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Posts Tagged ‘plastic’

The Flood Brothers

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, collections, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged absurdity, Art, art and the environment, artist at exit 0, creativity, driftwood, ecostory, Falls of the Ohio, found objects, nature, photography, plastic, sculpture, storytelling, Styrofoam on April 4, 2013| 10 Comments »

Fog is actually common on the Ohio River, but looking through my images, I’m surprised by how few fog pictures I have taken here. On my last foray to the Falls, the day began extremely foggy like moving within a cloud. Visibility was limited. The railroad bridge was completely obscured, but as the sun rose and the temperature became warmer the fog dissipated quickly. It was another magical moment of transformation as the receding water-cloud revealed the driftwood bones of the park.

Walking to my outdoor atelier, I passed by this unusual sight. At first, I thought the large tree stump was a part of this sign, but upon inspection, saw that a single rusty nail attached this sign to the wood. There is no way this sign could survive the river secured so loosely. Someone before me found this sign and stuck it on the stump up for grabs in true river junk fashion. Since I collect signs from the river…this was perfect and I welcomed the new addition to my collection! After removing the sign from the stump I understood why its original discoverer left it behind. The sign was on a heavy, thick board that had been routed and painted green with yellow letters. I stashed the sign under some debris and picked it back up on my way home. As you can imagine, my wife was thrilled to see it like she is with all the other junk I haul out of here. I liked the sign’s message which is ecological in its own way. I wonder where it came from and what kind of electric motors is it referring to…perhaps electric golf carts? Navigating through the dense driftwood, I made my way to the river’s edge. Waves were lapping the shoreline and there were other surprises to come.

This is the moment I met the first of the Flood Brothers. I had heard of them before and I was pleased to finally get to meet one. They are called the Flood Brothers because in their own “Chicken Little” way instead of the sky falling…they are rumored to believe the world is in imminent danger of being inundated. For this reason they wear life jackets and flotation devices everywhere they venture particularly along the river. They are living legends in this part of the world.

This is a close-up portrait of Flood Brother #1…henceforth identified as F.B.1. He has blue lips like he has been out in the cold too long. His eyes have this jaundiced quality to them and they are slightly asymmetrical as well. The ears stick out some and he has spiked hair. Aside from looking goofy…he is a friendly enough guy and hailed me upon sighting me. I told him it was a pleasure to meet him and was his brother around too? As it turns out…Flood Brother #2 was not far away and after walking a short distance along the shoreline, we ran into him as well.

Flood Brother #2 or F.B.2 is the larger and older of the two. Like his smaller brother he wears a flotation device every where he travels along the river. You can tell they are brothers because they share some physical characteristics such as large ears and mismatched eyes which are more pronounced in the older brother. As it turns out, he is also the more nervous of the pair.

I asked them if it was true that they believe the world would be destroyed in a great cataclysmic flood? For argument’s sake F.B.2 qualified things by saying that more unusual events had happened during the Earth’s long history. As it turned out, they were more concerned about the quality and quantity of fresh water. Climate change is rewriting things and there is just so much more “free” water in the system that formerly was locked up as ice. That energy is changing the weather patterns and redistributing water across the globe. Some places were now getting too much and other places not enough. And yes the potential to redraw the world’s coastlines also existed. Whether all this would happen overnight or over the course of many years seemed irrelevant to the pair. The life jackets were just a necessary precaution to them because they were conducting their research along the river in all its many moods and it just seemed a logical safety thing to do. The pair was visiting the Falls of the Ohio and inspecting the park for water-born plastic of which there was plenty to see. As the brothers told me…this plastic has a very good chance of making it into the oceans where it has effects of its own. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that they were already preaching to the converted. Instead, I invited them to my studio under the willow trees to rest and talk further and they accepted my invitation. My site was just a short distance away.

Looking around the Flood Brothers could see that I was interested in many of the same concerns that they had and wasn’t it all so absurd after all? I told them my story and that all the stuff they saw in my little area came from the immediate river. I mentioned that I try to find creative ways to use this junk and to tell the story about a place I find to be very special. They asked me if I happened to see along the way a nice sign they had attached to a stump? I confessed that I had and wanted to repurpose it as part of my sign collection. The Flood Brothers just smiled and said I could have it. After visiting for a while, it was time for me to go home. I told the brothers they were welcome to hang out in my site and perhaps I will see them here again? I liked them as characters. With one last look back I saw F.B. 1 waving good-bye to me. I always have an interesting day at the Falls of the Ohio.

This story marks my four-year anniversary on WordPress . Hard to believe the time has flown by so quickly. Thanks for tagging along!!

