Playing with Rat-Dog

Posted in Absurd, animal art works, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged , , , , , on November 28, 2009| Leave a Comment »

It’s a sad but true fact that people abandon their pets at the Falls of the Ohio.  I have come across many stray dogs and cats in my wanderings around the park.  Of course, it’s hard to excuse this behavior when there are organizations that will care for and find new homes for unwanted animals. 

This is a story about a recent encounter I had with a most peculiar “dog”.  I came to call him “Rat-Dog” because of its diminutive size.  I was walking among the willows on a day that felt so much like winter.  I even heard the calls of Sandhill Cranes migrating, but the clouds were low and I couldn’t spot them.  As I was walking past a certain willow with a cavity at its base…this little white animal came running towards me.  For about an hour the little dog tagged along with me and I photographed it in various places of interest.  Rat-Dog would not let me touch it, but it was nevertheless playful.  Following are several images of this remarkable animal.

He seemed to like to play fetch.  I gathered a few walnuts and pitched them into the brown, curling leaves and Rat-Dog was very good at finding them.  I wondered how long he had been out here and what was it eating?  I surmised that like other strays, it probably ate garbage and handouts from fishermen.  I regretted that I had nothing to feed it.  Usually, I have something to snack on, but on this day, I hadn’t planned to stay long.

Along the sandy trail, we came to a patch of yellow Horse Nettle fruits.  I photographed these plants months a go when they sported lovely purple and yellow flowers.  I have since learned that these fruits are very poisonous.  They look like little tomatoes.  Rat-Dog fortunately did not eat any.  He seemed content to just run between the clumps of plants.

As another good indicator of scale, I shot this image of Rat-Dog by a plastic bottle.  It was at this moment that the little animal heard some distant sound and ran as fast as it could towards it.  I thought to myself that perhaps this was the dog’s owner who feeling twinges of guilt, came back for it.  Maybe he wasn’t abandoned to begin with and had become lost during an earlier visit?  Either way, I hope he finds his way home.

Rat-Dog was made from bits of found Styrofoam, coal, sticks, and pieces of plastic.  The collar around his neck is the top from a disposable salt shaker.  The dog is held together with little sharpened pegs.  He was created and photographed at the Falls of the Ohio State Park.  The part about pets being abandoned here…is sadly true.

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Autumn Fun

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 November 9, 2009| Leave a Comment »

sycamore leaf, 11/09

On a warm Kentuckiana weekend I spent as much time along the river as I could “safely” justify doing.  Days like this don’t stick around forever.   Before you know it, the chill in the air will hang there for months until it is relieved by Spring.   On Saturday, there was the street wide clean-up with the family and neighbors, but after that I was gone for a few hours.  The following couple of posts are the things I encountered and made during these golden moments.

Figure by wild grapevines, 11/09

This was the only humanoid-type figure I made over the weekend.  He has a decidedly happy expression on his face that comes from being created on a perfect day.  I moved this piece all over the place, but decided that I liked it best posed next to this glowing wild grapevine.  The glasses on his head lend an additional carefree attitude to this work.  His eyes are plastic fishing bobbers and his nose is a corn cob.  The ears are the bottom of an aluminum can I split in two with my pocket knife.  The mouth is a red piece of plastic I found.  I embedded a yellow reflector into his chest for added visibility.  The rest is Styrofoam and sticks courtesy of man and the Ohio River.

Figure with glasses on head, 11/09

I found a couple of other “happy” objects along the western section of the park and photographed them in place.  The first looks to be a green, bouncy, child’s toy and I wondered how far this thing floated to get here?  The second image takes me back to my childhood.  Isn’t it interesting that we can recognize all things Kool-aid from this fragment of a child’s canteen?  Of all the ways there are to render a face…this one remains distinctive.  Perhaps it’s in the comma-shape eyes and eyebrows?

green bouncy toy?, 11/09

broken Kool-aid canteen, 11/09

I lost myself noticing how much things change in the park depending on the season.  With the leaves off of the trees, all of a sudden the view gets large again.  I spent a few hours collecting materials that washed up here last week including four large Styrofoam sections tumbled by the river.  I had hoped to be able to make something from these in short order, but realized that they were out of scale to my ideas.  So, I hauled them up to my studio site where they look like big piles of snow melting in the woods.  I figure I have probably till January’s high waters to make something from them.

studio back view with large Styrofoam, 11/09

Figure with Glasses on head, 11/09

I left this piece standing to await whatever fate has in store for it.  The other found object pieces I made are all birds.  My gallery representative requested a few to use for a small show in a hotel I believe?  As I made them, I photographed them in different places at the Falls.  I have also been busy trying to mount these sculptures onto bases made from driftwood.  The experience of seeing my “faux” birds in the woods is totally different from seeing them as more formal art objects.  By now, I think you know which I prefer seeing.  I’ll show them to you, later this week.

