sense of place | Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog

Posts Tagged ‘sense of place’

Jimmy D. from Clarksville, IN

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, Falls of the Ohio, Ohio River, Originality, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged Art, artist at exit 0, Clarksville IN, conversation, ecostory, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, Jeffboat, Jeffersonville IN, LST, nature, photography, plastic, recycled art, river story, sense of place, story telling, Styrofoam on September 12, 2014| 14 Comments »

It’s a fresh month at the Falls of the Ohio. Today has opened up on the cloudy side and there is a slight chance for rain…but I’m going to risk it anyway. The lure of the river is too strong and I’m looking forward to exploring the western fringes of the Falls of the Ohio State Park. Stray migrating Monarch butterflies pass by me and the loosestrife flowers are still in bloom. I can tell the inevitable changing of the seasons is near. Already I can detect a slight yellowing occurring in the canopies of the willow and cottonwood trees. In a few weeks, all these leaves will be on the ground and ready to become recycled by and for life.

I’m walking along the shoreline which is a mix of limestone rocks and sandy/muddy beaches. Mostly I’m being engaged by my own thoughts which change quickly like the reflections on the water. I was so preoccupied by my own surrender to nature that I did not immediately notice the elderly gentleman sitting on a nearby log. With a motion of his arm, the figure said to me in a clear voice, “It’s alright my man, I saw you coming down the beach. Wonderful day to be alive isn’t it?” I replied something affirmative and instinctively walked towards him.

“Now that I’m retired…I like to come out here and sit by the river. Can’t think of a better place to have my morning tea and breathe deeply,” said the old man. I admit to being intrigued by him and I’ll bet he’s a real character too. I also sensed a kindred spirit since he was doing essentially the same thing as me, namely hanging out by the river. I asked where he was from and with a nod over his shoulder, he said:

“My friends call me Jimmy D. on account of my bulbous nose. I don’t expect someone as young as you would remember the entertainer Jimmy Durante?” I told him I had heard the name before, but it really was before my time. Jimmy D. then said, “I’m a life-long resident of Clarksville, Indiana. You know, that little town beyond the giant berm behind us? I was just a boy in 1937 when the whole town disappeared under twelve feet of Ohio River flooding. My family and I spent about a month with kin in Indianapolis before we could move back and start over. They had to rebuild the whole place because it’s just too historically important…you know, we date back to 1783 and we’re the oldest settlement in the Northwest Territory?”

I agreed that is indeed a great distinction and one I noticed being touted on several signs in the local parks. I then gave Jimmy D. my particulars which included my name, being an artist, and living across the river in Louisville. I then said, “Jimmy, I guess that makes us Metro neighbors.”

I decided that I had a few minutes to get to know Jimmy better. When I make my excursions to the river…I try (not always successfully) to not rush things and be in a hurry. I will confess, thinking about time and the nature of time has become a preoccupation with me of late. I see so many people rushing around and I wonder what’s so important about being in two places at once?

I broached this subject with Jimmy D. and here’s where I can get a little preachy.

I told Jimmy, “It seems to me that one of the best things we can do for ourselves and the planet is to slow down to the speed of life and find a good log to sit on.” I further added, “Nature has evolved processes that have been hard-won over millions and billions of years. What is it about our kind that wants to accelerate and consume the experience of living as quickly as we can? Sometimes it can come as a big relief to stay put and appreciate the good around everyone which is all too easy to take for granted.”

Jimmy D. put his cup down on the river-polished log he was sitting on. I could tell he was weighing my words through his own sensibilities. Before too long he turned back to me and said, “Fella, you just might have something there.” He then began to explain a little more of his own life’s experience.

“When I was a young man I couldn’t wait to leave this little town and experience the wider world. I thought my chance would come during World War II. I could both do my duty and get out of here at the same time. All my friends who were of age (and even a few who looked older than they actually were) were joining the armed services. I decided that this would be my ticket out too and I tried to enlist. As it turns out, I couldn’t pass the physical on account of having one foot larger than the other! I tried not to get discouraged and wanted to do my part. So, I walked next door (bum foot and all) to Jeffersonville and joined up with Jeffboat. I learned how to weld, which became my profession. I helped build the LSTs (Landing Ship-Tanks) that made the invasion of Europe a success for the allies and the free world. I realized that even from the comforts of my home, I could help shape events in far away places. After the war, my wanderlust had diminished considerably and love found me. After that there was a family of my own to take care of. I stayed on at Jeffboat and helped make them the largest inland ship builder in the country. I can’t recollect how many towboats and barges I helped construct. And when it was my time…I retired and that is why you are finding me sitting on this log. I can honestly say I have no regrets for how my life turned out.”

My new friend then pulled out a blue-colored pipe with a long stem and lit it. A puff of white smoke was quickly dissipated by a light, passing breeze. Jimmy D’s pipe kept going out and so I offered to help.

My new friend thanked me and asked to hear something about my own story. I obliged him although as a rule I’m not all that crazy about talking about myself. I said that like him, the military factors into my life. My dad was a career soldier and our family shuttled back and forth between the United States and Europe. It was great being exposed to so much history and culture, but as a kid I wondered what it would be like to have a deeper relationship with my extended family? My mother is Dutch. I was born in Amsterdam. My dad’s family hails from the New York City area and we have relatives in southern New Jersey. Seems that we only saw our relatives when we were in transition from one place to another. I grew up without having life-long friends. After art school, I settled in Louisville, Kentucky and have been here going on thirty years now. My two sons have had the nice experience of getting to know my wife’s family and so have had the reverse experience I had. Much about the art I make revolves around a sense for place and seeing the value in materials that are considered worthless. A lot of what I do is about being in the moment which is why encounters at the river are so valuable to me. Jimmy D. just nodded and took another drag off of his pipe.

