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Posts Tagged ‘Styrofoam’

White Stuff

Posted in Absurd, art and environment, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 20, 2012| 5 Comments »

I’m back at the Falls of the Ohio and I can always count on finding different conditions or something new in the air…literally.  On this trip the willow trees were sending out their white fluffy seeds from their catkins.  In the low-lying areas in the sand or against some other barrier, the fluff accumulates into drifts like delicate dry snow.  Today the air is filled with this material as the willows express themselves.  I got used to seeing ghostly spots cross my vision.  Here is an image of where the fluff comes from.

At the river’s edge, more white stuff could be found washing ashore.  Unfortunately, this material is not as environmentally friendly as the willow’s product.  In several places I encountered thousands of tiny, soft, white, beads and I instantly recognized the source.

The white object on the right is a river-turned chunk of polystyrene.  Waves pounding the Styrofoam into the teeth of water born logs and the grinding of the Styrofoam into the sand at the river’s edge “sculpts” this material for me.  These mostly biomorphic forms are so hard-won by nature…that I feel a collaborative responsibility to not alter or impose my will upon them so much.  By shaping this material into organic shapes I “feel” the environment is curiously attempting to “humanize” the polystyrene by removing its rough edges.  Besides, I don’t want to free anymore of these white beads into the world if I can help it.  Here is another place I encountered where the freed polystyrene beads have run a muck.

And now, here are a few of the Styrofoam chunks I found this day followed by an image of where I store them until I can make use of them.

In the earliest days of my project, I can recall trying to fill up bags of this stuff for “proper” disposal.  It made me feel good that I was doing something environmentally friendly in the process.  Unfortunately, there is just too much Styrofoam in the world and places that I had picked up just became littered again with the next bout of high water and flooding.  That’s when it occurred to me that I could try to use this as an art making material.  If I could make something compelling enough…others might want to try to exercise their own creativity or help me out by taking the artwork home.  To some degree, I have been successful at this, but there simply is more garbage than people who care about what happens to it. At this point (soon to be nine years later) I’ve found that my own sense of aesthetics has changed greatly.  I’m from the old school that appreciates the narrative of art as it has developed with its various cultures, museums and landmark masterpieces.  Now, I feel that if we can’t develop (and soon) a more real sense of what is life-enhancing (namely the condition of the environment)…those other traditions won’t matter much.  Of course, there are other aspects of the formal art world that irk me as well and to see Edvard Munch’s fourth version of his “Scream” painting set a new world record into the millions of dollars makes me want to scream too.  Money is also a precious resource that should be used for better purposes.  Anyway, diatribe aside, here is my latest “mess-terpiece” for your delectation.  It continues the story from a recent post .  Enter the tire swing.

My little red-capped Styrofigure investigated the tree fort created near my outdoor atelier.  He visited his much larger relative who amazingly enough was still standing although his nose had fallen off!  It doesn’t look like the people who created this fort have returned recently.  Here is a photo from the family album.

After the visit, my newest figure did a little exploration of his own.  He came across a perplexing sight that made him scratch his head.

In a tangle of white fishing line was this image of futility.  How in the world, did this ball of monofilament snag a comb?  This seems the ultimate in entanglement.

Venturing to the water’s edge, my little Styrofigure found another large section of Styrofoam that was now beached.  For me, it was all becoming too much of this stuff on this day and my figure expresses this with a gesture of its arms.  “Why do we need even more of this material…is there nothing better for the intended purpose?”

Meanwhile…back in the river, the story continues.

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Waterfalls

Posted in Absurd, animals, Art, art and environment, birds and birding, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, nature photography, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 13, 2012| 11 Comments »

Image

Today I heard the river calling on a spectacular day at the Falls of the Ohio.  Apparently, I was not the only one who heeded this call and the park is already full of people upon my arrival.  I checked out the fossil cliffs and quickly determined that there were too many people at this location for me and I moved on.  Ducking under the trees I moved into the shade, but before I did I stopped to hear an American goldfinch that had taken up residence on a willow branch right above my head. His perch is on the borderline of  sunshine and shadow and he was singing away in his timeless goldfinch way. In appreciation I took in every note as though his song was meant for me.

Under the protection of the forest’s canopy, I came across many other spring birds including a magnificent male Pileated Woodpecker hammering away at the soft wood of a decayed log in his pursuit of wood ants and beetle larvae.  I even came across a turtle…although it’s not the type you typically find out here.  It is, however, a reminder that this bottom land where I’m walking was recently flooded.  This turtle moved into this area with the rising river.  I have a small collection of sand molds and this is my fourth different turtle design I’ve found in the park…into the collecting bag it goes.

Another unusual sight was a plastic five gallon bucket that also floated in with the high water.  Checking it out, I tried to determine whether this bucket was half full or half empty with mud and whether or not this reflected on my general outlook on life?

Eventually, my walk brought me to the creek that marks the western limit of the park’s Woodland Loop Trail.  As I moved to this spot…I was also picking up the bits and pieces that form my latest Styrofoam figure.  I posed my latest creation in a location above the creek where it meanders into the Ohio River.

I like this place because it affords a good view of the Ohio River sweeping westward.  I also enjoy checking out the mud along the creek’s banks because animals leave their tracks here.  This time I could distinguish raccoon, squirrel, heron, and dog tracks.  Because the water running through this creek is also tied to the City of Clarksville’s sewer overflow system…during peak rain storms water comes rushing through the creek.  As a result of these torrents, large boulders and stones that were buried in the mud and soil come to the forefront and help create small cascades and waterfalls.