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Big Fish

Posted in Absurd, animal art works, Art, art and environment, collections, creativity, environmental art, nature photography, Ohio River, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged Art, art and the environment, artificial food, artistatexit0, big fish, driftwood, Falls of the Ohio, flotsam and jetsam, found materials, nature, photography, plastic, Styrofoam on March 24, 2013| 10 Comments »

It’s an unbelievably gorgeous morning at the Falls of the Ohio and I have the park to myself. The Ohio River has been running high although we haven’t had a lot of rain pass through our area. Most of this water is probably coming from snow melt and precipitation in the northern section of the Ohio River Valley. The river is receding and one of the first sights I see are logs that have been stranded on the dam as the water level drops. These logs will remain balanced here until the river shifts them around again. As I begin my walk, I see driftwood and trash everywhere I look.

Accessing the bank is tricky and muddy. I maneuver by walking on the backs of logs and balancing myself with my walking stick. In areas where the river has dropped back… plastic trash, Styrofoam, and driftwood remain where this detritus floated in. I like studying the patterns I see in the deposited wood and imagine the swirl of the river in these areas. Of course, I find other treasures and oddities too. Here are just a few objects that made it into the collecting bag.

My fake food collection keeps getting bigger and bigger. Here’s a plastic pickle I found. On this day, I also picked up a plastic chicken drumstick, a plastic plum and in the bag already from my last visit are a plastic onion and a plastic cheeseburger! I find all this plastic food to be an interesting indicator of the times we live in.

This is kind of cool. It’s a pirate skull with movable eye-patch. The river has really colored this object. Here’s something more humorous.

These silly frog sunglasses may be the only amphibian inspiration I receive all year. In all the years I’ve worked this project, I have come across one actual common toad and two small leopard frogs. Perhaps the river is just too big and wild here for the frogs?

I decide to walk west along the riverbank and reach areas that are more driftwood than trash. I always marvel at how the river lays the wood in fairly parallel rows. That bright reddish-orange object in the foreground is the remains of a life preserver…it is one of two that I find on this day.

Another tree with an intact root mass has been beached by the river. Notice how all the branches have been knocked off. This is fairly typical. The river keeps subdividing these trees into smaller and smaller parts. Up ahead I notice something that a muddy wave has just returned to the land. I walk over and check it out and see something I’ve never seen here before.

It’s a big fish, but I don’t recognize the species. It’s not too bloated and so I examine it more closely. I think it may be one of those Asiatic carp species that have become so invasive to our bigger rivers? Recently, in western Kentucky in the Land Between the Lakes area, there was the first ever commercial fishing tournament to try to harvest as many of these large carp as possible. Strong nets are needed to catch them since they grow big and rarely if ever take a baited hook. The idea behind the tournament was to educate people that these fish are good to eat and to try to help create a commercial demand for them.

Here I am holding the fish at arm’s length. Notice that it has a relatively small mouth. This fish feeds on microscopic plankton and other tiny food items which is why they are hard to hook by traditional means. This is a thick-bodied fish with a large head and powerful tail. I have known that these fish are in the Ohio River, but I haven’t had the chance to inspect one this closely before. I’ve attached a couple more views of this fish.

By now, you are probably used to my game! I made this fish from a hunk of Styrofoam I picked up on this day. The Styrofoam reminded me of a fish and so that’s the direction I took this sculpture. The other found elements include: fishing bobber eyes, red plastic gills, fins made from wood, shoe soles, and plastic junk. This is how it looked before I started.

I try to respect the basic shape the river gives me and feel that whatever results… is a collaboration between me and the river. I don’t cut too much into the polystyrene because I also try not to release many of those tiny white beads back into the environment. I try to work minimally and to clean up after myself. It’s not a perfect system, but is what has evolved after so many years of coming out here. I did find even more Styrofoam on my latest adventure and now just need the time to create something from it all. My parting shot is the latest image of my outdoor studio. See you next time from the banks of the Ohio River.

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Spray Bottle Triggers

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, collections, recycled art, unusual collection, tagged Art, art and the environment, artistatexit0, debris, Falls of the Ohio, flotsam and jetsam, found objects, nature, photo series, photography, plastic, product design, spray bottle triggers on March 2, 2013| 6 Comments »

The range of plastic refuse one encounters at the Falls of the Ohio State Park is both numbing (it’s obviously trash and shouldn’t be here) and morbidly fascinating (the design sensibility and colors ) catches one’s eye and occupies the mind. Consider the variations in something as mundane as “spray bottle triggers” if indeed this is what you call these things? I’m not sure when I started noticing these objects and photographing them…but here they are. Each adventure to the river is sure to garner multiple images and story lines that I sift through at my leisure. Consider this a personal cleansing of the spray bottle trigger palette. Ironically, much thought went into designing each of these beauties to facilitate dispersal of their contents from plastic bottles. I like the rotating tips that give me options such as “spray” or “stream” and so forth. These triggers are ingenious and they do their jobs well. Without further adieu and fanfare…here are more images from an admittedly odd collection.