It’s funny how often I have been willing to reveal some detail about myself to a complete stranger…especially if we are traveling together and there is little chance of running into one another again. I have had some great conversations with persons unknown to me while sharing rides on European trains. I suppose after conversations that might be of an intimate nature, can you truly say you are still strangers to one another? Jimmy D. and I alternated our conversation with just staring at the river going by. The Ohio River may not be a train, nevertheless, it is moving on a journey of its own. You can tell when two guys are comfortable with one another if time goes by and neither feels like they need to break the silence by saying something forced and stupid. When the tobacco was spent from the pipe, Jimmy D. knocked the ashes against the log. Among the last words I recall from our meeting at the river came from Jimmy D. “I’m an old man now and my time is coming. I hope my ashes will get the chance to mingle with the river.” I completely understood and wish for something similar for myself. I like the idea of merging with nature with the chance to become part of something else. I left Jimmy D. where I found him waiting for that train that will take him to the ocean and the wide, wide world beyond Clarksville.

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A Tale from the Legendary Life of Micro Polo

Posted in Absurd, Art, creativity, Falls of the Ohio, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, recycled art, Styrofoam, tagged Art, art and recyling, artist at exit 0, black raft, ecostory, Falls of the Ohio, flotsam and jetsam, found materials, found objects, Micro Polo, nature, nature and culture, nature inspired story, photography, plastic, plastic pollution, repurposed art, sense of place, storytelling, Styrofoam on August 24, 2014| 10 Comments »

Of all the names from the distant past, few shine as brightly or are as well remembered as that of the legendary explorer, Micro Polo. Rest assured, he must have been an actual person because too many stories and discoveries have been connected with his legacy. A few rare, hand-copied journals have been preserved in some of the world’s most obscure libraries documenting his remarkable life. An intrepid traveler and explorer, it is said his ambition was to take the measure of the world even if he fell off its flat edge in the process! Few individuals in recorded history have had the thirst for knowledge or have traveled so far in the name of adventure. By far, the most unusual story that has come down to us comes from Micro Polo’s last adventure. Widely believed to be a fantasy, a recent manuscript discovered in an ancient clay pot and buried for a millennia in the desert ruins of a forgotten city has resurrected the tale and its supposed veracity. This previously unknown manuscript offers the most detailed version of Micro Polo’s last voyage and is augmented by fantastical drawings scribbled onto the margins. We offer this contemporary retelling of this ancient tale for your amusement.

On a moonless and cloudy night upon the open sea…tragedy struck! Micro Polo’s sailing ship caught fire and sank on what would be his final voyage away from home. There was barely time to escape and a life raft was quickly thrown overboard. Only three scared and injured sailors including its captain, Micro Polo, climbed into this bobbing cork before the last of the fiery masts disappeared beneath the waves . During the next week, one sailor perished from his burns and another went mad from thirst and flung himself into the waters never to be seen again. This left Micro Polo alone in the raft as he drifted with the currents to points unknown. He resolved to survive and thoughts of his family back home kept him alive.

Micro Polo survived by catching unwary seabirds that landed on his craft and by collecting rainwater from passing showers. It was during the second week of his ordeal that our hero noticed a fresh change in the surrounding air. Around him floating in the water were bits and pieces of vegetation and he knew he was near land. Spying terra firm and the entrance to a large river that flowed into the sea, Micro Polo furiously paddled and reached the shore of a completely unknown world.

Upon setting his feet upon the solid ground and through parched lips, Micro Polo gave thanks to his gods and drank deeply from the fresh water of the river. His spirits were uplifted! He still had no idea whether or not he was standing on some previously uncharted island or land mass? At this joyous moment, it did not matter where he was and Micro Polo was eager to leave the confines of the tiny raft and look for help and food.

Micro Polo had not travelled very far down the sandy beach before he realized that he had arrived at someplace extraordinary. Before him laying on the coarse sand was the largest fish skeleton he had ever seen! It was a monster and Micro Polo felt lucky not to have encountered him in the water. The size of the creature’s mouth was large enough to have easily swallowed the explorer! Judging from the scales and boney plates, Micro Polo thought this behemoth resembled the common carp of his home country. Soon our hero would come upon many other large and unusual sights.

The vegetation of this new land was outstanding! It was verdant and outrageously populated with the largest blooms imaginable. There were immensely long vines and grasses as tall as trees! As he walked and explored this oversized garden, Micro Polo noticed that like the fish he found…many of the flowers of this new land resembled varieties that he was somewhat familiar with and had grown at home. Over here were giant morning glories and could this be some new type of gigantic rose mallow?

Wandering further afield, Micro Polo came upon a clearing populated by a large stand of loosestrife flowers. The purple color of the flowers was intoxicating and the explorer could not take his eyes off of the huge butterflies as large as eagles sipping nectar from the blossoms. In addition to being a riot of color, the loosestrife flowers were alive with the buzzing sounds of hundreds of insects flying around. Here Nature was undisturbed and at peace going about its business.

Micro Polo recognized the Cabbage White butterfly from his homeland, but there were many new species here and all the more remarkable for their immense scale and beauty. The insects (including some very large bumblebees) all left the traveler alone as they were preoccupied gathering nectar and pollen from the flowers. As the sun was setting, Micro Polo began to get very weary and he sought out a place to spend the night.

Of all the immense delights of that first day, nothing struck Micro Polo with more awe than the size of these trees. The roots alone were thicker around than a man’s body. The captain in him noted that a single one of these gigantic trees would provide enough lumber to build a single new ship. For now, he would be happy to take shelter for the night under its huge and leafy canopy. He found a nice safe space protected by interlocking roots and decided to settle down for the evening.

To pad the ground for sleeping purposes, Micro Polo gathered the immense yellow leaves that were lying around the tree. There was an intoxicating spicy smell from sleeping upon a bed of leaves and our intrepid explorer barely registered the distant thunder storm that was approaching before falling asleep. Micro Polo was so fatigued by the excitement of the day that the brief but intense rain showers were not acknowledged at that time. The explorer later recalled that this was the most restful night of sleep he had ever had.