young maple tree's first autumn, 11/09

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Cooper’s Hawk Day

Posted in Absurd, animal art works, animals, Art, art and environment, 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 November 6, 2009| 2 Comments »

Cooper's Hawk, immature, 11/09

Cooper's Hawk, 11/09

So often it has been the case that I would see a really special creature shortly after arriving at the Falls.  I surprised this juvenile Cooper’s Hawk resting in a Cottonwood tree and it let me approach quite close before flying onto the railroad bridge.  As this bird matures, the brown streaks on its breast will take on a reddish hue and the feathers on its back will become more gray.  Even the eye color will turn red over time.  They are fearsome and effective hunters and routinely take the pigeons that roost along our bridges.  This bird has caught one of its tail feathers on the branch it is resting on giving it a somewhat awkward look indicative of its youth.

Cooper's Hawk, immature, 11/09

Here’s a larger image of this bird. I have photographed other Cooper’s Hawks over the years including one that was devouring a garter snake.  I have seen several juvenile birds here, so there must be at least one nesting pair that call this park home.  On the day I snapped this hawk I also came across a Canada Goose that was walking the shoreline.  It paid no attention to the Styrofoam gathering on the beach.  Wish I could do the same!

Canada Goose and Styrofoam, 11/09

Several large chunks of Styrofoam washed ashore this time.  I struggled to get these larger pieces up higher on the beach.  If they are still there when I next visit, I will make something with them.  I will end this time with a couple other images from this day.  Here’s another Little Deer image that shows its glowing eye a bit better.  And, last but not least, here is a nice picture of the railroad bridge just before sun down.  This is the one that the hawk flew onto after I spotted it.

Little Deer, 11/09

Railroad bridge at the Falls, 11/09

 

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Little Deer

Posted in Absurd, animal art works, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , , on November 4, 2009| 7 Comments »

Ohio River at the Falls, 11/09

In the week since I last visited the Falls of the Ohio, we had enough rain for the Ohio River to rise once again.  The willow trees nearest to the bank were a few feet underwater.  I found the remains of Watchful Willie from a couple of posts ago as well as “fresh” polystyrene scattered all along the shoreline.  I only had a few hours to work this day, so I tried to make the best of it.  Feeling the sunshine again was alone worth the trip, but I saw and made enough stuff to allow me several posts for the week.  Here is my latest Styrofoam creation made spontaneously as the sun was setting.

Little Deer, facing left, 11/09Little Deer, facing right, 11/09

Rummaging around my studio cache of materials under the willow trees I improvised this Little Deer.  It turned out more naturalistic than I anticipated.  Its head is a triangular-shaped piece of thin insulation foam, while the rest of its body is more found Styrofoam.  As is my habit, I have not tried to carve or shape the foam the river has given me.  It’s more about being choosy about what forms I use to begin with.  The work is held together with sharpened pegs.  I did, however, shorten the sticks I used for the legs with my pocket knife.  I attempted to create “eyes” by piercing the blue foam with a small wooden pin, but it left the hole you see and I liked it and left it as is.  The ears are made of pine bark and the tail is another piece of wood.  What’s different this time is that I didn’t try to incorporate another plastic element into the piece.

Little Deer on riverbank, 11/09

Little Deer, 11/09

I walked west along the Indiana side of the river stopping every once in a while to record an image in situ with Little Deer.  The way the light plays with the “eye-hole” causes it to glow and gives it another spark of life.  It made me recall the Henry Moore retrospective I saw at the Guggenheim Museum in New York years ago.  How Moore was able to use a hole as a form in his sculptures remains amazing.  The waves coming ashore threaten to sweep the deer away, but I placed it just out of reach.  Still, the sense that the work is vulnerable comes through the photographs.

Little Deer with Osage Orange, 11/09

One last image with the Little Deer.  This time I set it down next to the fruit of an Osage Orange tree to give it some sense of scale.  Some folks know these as “hedge apples”.  Since today is my sister Pat’s birthday, I would like to dedicate this piece to her.  I hope you had a nice day!  The parting image is something I’m beginning to see with more regularity now.

deer tracks in the sand, 10/09

 

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My Favorite Sycamores

Posted in Art, art and environment, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, watershed, tagged , , , , on October 28, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Sycamore in Fall, 10/09

The American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) is a large and familiar tree found primarily east of the Mississippi River.  Many people recognize it by its mottled bark revealing patches of brown and white color.  Usually sycamore trees are found close to water and that is the case at the Falls of the Ohio.  I have a favorite stand of these trees, but they are remarkable for reasons other than their size. 

Sycamores with open roots, 10/09

Sycamore trees, Falls of the Ohio, 10/09

I can remember when I first came across these trees, I had the feeling that they were trying to uproot themselves and walk away.  The exposed root systems in these specimens are elaborate.  I wonder if the riverbank was more extensive at some earlier point in the development of these trees and eroded away due to flooding?  Sycamores can be fast growing trees, but these examples don’t appear to be that old.