One final image in closing. You know you have “arrived” when a cute miniature is produced. Here’s a recent find from a sandy bank of the Ohio River at the Falls of the Ohio State Park.

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In Search of the March Hare

Posted in Absurd, animal art works, animals, Art, art and environment, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Louisville, Kentucky, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged alien head, Art, artistatexit0, discarded tires, Falls of the Ohio, found objects, Joseph Beuys, March hare, nature, nature story, photography, plastic, recycled art, sense of place, spring on February 24, 2013| 9 Comments »

What a beautiful day and I stayed out for many hours by the river. It’s been a bit of roller coaster with the weather the past few weeks. We have fluctuated between below freezing temperatures you can feel in your bones and highs in the 50 to 60 degree range. Folks around here have been blaming our worse than usual cold and flu season with the variability of the weather. I don’t know if this is true, but for me…going outside to breathe fresh air is restorative to my physical and spiritual health. Since I last set foot here the river has again risen and receded. The large raft of driftwood under the railroad bridge has been dispersed by the high water and actually made it a little less of an obstacle course to maneuver around. The air over the river is also once again alive with Ring-billed Gulls searching for food. I’m also hearing both the Northern Cardinal and Song Sparrow practicing their songs in anticipation of Spring. Their songs make me want to sing one of my own.

More evidence of a high river comes in the form of man-made junk that has floated into the park. I have found tires in all their forms to be good indicators of the entropy in this system. What once took great amounts of energy and heat to form and use is literally sinking into the sand. The wheel is one of mankind’s great inventions and here it is just another piece of garbage we have discarded. I’m out here today not because I’m looking for things to get me down, but rather the opposite! I’m looking for signs and symbols of the renewal to come.

Today, I’m looking for a member of the genus Lepus which includes hares and rabbits. For some reason…intuition I think, has brought me here on this particular quest. I have heard that members of the rabbit family start behaving oddly during Spring in anticipation of the breeding season. The expression “mad as a March hare” is an old English expression used to describe this moment. Of course, rabbits and hares have older associations as well. The ancient Greeks equated rabbits with the goddess Aphrodite and rabbits have long been symbols of fertility. Logic tells me that if I can locate a hare that Spring will be here in no time at all. I guess I’m putting more trust in the hare than I am the groundhog! The month of February is nearly over and I’m hoping to find signs that hares are in the area. So far, I’m not having much luck…just the tracks of people who came before me. I’m not giving up yet though and the day is young.

I’m operating with my “hare brain” switched in the “on” position as I walk around my familiar haunts. I look in areas that seem likely to me to hide rabbits and hares like this willow tree with an old barge cable wrapped around it. I’m not sure why this tree is “talking” to me, but I’m going with my intuition. There are no hares here, and maybe this spot is too close to the river anyway?

I walk by a wooden spool for holding large cables. This is also new and wasn’t here the last time I passed by. I see there is an opening large enough for a small mammal to hide in and so I go to investigate. Carefully I approach the spool, but there is nothing here either. I’m beginning to feel that there aren’t many other places I can look, when I remember there is a section of the park I almost never visit and so letting intuition be my guide…I go there.

The area I trek to is just east of the railroad bridge and dam that catches most of the driftwood that has been pushed from upriver. This barrier is no obstacle at all when the river is at flood stage. It is all this driftwood and pent-up junk that flows into the park when the Ohio River gets high. It’s a tricky, shifty area and frequently muddy too. All these conditions were present on this day. It’s not an area the public is encouraged to visit and most people have enough sense to stay away.

As you can see…this area also gets lots of trash too. This is what I eventually can look forward to receiving, perhaps in the next flood? This plastic separates so completely with the rest of the environment that I’m surprised it doesn’t compel people to pick it up like it does at the grocery and department stores?

Naturally, I find weird things here. It’s not everyday that you come across an alien’s head, but here it is next to other junk. I find three dolls in various poses tangled in mud and driftwood and other toy bits that floated down with the currents. I find a little bit of this and that, but no March hares or rabbits.

The soles of my shoes are caked with mud and so I find a suitable stick to scrape away the sticky earth. I sit on a broad log to do this and take a rest at the same time. While I work away at my shoes, a train crosses the bridge and I watch it as it crosses. My mind wanders freely and I remember the unusual art of Joseph Beuys which became a favorite of mine during graduate school. His work is frequently perplexing and takes getting used to. I like his art, but found I was more attracted by his ideas and writings. The value he placed on art as a potential agent to further our own evolution away from the strictly materialistic way we treat ourselves and the planet we depend on inspired me. His ideas about an expanded notion of art seemed to give art more of a sense of purpose which I also found to be smart and optimistic.