The following morning was wet from dew and the previous night’s rain. Micro Polo decided to get up at first light and further explore this unbelievable landscape. He found some greens that were palatable and had breakfast. Later he crossed over an area that was rocky and had large deposits of driftwood bleaching in the sun. Thus far, he had seen nothing that made him think that he wasn’t the only person walking this land…but that was about to change.

Tangled up in the driftwood were certain outsized objects that looked like common household items that had been carelessly thrown aside. Micro Polo came upon a large black sandal that was as long as his body! There were other fragments whose purposes and materials he did not recognize. Not far from this discovery, he came upon this find.

Micro Polo recognized this an implement for cleaning one’s teeth, but on a gargantuan scale! For the first time since arriving on these shores, the explorer began to fear and have doubts. It was now clear that a race of giants also inhabited this land!

Micro Polo decided to return back to the area where he first landed. Along the way, he passed by what he previously thought were the possible ruins of some kind of stone fortification only to learn upon closer inspection that it was the remains of someone’s old camp fire. There were immense charred logs within the stone ring. Our explorer decided to hasten his step back to the raft. He had no desire to see what type or kind of “man” could work on this scale! Micro Polo was also determined not to become either this race of giants next pet or worse yet…a meal. He had seen enough and was ready to take his chances upon the sea again.

All manner of bizarre thoughts crossed over Micro Polo’s mind. Had he in fact landed on some fantastic island or continent of giants? Or, was it possible that by some unknown method or means that his very being had been shrunk down in size rendering him diminutive? Could prolonged exposure to the elements while on the raft have this effect upon him? Regardless, if he were to return home he would need proof of his latest and perhaps greatest discovery. Thinking quickly, Micro Polo tore off a length of morning glory vine with blossoms and threw it across his shoulders. He would take this plant specimen home with him or perish in the process.

When the great explorer reached the spot where he thought he left his raft…it was nowhere to be seen! The rain storm from last night had swelled the volume of the river and the raft, left unsecured, simply drifted off. Micro Polo was in a panic and searched up and down the riverbank, but the black craft that bore him to safety once before had simply vanished.

As the story continues, many hours and several miles or kilometers later…Micro Polo came upon an artifact partially buried in the sand that would save him. It had been shaped by the giants and had probably served as a bowl or at least it looked like one. Being a resourceful individual, Micro Polo had the great idea to use this bowl as his getaway vessel. He gathered up some provisions for the journey, wrapped the now wilting morning glory vine around his body and launched himself back upon the waters. He would trust that whatever mysterious forces brought him here would also return him home again.

Micro Polo was discovered adrift after several weeks by a passing merchant ship and he was taken back to his homeland. The sailors that found him reported that he was speaking gibberish and hallucinating badly. All his provisions were gone along with the morning glory vine which he had eaten when nothing else edible presented itself. He kept telling anybody who would listen about this fantastic land of giants he had discovered, but nobody believed him. Those with a kind heart and ear just let him go on with his crazy story. Eventually, Micro Polo’s health returned to him with his family’s care, however, his days of great discoveries were over. The famed explorer spent the rest of his life chronicling his adventures in his notebooks and navigating the known world through hand drawn maps and charts spread out upon his library’s wooden table. In the many years that passed, nobody else came across Micro Polo’s land of giants…however, people had a devil of a time explaining where that odd bowl-like boat came from?

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Other Falls of the Ohio Images, Post # 392

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, collections, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, nature photography, Ohio River, unusual collection, tagged Art, artificial and natural, artificial flower, artist at exit 0, barge cable, Falls of the Ohio, found objects, life, material culture, nature, nature and culture, photography, sense of place, willow roots on August 15, 2014| 12 Comments »

Each trip I take to the Falls of the Ohio results in lots of other images recorded on site. Although I may think all of my photographs are interesting in some way, for brevity’s sake…they can’t all make it into a post. If a storyline develops while I’m at the river, I will try to prioritize that and hope that at some other time in the future some of these other photographs will fit in somewhere? This post is an attempt to include some of the other pictures that were taken during my last excursion to the river. Although that visit resulted in my last published post about this tiny artist persona with a penchant for creating micro installations with plastic cup lids and straws…there were a few other sights at the river that caught my eye on this day.

The Wild Potato Vine is a common flowering summer plant at the Falls. The flowers are large and its leaves are heart-shaped and grow on very long vines. This plant is named for the large tuber it produces. I’ve noticed that out here, these large blooms attract large bumble bees. This is a genuine and indigenous wild flower which contrasts with my next discovery.

In a pool of stagnant water I came across this other interesting bloom. Don’t bother looking it up in a field guide to flowers because you won’ find it. I discovered it and so I take credit for naming it. I call this the “Yellow-flowering Mud Nymphea” and it “mimics” members of the lotus family. This plant has a single leaf that floats on the surface of still water or upon particularly juicy mud. Rising from that leaf is a large blossom (about the size of a child’s hand) that is a dingy yellow color and the petals have a cloth-like texture. Most fascinating of all…there are fake droplets of water that “bead up” on the individual petals. Imagine if you took hot glue and applied small drops to the petals…well, it would look a lot like what is happening on this plant. Knowing how this plant functions out here will require additional study. The Falls of the Ohio is a highly disturbed place and oddities are springing up all over. This just happens to be the latest mutant plant to add to a growing list.

Another topic I have explored in a past post see “Life in a Bucket” are real plants that grow in less than promising circumstances. Like many people, I have marveled at how plants can grow in narrow cracks in the sidewalks. The next trio of images are related to that phenomena. On my last adventure, I found three examples to share with you that demonstrate how opportunistic life can be. The image above shows a couple of sprigs of grass that are growing out of a small hole in a plastic, toy wheel. The wheel was probably originally part of a child’s tricycle. Over time, the detached hollow wheel filled with dirt and silt and retained enough moisture to allow grass seeds to germinate. Next is another wheel/plant combination that I see more commonly in the park.