Sycamore roots, 10/09

Their roots snake across the riverbank nearly touching the water and are very picturesque.  I have used this location as a backdrop to photograph some of my sculptures.  I did this most recently for a work entitled “Audubon’s Apotheosis”.  Within the aggregate that makes up a sycamore’s seed ball is a small sphere that I have used for eyes in some of my figures.  I also like the yellow-green color of the leaves this time of year.  Here’s one last shot of a particularly “Ent-ish” tree, its dropped leaves swirling around its amazing roots.

Walking Sycamore tree, 10/09

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Watchful Willie

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 October 27, 2009| 1 Comment »

Watchful Willie, top view, 10/09

As promised, the weekend at the river was gorgeous.  I spent the greater part of Sunday in the sun and being absorbed by my absurd art form.  The willow leaves that hadn’t already dropped to the ground were now more yellow than green.  Autumn is a fragile season at the Falls.  If you blink you can miss it and I wanted to place a figure in this setting before that happened.  I moved to my studio spot and created this guy from materials I had gathered previously and snapped these images.

Watchful Willie's head, 10/09

Here’s Willie’s head in my hand.  I started with an odd-shaped hunk of weathered Styrofoam and fished out some bobbers from my bag to use for eyes.  As you can see, they don’t exactly match, but they work with the form and make it more expressive.  The mouth is a piece of red plastic and I’m not sure what the nose was in a previous life.  Maybe you do?

gray squirrel, 10/09

While I worked on my figure, I wasn’t completely alone.  This handsome gray squirrel decided that I posed no threat and sat on the opposite end of the same log I was sitting on!  None of my movements seemed to concern it and so I kept doing what I was doing and it did the same.  I have had the feeling on more than one occasion that animals reveal their presence to me.  Connecting with life in those moments is a truly magical and intimate experience.  If that happened to more people regularly, there would be no question about falling in love with nature or the need to preserve it.

Watchful Willie, 10/09

The chunk of Styrofoam I selected for the body was really flawed and split easily.  I was barely able to get the legs in before the whole piece started falling apart.  I picked a spot that had all these other “elements” to it and gingerly stuck the sculpture into the wet sand.  When I categorize my work as being “absurd”, it is meant to refer to more than just the figures.  Coming across a stretch of the Ohio River that has several tires, plastic barrels, and rusted-out water heaters along it is equally ridiculous.  The figures I make help create focal points at particular sites and remind people that this kind of callous treatment of a precious resource is something no other animal would think of doing.

Watchful Willie in the landscape, 10/09

I left this figure standing next to the debris and returned to my studio under the willows.  I have long come to the realization that try as I might, I just can’t take all this trash with me.  I have enough river-turned Styrofoam at home to continue this project for a couple of years.  By leaving a work every once in a while I hope that visitors will get the idea that some measure of creativity is required to address the pollution dilemma and that this creativity potentially resides in everyone.  And since I consider the river to be a co-creator in this artwork, there’s probably some karmic significance to letting the water have the last word every now and then.

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October Grays

Posted in Absurd, animals, Art, art and environment, birding, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , on October 24, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Great Blue Heron in flight, 10/09

After last week’s excitement in the form of an exhibition and talk, life is returning to a slower pace.  Autumn is in full swing now.  When the sun is shining there are still enough leaves with great color left on the trees to make things seem magical.  On the other hand, after days of rain and overhanging clouds…it’s easy to get a case of the grays.  Following are a few images from last weekend.  I did come across an unexpected bird that is new to my Falls of the Ohio checklist.  I was able to watch a pair of Prothonotary Warblers for a few minutes and managed a couple of really  blurry images with my camera.  The park’s official checklist lists them as being only occasional for the spring season.  So, I’m feeling lucky to have seen them unexpectedly.

young groundhog, 10/09

The park’s woodchuck’s are busy putting on weight for the hibernation to come.  It seems this has been a decent year for them.  I’ve seen many and stepped into more than one unseen burrow entrance. It’s been a good year watching animals in general.  The mink sighting earlier in the year was a highlight.  It’s only a matter of time before I surprise a deer in the park.  Signs of them are starting to show up everywhere.

plastic model car, 10/09

I’m still finding unusual plastic stuff all the time.  Despite walking familiar routes through the park, I keep coming across items deposited here by past floods.  Here’s a plastic model Mustang car.  It was lying snug next to a log.  I have other images of shoes and plastic gasoline containers as well that I’ll use to eventually update those image collections on this blog.  With many of the willow trees losing their leaves, my secret studio spot is easier to find than ever.  Here’s what it looks like currently.  Prince Madoc is keeping a good watch over things!  According to the extended forecast, tomorrow is supposed to be the one sunny day of the week.  I’ve promised myself an extended outing at the Falls.  Whatever I make or document will be my posts for the upcoming week.

Studio in mid October, 10/09

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