Bueys often referenced animals in his art and believed that they were more aware and in tune with the world than we are. The hare in particular was an important symbol to Bueys because it mediates between the earthly and spiritual realms. Hares are burrowing animals and line their nests with their wool. The insulating properties of felt became another material that Bueys incorporated in his art. While I was sitting still and reflecting on the work of a favorite artist…the hare appeared!

It must have just emerged from its burrow under the logs and debris and was still covered with mud. It looked in my direction with ears pricked up and our gaze locked upon one another. Holding still for just a split second, I was able to capture this image before it disappeared back into the earth. I exhaled in the knowledge that Spring was one day closer to arriving. I savored the moment, gathered my things, took one last look across the river and headed for the skyline of Louisville over the Second Street Bridge.

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The Sun is Up and the River is Down…part 2

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, collections, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, unusual collection, watershed, tagged Art, artist at exit 0, cigarette lighters, Colgate Clock, driftwood, Falls of the Ohio, fishing lures, flotsam an, found objects, found toys, large clock, nature, photography, plastic, recycled art, Styrofoam, tires, toy tires, toy tools on February 12, 2013| 6 Comments »

As promised here is the second part of the previous post. I did fill an empty cloth bag with river finds and here are some of today’s choice tidbits. Once I straightened up my outdoor studio, I dumped the bag out onto the sand and started the sorting process. I guess I also do a similar thing with my camera except it’s a memory card that gets filled and downloaded into the home computer. Let’s begin with a few pictures of my newly discovered river treasures in situ.

I like all kinds of references to time. I have a few other toy clocks and watches I’ve found courtesy of the river through the years. Interestingly, I haven’t owned a watch personally in over thirty years and don’t want one now. It seems I can find the time most anywhere I go and at the Falls of the Ohio…I pass by one of the largest clocks in the world. Let’s see if I have a picture of that I can pull up for you.

Although this is a bit off topic, I thought you might enjoy seeing this mechanical wonder. This is less than a mile away from my river spot. It was once a part of a toothpaste factory that moved away a couple of years a go. The building is a former prison…which is another way to mark time. My reluctance to wear a watch has more to do with not liking to wear much in the way of jewelry. Besides who needs the constant reminder? Meanwhile, back at the river.

Houston…we have a problem. I’m a plastic astronaut and it looks like the family dog has chewed one foot off! Having some issues with my helmet too…don’t think I can last long in this alien environment. This is an American astronaut so designated by the flag patch on his left arm.

I believe this is the smallest doll’s head I’ve ever found. Here having a potential brain the size of a walnut could be a good thing! I think I have found enough doll heads over the years to make a totem pole several feet tall and they would graduate from largest to smallest with no two alike. This guy could be the cherry on top of it all.

As regular readers know…I have a thing for wheels too. These are just the toy wheels I came across today. I’m surprised by how many of these I have found in just the past two years. I like them as a collection, but I may use them all in a single artwork. I watched a depressing documentary today that included such nuggets of information like the average automotive tire takes seven gallons of oil to make. And you may be thinking that all this petroleum is needed for gasoline? I see too many real tires in the river as well.

Now how odd is this? I found three toy hammers within a few hours of each other. This is the most common toy tool that I find…not screwdrivers or pliers, etc… At the river, it’s always hammer time, well the one on the far right is technically more of a mallet. I’m not sure what the blue wheel on the far left hammer is supposed to do?

This is an interesting grouping of character toys. It includes three dogs, two bones, a Weeble, and a Teletubby(?). There’s a dog friend from Clifford the Big Red Dog and quick draw Snoopy from the Peanuts cartoon. The dog sitting on the block has a nice oily river patina that takes years to develop. The yellow character on the right is still full of mud.

Not everything I find is a toy. Here are four fishing lures. These get tangled up in the rocks or snagged on old fishing line. Notice only the top left lure still has its treble hooks. In the others, the hooks rusted or dissolved away. I found a fifth lure after taking this photo. I need to rephotograph my fishing lure collection because it has become seriously larger over the past couple of years. You can see an older image in my Pages section.

I picked up all these disposable cigarette lighters today. I have more at my studio at the church and intend to put them to use one day as well. This was more of a photo opportunity. I wanted to see some of the color range this particular make of lighter comes in. No doubt the color is not light fast and over time would all probably come to resemble each other until the plastic broke down into ever smaller bits. I also picked up other items such as interesting rootlets and sticks and heavier still…nice potential bases for the sculptures I decide to hang onto. Well, this wraps up my finds from one particular adventure. There is always stuff to pick up after the river rises and recedes again. I wonder what I’ll come across next?