This is a tire garden. Because old, ruined automotive tires are frequently thrown in the river (out of sight, out of mind) they frequently wash up here. Over time, they sink into the sand and mud and are very difficult to move. Opportunistic seeds colonize the central space where wood, silt, and other nutrients collect and before long you have a mini ecosystem growing out of a circular island in the sand. My next image is an amazing willow tree that I have posted images of before. Let’s look at how it is doing this year?

Amazingly, this willow is growing through the metal holes of the wheel. Previously, I had speculated on whether or not this tree would lift the tire into the air as it grew or be choked to death as the holes became too small? This year’s seasonal flooding has tipped the wheel up on one edge and exposed the roots of the tree. So far, it appears to be okay. I will be keeping tabs on this tree to see how it fares in the future. How the natural and artificial come together in the wider environment is an area of great interest for me. Our next example is a good illustration of this.

I walked passed this willow tree and noticed that a frayed, root-like, barge cable was intertwined with the living tree’s root system. Perhaps it’s the cable’s bright colors contrasting against the natural tones of the willow roots and earth that give it an aggressive appearance to me? The actions of the river help unravel these large nylon ropes used to moor and secure very large barges. Interestingly, I have seen various bird species hasten this process by picking apart the fibers for use as nesting material. The Baltimore Oriole is especially good at this and uses the colorful fibers in the construction of their hanging basket nests. The Ohio River, per tonnage moved, is one of the busiest waterways in the world for commercial navigation. I find the remnants of old barge cables frequently washed up upon the shore and buried in the sand and on occasion have integrated them into different projects.

Sometimes it’s just the incongruity or coincidence that I feel just finding the trash in this context. The photo above finds a partially crushed “Sunkist” brand soft drink resting upon a piece of rusty-colored concrete in the water on a sun-kissed day. I later noticed at home, the small damselfly that is also resting on the concrete. Do you see it? Or, how about the next one?

Washed ashore upon the fossil rocks was this smashed plastic lemon. It once contained “real” lemon juice. Over the years, I have found many of these lemon-shaped bottles. What I find interesting here is the presented combination of image and substance…a plastic lemon that once held genuine lemon juice. It doesn’t take much to pique my interest! I never know what I will find on any given day at the Falls of the Ohio. The river washes in “fresh” material on a regular basis. The river is like our subconscious and who knows what lies below its depths or floats upon the surface to be discovered by someone walking its shoreline?

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Hail Fellow Artists

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, Falls of the Ohio, Green, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged Art, artist at exit 0, children's story, ecostory, Falls of the Ohio State Park, found art materials, nature, nature and culture, photography, plastic, plastic straws, public art, recycled art, repurposed materials and art, sense of place, site specific artwork, Styrofoam, Tasmanian Devil on August 4, 2014| 16 Comments »

A hot and sunny August morning and over Louisville’s rooftops I could hear the river’s siren song calling my name. “Al”…Al…where have you been?” The call was getting louder and more irresistible by the moment. What’s a fella to do but heed the call? I slurped down the last of my cold coffee, gathered my collecting bag and walking stick and twenty minutes later I transported myself to the Falls of the Ohio. The river was receding into its summer pool and most of the riverbank was now exposed. Here and there fishermen were trying both their luck and patience. If birds could laugh, the numerous herons were enjoying themselves for it looked to my eye like they were having more success than the other bipedal hunters holding long rods and bait buckets. I did a quick look around the old railroad bridge, filled a found, empty, glass liquor bottle with coal pebbles and headed for my spot under the willows. Among my stash of Styrofoam and driftwood I came across a piece of wood I had previously picked up…and found this simple message written in ink… ” Hi Al”.

Whoever penned this simple note at my discovered spot remains a mystery. In my mind, I associated it with any of my many artist friends who also find inspiration among the driftwood…but it could have been the river too. This place has been utilized by artists for many years. Each new generation seems to discover this place for themselves and I hope it always remains this way. I lingered under the shade for a bit and watched a mix flock of chickadees, warblers, and gnatcatchers move through the tree canopy. With the show over and satisfied that my haul of river junk with all of its latent potential remained in place…I headed back into the bright sunlight. Other mysteries and visual delights would await me.

Imagine coming face to face with the Tasmanian Devil! Well, I did and lived to tell the tale. Actually, this plush toy (which I found face down) was quite small and easy to overlook upon the driftwood. Seems I’m always finding cartoon characters out in this landscape. I suspended him by his arms upon the exposed roots of an overturned tree stump. Someone may find him and give him a new home…or he might just fall apart over time eventually finding his way back into the river? Walking through the sunlit clearings between willow stands, I came across this interesting found composition.

I must have stared at this for an indeterminate amount of time? Perhaps it was the upright and very bright red plastic straw that caught my notice? Or, it could have been the very careful placement and arrangement I was discerning? I felt I was looking at a rather intimate and odd bit of public art. I found myself thinking…why didn’t I think of this!? In my heart and mind I saluted the anonymous person who created this scene and walked away appreciatively. A little further down the riverbank I came across a similar example.

Wedged in a limestone crack was another plastic straw and disposable cup lid “sculpture”. This time the straw was white with red stripes running down its length and the lid was an opaque white color. Like the previous straw sculpture, this one seemed to activate the space it occupied and caused me to notice what else was happening in this micro-location. The remains of ancient horn corals that lived in a shallow sea millions of years ago were preserved on the surface of the stone. The straw was strategically placed in a deep silt-filled fissure which was the only place that would allow it to stand upright on this hard rock. Finding a second upright straw and lid piece confirmed that the first one was not just a happy accident. There was someone moving through the area with a purpose.

I soon came upon a third straw and lid site specific piece and it was different from the others. While it was also made from plastic, the lid was clear and in the strong sunlight cast the most wonderful shadow upon the sand. It occurred to me that I was following a fresh trail because the slightest bit of wind could easily knock these ephemeral works over. I kept walking and as luck would have it, I came upon the artist responsible for these creations.

With a big blue smile a diminutive persona standing at the edge of a stand of willow trees greeted me with a friendly wave of his thin stick arm. He sported an orange hand symbol on his head and had very dark eyes as I recall. He had a blue-collar around his neck and a yellow belt around his waist. Otherwise, he was wearing nothing at all! I heard him say that he had watched me from a distance checking out his last piece and what did I think of it? I told him that I loved the simplicity of his works and admired how his careful placement made me more aware of the locations where they were sited. They were such simple gestures made with the most economical of means. I went on to gush about how surprisingly sophisticated I thought they all were, but he just stood there smiling. It was then my turn and I asked him how he came upon the idea? He said it happened quite by accident. Reflexively, he set the first one up without any thought and liked the result. On a hot, sunny day…it reminded him of an umbrella set up on a beach which further reminded him of a family vacation he made as child the first time he saw the ocean. The other straw and lid pieces became tops spinning in his mind and on and on, but most of all…he was doing this to have fun.

I asked if it would be all right to tag along for a short while with him and he said that it would be fine. We passed by one of his earlier projects and I snapped this quick picture. He was looking to make another piece or two and there (unfortunately) didn’t seem to be any shortages of straws and lids to work with. The artist recognized that these elements were not supposed to end up here. Setting them upright was also a good way to get other people to notice these things and perhaps give a thought or two about the state of the environment. We eventually worked our way back to the water. Sure enough, my little friend found another straw and lid along a trail frequented by fishermen.

Just as the artist was about to plant his new-found straw and lid into the moist ground…a nice group of people came over and greeted us. There were two brothers and a sister and a family friend who was taking them to the river to hang out and enjoy themselves. They had also been collecting river junk and specifically looking for small, intact, glass bottles. They were curious about the little artist and we talked for a while about being creative. The group expressed an appreciation for recycling and reusing the cast off stuff of the world. They asked if it was all right if they could pose with the artist to take their own pictures. Here are a couple of those images.

Posing for pictures with the artist, Aug. 2014

The youngest of the group then asked if it was okay if the little Styrofoam artist went home with them? There seemed to be no objections. The little man with the orange hand on his head was open to anything. I, however, did ask for a few things in return. The first was that a nice piece of wood be found out here that would make a good base so that the figure could stand upright. The second request was that a little bit of craft glue be used to hold all the loose parts together. Doing these things would make the figure last a bit longer and remind the family for years to come of this time they spent together at the river. I thought this was the perfect ending to a most entertaining day. So long for now from the Falls of the Ohio.

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High Water Spring Day

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, birding, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged Art, art and the environment, artificial fruits and vegetables, artist at exit 0, birds, catbird, driftwood, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, found objects, man and nature, nature, nature and culture, ornithology, photography, plastic oil container, sense of place on May 25, 2014| 4 Comments »

We have seen a lot of water flowing over the dam at the Falls of the Ohio this season. The month of May has been punctuated by intense storms and ample sunshine. Rainfall across the Ohio River Valley has been plentiful. On this particular excursion, the river was high and many of the places that I like to sit and work were inaccessible.

There was plenty of wood and trash in the soupy brown water and despite the beautiful sunshine, I was thinking that I might need to go home early today. Instead, I decided to do a little exploring along the margins of the high water and see how far I might be able to go.

Skirting the margins of the high water, I was able to walk over logs and driftwood and reach small pockets of higher land that remained dry. After initially feeling that my day in the park would be a loss…I started to feel excited again! In part, this was due to the abundant bird life I was seeing and hearing. This particular area has always been good for me and finding birds. There is enough shelter here under the cottonwood trees and willows that provide relief from the wind and is close enough to the water. Among the species I was encountering included this colorful grouping of birds: Baltimore Orioles, Northern Cardinals, Indigo Buntings, Palm Warblers, Gray Catbirds, American Goldfinches, and a tiny Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Here’s an image I captured of a Gray Catbird singing.

These birds are very territorial and the males chase one another out of their areas when interlopers trespass. Catbirds have a wide variety of sounds they make including a “mewing” call that reminds people of cats. Usually, I hear catbirds before I see them. Thus far, this has also been a good year to observe some warbler species. Warblers are my favorite group of birds to see because they are diverse, beautiful, transient (they are famous for their long migrations) and challenging to photograph. Here’s a picture of a Palm Warbler that I recorded on this day.

This guy hung around for a while. The guidebooks say that this warbler species summers in the northern bog lands and really has nothing to do with palm trees. That was an unfortunate bit of naming. The Falls of the Ohio are just one stop among many that this bird will make and I was glad to see him. In addition to birds, I was also finding plastic junk and other bits and pieces including a miniature plastic banana…I’m sure you want to see that?

This banana (my second of the year) will enter my Fake Fruits and Vegetables Collection which now numbers hundreds of pieces found in this park. Here are other found objects, some of which I will use to create a new figure.

And…here is the figure I constructed on this day. He’s pretty outlandish looking and another in a long line of pieces that reflect how I feel about our species’ absurd handling of the environment. For the moment, he remains unnamed, but if one comes to you…please share!

He’s made mostly from insulating foam, plastic, and driftwood and sports one jaundiced eye and what appears to be a unique, pink moustache. The area I was working in had so many plastic bottles lying around that my latest Styro-figure decided to put some of the colorful ones to use. Every year, the park does its best to keep this special place clean and orderly. Unfortunately, most of the trash I use and show originates elsewhere…mostly along the Ohio River flowing north of here and is carried to this down river location during flooding and high water.

Looking around the immediate area I was able to locate various colorful plastic oil containers and my Styro-figure decided to line them up for a photo opportunity. Here’s the results.

It’s an oily color spectrum of sorts. The Styro-figure seemed happy with it and for this day…left it at that. I have used this similar idea for other plastic found objects discovered in the park.

Soon it was time to go home. The day turned out to be a more creative and productive day than I originally thought it would be. I gathered up my collecting bag, camera, and walking stick and made the very short walk up to the parking lot. Looking back, I spied a Canada Goose taking advantage of the high water to feed from bushes it normally could not reach. This seemed as good an image as any to end this post with. Thanks as always for tagging along on another day at the Falls of the Ohio State Park.