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Unusual Flora at the Falls of the Ohio

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, collections, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Originality, recycled art, tagged Art, art and the environment, artist at exit 0, environmental story, Falls of the Ohio, nature, photography, plastic, plastic plants, pollution, satirical botany, the environment on January 13, 2013| 8 Comments »

It’s been raining off and on for the past three days and so I’ve decided to give the actual Falls of the Ohio a pass this weekend. That, however, does not mean that my heart and thoughts are ever far from the park. Looking through my Falls image archive, I have put together a post on a topic that has been concerning me of late. Increasingly, we feel we can manipulate nature and bend it to our desires without consequences. Man has this vision that we can force nature into our template and that “she” will obey in predictable, obedient ways. Ever see a square tomato grown in a cube? Nature, however, is much more dynamic than we give her credit for and frequently presents ideas of her own. As regular followers of the riverblog may have noticed new fauna often show up here and the consensus is that their appearance is a result of our altering the environment in myriad ways. Over the last few years, I have also noticed some previously unknown plants. Allow me to present a photo-bouquet of highly questionable, potentially toxic, exotic flora.

Meet the Chemical Rose which is a new species I discovered at the Falls last year. It was found growing by an area where an unknown iridescent sheen was percolating up through the sand. It has no leaves and aside from its thorny stem, has no photosynthetic ability. This is a fairly consistent trait of these new plants. They may be parasitic or fungal-like, but I’m sure there is considerable variation on how they live. The petals on the Chemical Rose are hard and seem very much like plastic. More on this later.

It’s beautiful in its own way, but what is it? For lack of a better name, I call this a Sand Lotus. It shares some characteristics with the Chemical Rose. Notice no leaves…doesn’t need them. It’s roots go down deep in the sand. Like the previous rose, its petals are hard to withstand the rigors of the river.

I bet I walked by this strange plant many times before something told me to look again. I call this one the Petrochemical Coleus. Although it has green leaves, it does not possess chlorophyll. This specimen was growing up through the driftwood. It’s small size also makes this one hard to see and find.

Here’s the Flame Nut so-named because what passes for its foliage turns bright red when its seeds mature. Its leaves feel very much like coarse fabric and it seems to prefer sandy environments as well.

This interesting and dare I say “lovely” flower is the Faux Pink Bell. It combines characteristics of several of the mutant plants I’ve uncovered. It possesses hard plastic parts as well as the softer, synthetic petals that are fabric-like. It grows in highly disturbed, contaminated soils. Which brings me to a theory I’ve been formulating ever since I first discovered these strange plants. Although I’ve not done a chemical analysis on them, their resemblance to plastic can not be coincidental? Plastic is after all organic by definition. Plastic is derived from petroleum which is an extract from ancient life and I think there is something in the long memory of life that is presenting itself here? We know that our traditional plastics keep breaking down to the micro level. These really small particles are absorbed by living tissues. Is it possible that this plastic pollution is altering life in reaction to the many changes brought about through man’s activities? Can the long polymer chains connect with DNA? In effect, Nature is demonstrating that it is even more plastic by molding and forming new species to harmonize with the changed environment.

I came across the Polymer Posy growing in the mud. I believe this is as much fungus as anything else or a new theory has been presented. Perhaps this is a carnivorous plant that traps and eats insects? Upon inspection, there are small entry ways along its base that invite small insects like ants to go inside.

Growing out of the wood chips is this botanical novelty I’ve designated the Yellow Bittercup. Again, no leaves required. This flower can appear anytime of the year. I came across this one last summer.

The Orange Forget-me-not is indeed memorable. It is encountered among the driftwood and may in effect break down cellulose to create its own plastic structure. The holes in the flower trap, strain, and direct moisture and nutrients to its shallow root system. And now for something really spectacular in a twisted way.

I did a massive double take upon encountering the Polyvinyl Palm growing from the poor rocky soil in the western section of the park. This is easily the largest of the new plants I’ve stumbled upon in my wanderings. I had hoped to study it more, but another visitor to the park collected it. We have discovered that it is possible to change the chemical composition of the atmosphere through our combined activities. I believe we are simultaneously altering through chemistry the very organisms that inhabit this world with us with unintended consequences. How long will it take before we change ourselves into something different as well?

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Happy Halloween from the Shrouded Forest

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Originality, recycled art, sculpture, tagged absurd story, Art, artistatexit0, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Halloween, nature, photography, plastic, recycled art, repurposed art, the environment, trick or treat on October 30, 2012| 6 Comments »

BLAHHHHH!!!!…did I scare you? Welcome to another Halloween adventure from the Falls of the Ohio. Today, I have a special treat in mind for you. My name is Jack Blue and I will be your guide for the next five minutes.

If I didn’t scare you perhaps I fooled you? No need to be alarmed, my Belly Face has eaten recently. You should be safe while I show you around the local Halloween sights. Foremost in mind is the special Shrouded Forest that magically appears at exactly this time every year. It is weirdly beautiful especially if there is a slight breeze present to animate the spirits that occupy the branches. Most of them are plastic ghosts that have either floated here via a swollen Ohio River or drifted in with the wind. Here’s what I mean.