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Taylor’s Artist at Exit 0 Video Link

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, public art, recycled art, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged Art, art and the environment, art process, artist at exit 0 video, culture and nature, Falls of the Ohio State Park, Indiana University Southeast, man and nature, nature, sense of place, Taylor Ferguson on May 16, 2014| 14 Comments »

Taylor’s Artist at Exit 0 Video Link

Here’s a short video interview conducted by Taylor Ferguson on my Artist at Exit 0 project at the Falls of the Ohio State Park. Taylor is a journalism student at the Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, Indiana and was nice enough to be interested in filming my process. Our late March day at the river was a bit windy which the microphone picked up beautifully, however, it washed out the rest of the audio. What you hear me saying is a bit of stream of conscious narrative which was edited into the video at a later date. I previously published a post entitled “Touring with Taylor” that has some of my images and words made about the experience.

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Skyliner

Posted in Art, birds and birding, creativity, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, Louisville, Kentucky, Ohio River, public art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged Art, birds, decoys, driftwood, ducks, Falls of the Ohio, flotsam and jetsam, found objects, lost toys, Louisville, nature, Ohio River valley, photography, plastic, sense of place, Styrofoam, the passing of the seasons on March 1, 2014| 19 Comments »

We are all getting antsy for spring to arrive…winter has been hanging on and on for dear life. It’s been hard to access the river because the water level has been high. Most of the places I visit at the Falls of the Ohio State Park are currently under muddy water. We have had just a handful of nicer, warmer days, but that has accelerated the melting of the snow and ice throughout the more than 800 hundred mile long Ohio River Valley. I don’t mind the cold so much, but it’s harder to do what I like to do on a swollen waterway. Here’s how one of my spots under the railroad bridge looked during my last visit.

Not a pretty picture seeing a river as brown as gravy. Lots of logs and wood floating on top and when you look more closely…there is also plenty of plastic and polystyrene in the mix too. Another view this time with me standing on the wall that separates one side of the river from the other.

All those white spots are pieces of Styrofoam. With my usual haunts inaccessible I moved further east…just outside the park’s entrance. There has been a lot of activity in this area that has caught my notice.

There has been a campaign on the Indiana side to make the river more accessible particularly in areas that afford a good view of Louisville’s skyline. To do this the vegetation has been bulldozed away. I came across an elderly person walking her dog and she said to me quite unsolicited..”Bout time they did something to clean up this mess!” as she pointed a thin finger in the general direction of the river. In this case, one person’s mess is another creature’s habitat. The true “mess” comes from all the plastic bottles and chunks of man-made junk that make it into the water. No amount of removing trees and creating views will help with this and it seems what we prefer looking at is a very selective process. I brought my collecting bag along. I’m hoping to pick up materials to use in an upcoming art workshop at the Carnegie Center for Art and History, but I find a few other interesting items as well and photograph them upon discovery.

I came across this smiling yellow cat toy that I think came from a fast food establishment.

Finding these paint containers made me realize how hungry I’ve become for color. I’m looking forward to the world turning green again with color notes supplied by wild flowers.

This plastic man with his bright, radioactive orange color was hard to miss. He was a skydiver or paratrooper in a former life and probably fell to earth using a plastic parachute.

There were other signs from life that the season’s are about to change over. I’m ever alert to what the birds are doing. I spotted my first Red-winged Blackbirds of the year and they are among the first migratory species to arrive. Male Northern Cardinals are singing their courtship songs and scouting out the best spots to build a nest. On the river, however, I spied what I consider a bird sign of winter. A nice sized flock of Lesser Scaup ducks were mostly sleeping and relaxing on the surface of the water. In this area, it seems we see more duck varieties in late fall and early winter. Here’s a peek at the scaups.

Before I move away from the ducks…I found one other to add to my growing collection. This is a Mallard decoy made from plastic. Not too long a go, I found another plastic decoy representing the Pintail Duck.

One other bird note…I heard them before I could see them, but I knew what they were instantly. The familiar calls of migrating Sandhill Cranes winging their way back north. Like geese, they fly in V-shaped formations to avoid the air turbulence created by other cranes flapping their wings. These birds are high flyers and this was the best I could do in taking their picture with the camera I have.

As February becomes March…the forecast for the Kentuckiana area is calling for freezing rain and snow. It appears that Old Man Winter will be hanging out for another week. Spring will eventually get here and already you can tell that it stays light outside longer with each passing day. I am, however, really eager to see how the river has rearranged this familiar landscape.

Once the Ohio River recedes there will be a new landscape to explore and who knows what I will find? I like that each year is different from the last. Well this post is drawing to a close. Thanks for visiting and see you soon…from the skyline of Louisville and the Falls of the Ohio.

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Through the Willow Portal

Posted in Absurd, animals, Art, art and environment, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, nature, nature photography, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged Art, artistatexit0, autumn, dead mouse, ecostory, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, found art materials, melancholy, nature, nature story, outdoor art studio, photography, public art, sense of place, Styrofoam, willow leaves, willow tree on November 9, 2013| 14 Comments »

A gorgeous fall day with light that was almost impossibly bright. It’s autumn at the Falls of the Ohio State Park. Small groups of migrating birds including various warblers, titmice, and kinglets are moving through the willow tops. Around each stand of willow trees, the ground is covered by yellowing leaves that have been recently dropped. There is a fresh, spicy, vegetative fragrance in the air as the more recently shed leaves give up their essence before curling up and turning brown. Although I have been to the Falls numerous times lately… it’s been a few months since I last visited my old outdoor atelier in the woods. Today seems as good a time to check out how my site has fared in my absence.

The wooden structure that once surrounded my cached materials remains collapsed. Some of the larger pieces of Styrofoam I had gathered from the river have been moved nearby. Stuff has been scattered around, but that is also part of the ongoing history and fate of this material. I may refer to this junk as “mine”, but I don’t feel a true sense of ownership. While this material remains out here…it belongs to all of us. We created, used, and then disposed of it, often carelessly. I don’t have a lot of time to spend out here on this particular day and so I got busy making “something” from this largess. I select a few chunks of polystyrene that will become my latest figure and before long I attract an audience of one.

This Gray Squirrel seemed very intent upon my activities. Perhaps he thought there might be food involved? I have to say that I was really amused by this little animal checking me out. He watched me for a minute or two and then headed deeper into the trees.

The figure I created was not very complex. It’s head was rather skull-like and so I added a found black and white swimming noodle and a pink nose that was the plastic handle to something to give it more “levity”. One of the first places I posed my latest was by the larger remains of former projects that were moved away from the other Styrofoam pieces I had assembled. It doesn’t appear that whomever moved this stuff…did anything else with it.

Coming across a late season mushroom, its whiteness and material consistency reminds me of the polystyrene I salvage to make art with. Both the mushroom and Styrofoam are made from extracted, spent life. The difference is the mushroom is alive and one day will also return to the earth to nourish other life. The Styrofoam on the other hand, is a dead material and probably won’t decompose easily for quite a long period of time. To move away from thoughts about decay and such…I move into the light and to be near the water.

It doesn’t take long before I find just the right location that will represent this figure and day to me in photographs. I rediscover an especially picturesque willow tree whose trunk and roots have been sculpted by time and the river to form a portal or window. This is where I decided to photograph and leave this figure.

Because the ground was muddy and soft…it was also easy to stand my figure upright. My attention wandered back and forth between the possibilities this novel view afforded. I imagined the figure looking back at me through the portal and other shifting points of view. Here’s how the figure looked set up on the other side where I once originally stood.

The day was getting late and it was time for me to move on. On the walk back I came across a recently deceased mouse in the willow leaves. Something about this season brings out the melancholy in me. All life, no matter how small, strikes me as being worthy of note. Using my fingers, I raked the willow leaves away from the mouse’s body and created this parting image. See you next time from the Falls of the Ohio.

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La Belle Riviere

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, collections, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, tagged Art, artist at exit 0, Falls of the Ohio, fossil rocks, found materials, giant necklace, La Belle Riviere, nature, photography, recycled art, repurposed art, sense of place, site specific artwork, softball core, willow trees on October 23, 2013| 30 Comments »

It started with one. I had been picking them up for years…odd, yellow ocher orbs that the river marooned in various sections of the Falls of the Ohio State Park. Initially, I was intrigued by them because I knew they had to be something, but what? Early on I formed this association in my mind that these balls were giant pearls and they were gifts to me from the beautiful river. Made from a lightweight yet solid, hard foam, these balls weathered in very individualistic ways. Many of them had acquired a nice patina from their river journey perhaps floating long distances for many years. For a while, each time I would go on one of my excursions to the Falls of the Ohio, the river made sure that I would stumble upon one or more of these balls. Into the collecting bag they would go. Eventually, I found out what kind of balls they are and in case you haven’t guessed yet…here are a couple more images that will reveal what they originally looked like. I’ll start with one of these balls in the process of transforming, followed by one that is more intact.

My river pearls are the cores of contemporary softballs. How did all these softballs end up in the river? When I was a kid, a softball had a hard rubber ball in the interior which was surrounded by what seemed like miles of string wrapped tightly around the rubber ball. A two piece leather cover was then sewn over this “string ball” which completed the softball and was now ready to be played with. For those who might be unfamiliar with softball…it’s a game similar to baseball, but the ball is about twice as large as a standard baseball. I collected these softball cores for years, but especially during the early phase of my Artist at Exit 0 Project. After each river trip I would dutifully fill up boxes in my home’s basement with my found balls and then forget about them. Over time, I started picking up lots of different objects and using them in various ways as materials for my sculptures or as offbeat collections of odd items I was creating. I guess I always knew that I would return to these balls and make something interesting with them someday. That day arrived last week.

I had no idea how many of these balls I had collected or passed up over the years? This recent photo taken in my Louisville backyard shows about 110 out of the 160 balls I did save. I decided to act on my river pearls idea by making an impractically large pearl necklace. I carried all the balls I had to my friend Tom’s sculpture studio and used his drill press to drill a hole through each ball. That was a bit more of a technical challenge than I had first conceptualized. Most of these spheres are not perfectly round. In fact their imperfections (which I really like as evidence of wear by the river and elements) made each drilling a unique experience. Eventually, I got the job done and laid out many of the balls on the concrete pad in my backyard. Just as I was beginning to thread and knot braided nylon cord through the balls…the sky let loose a monstrous rain storm. By day’s end, nearly seven inches or 17.5 centimeters of rain fell and flooded parts of my backyard and basement! It was like being visited by the river in an interesting way. I had initially “graded” each ball by condition and color to form transitions in this giant strand, but the water and now mud from my backyard changed the color of each ball. I decided to make my first piece one hundred balls long. There is a knot tied with the cord that keeps each ball from touching. At my local hardware store I found a brass hook that I could use for a clasp to close my giant necklace. All that was left to do was to return to the river…to the place that I found all of these balls and inspiration and find a way to give thanks for these many gifts.

Loading the necklace into a large red plastic tub I carried my artwork down to the Ohio River. One hundred balls became surprisingly heavy and I was concerned about twisting an ankle or tweaking my knee as I walked over the driftwood. I came to a sunny place under the railroad bridge and laid the necklace out upon the sand for the first time.

Here’s a look as some of the weathering that occurred with a few of the balls. And here is one of the first images of the necklace joined together.

This was okay for a trial run, but I had other images in mind. I have always loved the willow trees in the park and I chose one of my favorite ones to “wear” my river pearl necklace. Yes, it’s a hopelessly romantic gesture, but I felt like “celebrating” this tree in a special way. Here are a few more images.

Moving closer to the river, I stopped by an old willow that was barely alive. I draped my necklace over its old exposed roots and created a few more images.