The degrading plastic lends such a festive touch to this area. As the polymer bonds separate and the plastic starts to disintegrate it hangs in decorative shrouds from the willow branches it graces. You can walk from tree to tree and admire these spectral creations of man and nature.

All this “magic” is the result of benign neglect. Whoever discarded this waste plastic sheeting probably wasn’t thinking it would wind up here draped in the trees like artificial Spanish moss. In case you were wondering…it also comes in different colors. Here are two other popular hues for your viewing pleasure and a special “snaky” surprise that might have you needing a doctor!

Okay, maybe this isn’t much of a snake, but if you were walking among the trees and looked up at some point…you probably wouldn’t anticipate seeing this? And now for the “Doctor”…hmm, I don’t think he will be doing anyone any good any time soon! Kind of looks like he could use a doctor himself.

Somehow I missed this bear when I did my earlier post on plush toys. He’s been laying under this willow tree for months now and I just happened upon him! Just in time for Halloween!

The truth is one doesn’t need to travel far these days to find a patch of ground not “haunted” by something that doesn’t belong in the environment. I hope all of you out there have a fun and safe Halloween and please discard all your trash in a responsible way. Otherwise, my Face Belly may develop an appetite for you…trick or treat?

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Encounter with Headhunters

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, nature, nature photography, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged Art, artistatexit0, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, found objects, headhunters, nature, Ohio River, photography, plastic, public art, recycled art, storytelling, Styrofoam on September 29, 2012| 4 Comments »

Summer has transitioned to fall. Everyone has noticed that the days don’t seem to be as long as they were a mere month ago. This is all the more reason to get out into nature. Perhaps you have felt that subconscious pull tugging you out the door? The sun is not as insanely hot and the light is intense and clean. There is just the barest yellowing along the margins of the river’s cottonwood leaves. More colors will follow. Right now there is an urgent purposefulness to the world as life prepares to overwinter. The flowering grasses are alive with flying insects gathering pollen and nectar. Spider predators are behind every leaf. After absorbing some of this energy…I headed up to my spot under the willow trees and wondered about making something interesting from my river cache. I was so happy and absorbed to be back at my outdoor studio that for a moment I lost track of the fact that something was now moving on the left side of my peripheral vision. Thinking it might be an animal, I carefully brought my camera up to take some quick pictures and this was what I captured.

In quick succession, I had two images in my camera before I realized what I was photographing! Appearing out of a myth was a member of the Pang tribe! The Pang live in the most remote places in the world’s woods and consider themselves the first people. It’s not advisable to try to find them because they don’t want to be found and it may in fact be dangerous to do so. They only appear when they want to be seen. The land they call home is full of poisonous serpents, insects, and diseases plus the rainy season is relentless. There are no overland roads and very few trails. Getting around means braving an unpredictable river. Oh, and then there is the reputation the Pang have for being headhunters. The little guy in front of me was reminding me of that by showing me the trophy he carries on a belt everywhere he goes. I think my camera’s flash startled him! By holding the captured head aloft, this tribesman was telling me he was experienced in this field! His nose ring meant that he feared no pain.

The stainless steel fork he brandishes likely means he has had contact with our culture before. The Pang, otherwise do not work metals. What is known is that they are a hunting and gathering culture and nature supplies everything they need. The posturing and elaborate facial gestures on display before me continued until he seemed satisfied that I was harmless and perhaps even a bit slow on the uptake? The Pang have developed a language where one can gauge how a person feels by looking and reading their facial expressions. Most of the time, an open mouth with prominent tongue exposed is a sign for disgust or disapproval although there are exceptions for most rules. Using the time-honored hand signal for follow me my new friend beckoned and I walked behind him anticipating adventure and mystery.

Along our walk the tribesman would point out where my culture had dumped garbage into the Pang’s territory. From the look on his face, I could again register disapproval. I tried to learn his name and give him mine, but we had trouble communicating by words. Aside from the occasional bit of plastic and paper, the forest walk was also full of beautiful birds and butterflies and late season wildflowers. Eventually, we entered a small clearing and there set up for our relaxation and respite was an intimate canopy tended by another member of the first people.

A sheet of recycled plastic foam packaging and a couple of wooden posts made up this shelter. I saw that the Pang were trying to reuse some of the trash they found. Sitting down, food and water is shared and I’m amazed at my new friends ability to live off the land. A kicked over decaying log full of large, succulent beetle larvae provides the main course. I, however, developed a taste for bracket fungi and my new hostess showed me what to look for. I can’t help noticing that she is wearing a small skull object around her neck. Later I learned that the Pang don’t remove heads from just anybody or without cause. Head collection is the highest form of respect accorded to friend and foe alike. I, however, was never in any danger simply because I hadn’t earned any respectability yet in the estimation of the Pang. Or so another friend told me later.