Once in a while, a park visitor would walk by and look in my direction and continue on as though I was engaged in a most ordinary activity! If I had stumbled across this scene…I think curiosity would compel me to say something. Next is another detail from my eccentric strand of pearls.

With the river within sight, I lifted my bucket of balls and headed towards the fossil rocks. It was a sunny, but windy day and my next idea was to put the necklace into the water.

I found a pool of water surrounded by Devonian inspired limestone that would prevent my necklace from being carried away by the current’s flow. Still, the wind kept changing the configuration and blowing the balls against the rocks.

I used a beaver-chewed willow stick I found on the bank to guide my necklace into shape between photos. The necklace which I now had named “La Belle Riviere” was the name originally given by French missionaries upon encountering the Ohio River for the first time.

It seems appropriate that the river which played a large part in bringing these balls to this shore…would continue to influence how this piece would be perceived.

I enjoyed how the gourd-colored balls harmonized with the surrounding riverine landscape. I felt some sense of accomplishment in creating this piece and being able to return it to the Falls environment to create this site specific work. It was also a fitting ten-year anniversary artwork since “La Belle Riviere” began with that first found ball a decade a go. I will see how well it holds its own in a gallery environment since I want to include this piece in a two person show I’m participating in this January. After these river photos…I loaded the necklace back into its container and began the slow walk back to my car. While making this work, I did have one admirer that found the work irresistible and I will end this post with its image. So long…from the Falls of the Ohio.

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Fantastic Phasmid and Other Bugs

Posted in Absurd, animal art works, animals, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Originality, recycled art, sculpture, tagged absurd story, Art, artist at exit 0, bugs, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, giant stick insect, insects, nature, nature photography, nature story, Phasmids, photography, recycled art, sense of place, site specific art on October 14, 2013| 10 Comments »

Red-faced and bizarrely hairy, the unique caterpillar of the Tussock moth was munching its way through a maple leaf. Everything about its appearance says I’m not tasty and leave me alone. It’s now October and it won’t be much longer before the first frost and freezes arrive and with it the colder temperatures which will quiet insect life at the Falls of the Ohio until next year. The caterpillar inspired me to post a few other entomological images taken in the park. I confess that I have always liked insects as examples of how diverse life can be. I’m amazed at the incredible variety and forms that our six-legged friends can assume. Here’s another really weird caterpillar that I found at the Falls that I just haven’t been able to identify through any of my field guides. Does anybody out there in blog land recognize this?

This fluorescent green caterpillar has dramatic eye spots on its posterior that would incite a predator to strike there first. Its anterior is located on the opposite end and I would have fallen for this trick too, but noticed that it was walking backwards. I wondered once it completed its metamorphosis…would the adult be a moth or butterfly? Maybe some day I will stumble upon and collect a large cocoon I don’t recognize and I’ll take it home and watch a miracle as it emerges from its silken home.

During this time of year, certain willow trees at the Falls are exuding sap which draws a variety of insect life including various flies, hornets, and butterflies to these sweet “licks”. Whether the flowing sap is due to disease or injury is unknown to me? The large bullet-like hornets are so preoccupied with sipping the sap that they ignore me. To test this, I’ve carefully touched them with my finger while they were feeding and they remained docile. I was walking through the tall grass when I noticed a large flying insect land on the bush next to me. Despite its wonderful camouflage I was able to locate our next insect after a short search.

This is the Chinese Mantid which I read was introduced into this country in 1896. It is the largest praying mantis you are likely to come across in the United States and this specimen was about four inches or ten centimeters long. I’ve seen them grow larger, but not in this park. In fact, this is only the second mantid I’ve seen out here. There are several native species, but they are smaller and more obscure. And now, it’s time to reveal my most spectacular discovery which is a near but harmless relative of the praying mantis. Here is a picture of its head.

And now, for the rest of its body which is about two feet long or roughly sixty centimeters. I came upon this unique life form casually walking across the driftwood on its way to somewhere else.

Although as insects go this is a giant…it is also an extremely fragile creature. It is a member of the walking stick family. It relies on slow movements and its cryptic forms to merge with its surroundings. The Falls Phasmid is strictly a vegetarian and eats the foliage from a variety of different trees.

I came across this specimen in broad daylight. I had always heard that they were nocturnal and chose to restrict their movements during the day to avoid detection. Walking stick insects are among the largest insects we have. This species is additionally strange in that its head, thorax, and abdomen are so clearly differentiated. Some scientists have gone so far as to suggest a bit of mimicry at work here. On the surface it does seem to possess a superficial resemblance to a giant ant which might be enough to dissuade predators from attacking it.

I did observe this particular Phasmid making return trips to a particular willow tree where it clung to a nest-like structure that was hanging down from a branch. The meaning of this structure was not immediately apparent. Perhaps the Falls Phasmid uses this form to help it overwinter? Keeping a respectful distance away, I did see the stick insect walking slowly over the riverbank, but I couldn’t tell if it was searching for something in particular and I did not witness it feeding.

Originally, the Falls Phasmid may have had the ability to fly. Other walking stick insects from around the world have vestigial wings that suggest a different past. Our specimen lacks even the most superficial suggestion of wings which hints at an ancient lineage. Perhaps all stick insects evolved here first and spread around the world much later?

I watched the Falls Phasmid for a while and took a bunch of photographs of it before leaving the park. I’m curious about that tree that it likes to hang out on and so will check it the next time I’m here. On my way out of the park, I also came around this wonderful Viceroy butterfly and thought that this would make a fitting image to end this post. When I think of the butterflies that inhabit the park…this is the species that comes to mind first for me.

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Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog

Art and images from the Falls of the Ohio.

Posts Tagged ‘sense of place’

Jimmy D. from Clarksville, IN

A Tale from the Legendary Life of Micro Polo

Other Falls of the Ohio Images, Post # 392

Hail Fellow Artists

High Water Spring Day

Taylor’s Artist at Exit 0 Video Link

Skyliner

Through the Willow Portal

La Belle Riviere

Fantastic Phasmid and Other Bugs

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