After a short rest, my hosts were in a mood for a walk and I tagged along. I could tell that there were things they wanted me to see. Of course, they showed me just about every piece of litter we came across on the trail. It seemed important to them that I not miss this.

Fortunately, I was shown a lot more that was good than not. I could see why the Pang were so attached to their land. It provides them everything including much of what makes up their identity. We visited an immense hollow log that the river dropped off during some old flood and I took this portrait of the odd couple.

We walked back out into the bright sunlight and hiked near the river. After having been in a mostly leafy environment, it felt nice to have fresh air against my face. You could tell by the expressions on the Pang people’s faces how much they enjoyed being free and in a natural state.

Before long we came to a place where driftwood had collected on the beach. It was nearer to the forest and another trail. After a protracted goodbye, my friends went their separate ways. I could tell that our adventure together was coming to an end.

I got the sense that something else needed to happen to make the day complete. I turned with the man with a fork back down to the riverbank. As we walked he slowly started chanting and stopped every once in a while by some landmark for added emphasis. He did this when we came to a bright, marshy area. My friend’s arms rose into the air along with his song.

After the marsh, my companion climbed a long log that had washed up on the shore during a flood many years before. He climbed as far up the root mass as he could and lifted his voice and fork to the heavens. I wish I knew what he was saying…but whatever comprised his song I could tell it was reverential.

Since this culture doesn’t show itself without some purpose in mind. I hoped that I hadn’t missed it. Looking back upon the day, I enjoyed the camaraderie of my new friends, we relaxed together and shared a meal. Later we went for a walk where I was showed both what the Pang liked and disliked in the landscape. Now the day was ending in a prayerful song. Seemingly to underscore another point, my headhunting friend drew a line in the mud. In essence, he communicated that my side of the line was mine and if I couldn’t respect his side of the line…we would be unwelcome. He quickly grimaced with his tongue sticking out on that last point. Staying on my side of the line, I wished him well in my tongue and with a short wave watched him melt into the forest where he belonged.

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Soul Man

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, collections, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, Styrofoam, unusual collection, tagged Art, artist at exit 0, driftwood, Falls of the Ohio, flotsam and jetsam, footprint, found materials, nature, photography, plastic, recycled materials, repurposed art, shoe soles, shoes, story telling, Styrofoam art on June 10, 2012| 10 Comments »

The heat and the relentless light of the sun makes it official. It’s summer at the Falls of the Ohio. Now I need to plan my forays a bit more carefully if I want to get the most from each trip out here. Earlier in the day is better. You miss most of the heat, there are fewer people (except for the die-hard fishermen) and the chances are better you might see some wildlife…especially birds. Luckily, if you don’t make it out here early enough…the trees are all in full leaf and the shade provides needed relief. I wonder what kind of summer is boding for this year? So far we have had the warmest spring ever being nearly a full seven degrees above normal temperatures. Yikes!! No doubt, summer will find a way to be memorable. Anyway, when I’m out here I try to take some precautions in the form of drinking water and sun block. Once my mind engages on something…I tend to forget my body. This post is about another “personality” that I ran into on this day and the following is his story.

I came across this fellow several times during this day. The usual protocol when encountering a stranger is maybe a quick nod of the head and each party then goes their own way. I would have been happy to stick with this, but I kept bumping into this guy seemingly everywhere I walked. One very curious thing about him (or her and how do you tell?) was that “he” was picking up old shoe soles and sticking them under his belt. Here’s another view showing this.

Truthfully, I was at a loss to explain this to myself and the best I could come up with for this strange behavior was that this guy forgot his collecting bag and had some type of project that required shoe soles? I’ve already noticed that a lot of wayward shoes wind up here courtesy of the Ohio River. If you don’t believe me, check out my special collections area under “The Shoes You Lose” and you will doubt no more! I haven’t added images to either collection in a while, nevertheless the lost shoes keep on coming. Just for kicks, here are a couple additional shoes I saw on this trip that piqued my camera’s interest.

Here’s another shoe found near the previous one. See what I mean? I could go on and on about the shoes alone.

After my first encounter with this odd character I ran into him near a willow tree by the river’s edge and he was doing the same activity as before.

This time I abandoned my typical reserve and engaged the guy in conversation. I think I said something like,…”Hey mister, I can’t help noticing that you are collecting shoes and shoe soles and although I know it is none of my business…what are you going to do with the footwear?” I further added, ” I see you have tucked a few more soles into your belt since I saw you earlier.” The Sole Man (my mental designation for him) smiled easily from his green mouth and put me at ease. I had nothing to fear from him. We walked together for a while and he told me what his angle is and why he does what he does. Spotting another lost sole in the sand, my new friend bent over and lifted it up.

Upon picking the sole up, the “Sole Man” flung it over his shoulder and said follow me.

We didn’t need to walk far. The Sole Man had a spot in mind where he told me he was going to deposit his shoes. In the full light of the sun he selected an area marked by two shattered plastic drums, driftwood, plastic junk, and the tell-tale white beads from Styrofoam that had been deposited here by the Ohio River.

One by one my new acquaintance dropped his shoe soles in his selected spot.

He told me that he does this as a form of meditation. Seeing all the junk from our material culture wash up here at the Falls of the Ohio has bothered him for years. He couldn’t understand why anybody would do this to the Earth? Fixating on all the debris was just making him madder and angrier which has its own consequences. He carried these shoe soles here because he wanted it to be visible so that others might see and reflect as he had.

He hit upon the idea that collecting and carrying these soles might provide him some peace of mind or insight into his fellow beings? Each sole was a record of a lived life with their scuff marks and pressure points compressed into the very sole itself. The sole was a record of an individual’s life experience and no two souls were bound to be alike. The old adage about not knowing a person until you walked in their shoes hit home like never before. I asked him was it working…making him less angry? He said that it did. His negative feelings were replaced with something akin to empathy for he understood that he was not much different from the former owners of these shoes. It made him feel less “high and mighty” and more of an equal stakeholder for the many conversations to come. After a few more photographs, I bid my new friend good luck. Leaving him, I placed one foot in front of the other and headed for home on this hot day.

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The Brown-winged Robin and Other Birds

Posted in Absurd, animal art works, Art, art and environment, birds and birding, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, nature photography, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, Styrofoam, tagged Art, artist at exit 0, Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, birding, birds, blogging, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, nature, photography, plastic, polystyrene, recycled art, Styrofoam, vultures, warblers, willow trees on June 2, 2012| 9 Comments »

Since my last visit to the Falls of the Ohio State Park the willow fuzz has peaked. Cottony drifts have gathered in places that offer some protection from even the slightest breeze. The way the light shines on this gossamer surface is magical! Before venturing into today’s avian adventure…a personal blogging milestone announcement as this is officially post number 300! I hear the champagne corks popping already. I had little in the way of expectations when I started this Riverblog, but I have been happy with this medium for describing my project. In the beginning, I wasn’t sure if blogging would hold my interest, but it has. I have also enjoyed the wide community that is out there and I thank everyone that has stopped by or left a comment. As regular visitors know…I’m a big bird watching fan and I enjoy the many challenges that this hobby presents me. A once in a lifetime experience can begin with a quick flash of the wings that may last just seconds. It causes me to be acutely present in the moment. Venturing down to the river I see the resident flock of Black Vultures has returned for another season. I photographed this wary pair looking for dead fish or anything else edible.

The foreground in this image is willow fluff covering the sand. I find the two vulture species that hang out at the Falls to be really interesting birds and I have posted on them many times before. There are more furtive species out here as well and I had the good luck to stumble upon a small mixed flock of warbler species. Among this group were several Magnolia Warblers and I have a few images of them. I love their coloring with their black streaks on their bright yellow breasts. Magnolia Warbler is a misnomer since they don’t seem to favor that tree in my experience. I found these warblers to be very tolerant of my presence and I was able to follow them as they moved from one willow tree to another in their search for small insects.

Warblers are tiny always on the go creatures and their many species are a highlight of the spring migration. Many of the warbler species I see are passing through our area to points mostly north of here. I came across another seldom seen bird that I hope you will enjoy. It’s called the Brown-winged Robin and it too is traveling through the heartland. I have a series of this bird too beginning with a specimen I found wading through the willow fuzz. Is this pre-nesting behavior?

Here are a few more shots of this rare bird in the environment at the Falls of the Ohio. The brown wings are diagnostic as is the bright red beak.

There are many more bird species both real and imagined that I look forward to presenting in future posts! I hope to continue to share with you the great variety of life that I find in this relatively small place as it reveals itself to me. One other announcement for folks in my immediate area. I will be presenting my project at the Pecha Kucha event at the Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in Clermont, Kentucky the evening of June 5. This will be an outdoor event and coincides with the transit of Venus occurring on that night. Essentially, this slide show presentation form I believe began in architectural circles and speakers have 20 slides at 20 seconds a piece to present a topic. It goes by fast so you need to be pithy which can be a challenge! If you are interested in more information just click on my Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest link in my blogroll. I hope to see some of you out there and thanks again to all who have checked out the Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog over the years! Now for more willow fuzz!

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Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog

Art and images from the Falls of the Ohio.

Posts Tagged ‘plastic’

The Flood Brothers

Big Fish

Spray Bottle Triggers

In Search of the March Hare

The Sun is Up and the River is Down…part 2

Unusual Flora at the Falls of the Ohio

Happy Halloween from the Shrouded Forest

Encounter with Headhunters

Soul Man

The Brown-winged Robin and Other Birds

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