My little man did what I also like to do which is sitting by a waterfall and losing myself in the sound of running water.  This sound and effect are so peaceful to me that I wonder if it also affects my brain’s waves?  It’s easier to clear my mind with the sound of water as a backdrop and makes me lose my sense of time.  Today, the creek offers up several terraced waterfalls and my Styroman visited them all.  Here he is by waterfall #2.

This dramatic shot depends a lot on the angle which wasn’t as acute.  Now for a couple more views.

One frequent criticism of my project which I embrace is that it is overly romantic and sentimental.  Ironically, these are also qualities I find missing in much contemporary art which seems to rely upon one’s head more than the heart.  I try to involve both feeling centers in my work.  My brand of romanticism comes from trying to evoke some sense of the sublime and respect for nature through all the garbage and habitat destruction that marks our era because this ongoing planetary degradation ultimately affects our own and other species’ chances in the game of life.  Believe it or not.

This is the last waterfall my figure visited and is marked by crisscrossing logs that were deposited here during the last good flood.  I like the composition created by all this interlocking wood.  I hung out here until the light started to  slip below the horizon and I turned for home. My mind felt relaxed and open for nearly anything.  I think this is ultimately what brings me back to the river time after time.  I can forget my daily woes, politics, and the work a day world and for a few hours transport myself to a more real and peaceful place.  I hope all of you out there in the wider world have discovered places that do the same for you.

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At Play on Earth Day

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, birding, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, nature photography, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 24, 2012| 6 Comments »

The stars were in alignment and I got to spend a nice Earth Day at the Falls of the Ohio.  It was a little cold and windy…nothing layering in sweat shirts couldn’t handle!  I found so many interesting objects and spaces that I filled up my camera’s memory card.  I now find myself with a richness of images I couldn’t post in one go…and so I will try to keep it focused in some way.  As proof that everyday should be Earth Day…the official celebration in the park has been moved to May after the Kentucky Derby.  Supplanted by a horse race!  Last night was Thunder Over Louisville which year after year is usually the largest fireworks display in North America and kicks off the two weeks long Kentucky Derby Festival.  Thousands of people were out here partying on both banks of the Ohio River.  They left their trash after the event, but fortunately it looks like the clean up crews are doing a good job and keeping this stuff out of the park.  After all, it already has enough detritus of its own.  Of late, I’ve been really fascinated by how these big barge cables and ropes that wash into here weather over time. They are made of tough stuff, but the river wins in the end.  Sometimes they unravel and drift beautifully from willow root to branch like mutant Spanish moss.  Some of their colors can even be shocking compared to the neutral earth tones of their surroundings.  Here’s one such scene I’ve been trying to describe.  This is one of my Earth Day photographs.

I later came across a nice length of barge cable stretched out across the sand. For fun, I started coiling it and taking pictures of the different configurations I came up with.  Here’s the way it looked stretched out.

When I look at my pictures at home, many of these cable fragments reference fossils.  I get a strong feeling of ancient sea lily crinoids and nautilus-like ammonites preserved in the rock that was silt millions of years a go.  I also played with the spiral form and activated an intimate space with its spring-like energy.

Creating a tighter spiral evoked ammonite shells and wavy tentacles.  Ammonites were coiled cephalopods with some resemblances to our squids and octopi. The ammonites were so successful for so long.  Beginning somewhere in the Devonian they prospered and radiated out to fill all the world’s oceans until the Cretaceous Period crashed.  Their run lasted more than 330 million years and now they are all gone.  We have a way to go to match that record.

In most of the places I walked today I could hear the Northern Orioles singing.  I tried imitating their call notes and once in a while I could get a bird to reply.  I saw various warblers, vireos, woodpeckers, wrens, and more…however, the most memorable bird event happened at my feet.  I stepped too near the nest of a Song Sparrow and flushed the bird that was hiding with its clutch of eggs.  Here’s a photo of the scene.  Can you find the bird’s nest?  Look closely at the dark spot on the left side of the young willow greenery.

And now…lets look a little deeper and closer at this spot.

Inside were four tiny eggs tinged in green and speckled with brown spots.  I’ve read that the Song Sparrow is heavily parasitized by the Brown-headed Cowbird which opportunistically lays an egg of its own among the sparrow’s clutch.  The unsuspecting parents raise the cowbird as their own.  As far as I could tell, this nest was in good shape.  Perhaps having a really obscure nest site has so far protected it from the cowbirds which are common in our area?  Walking further, I came to another nesting site of a different kind near my outdoor studio.  Like the Song Sparrow…this spot was also well hidden.

The tire swing helps give it away otherwise it easily blends into the natural driftwood environment.  I imagine a family coming to play here because there is evidence of children… including a misplaced fuzzy duck toy.  The kids keep raiding my Styrofoam cache, but haven’t made anything back at their fort!  Walking around the structure, I find the door is closed.

I even crawled up on the “roof”  for a look.  The builders have taken a natural space created by interlocking logs and enclosed and defined the space by leaning and propping up other found wood.  It all blends in perfectly.

I moved a few planks and logs aside and could see the interior.  I set the duck back up and snapped this shot.

Because my driftwood structure neighbors like to borrow the Styrofoam I’ve collected…I decided to leave them a present using the biggest polystyrene chunk they dragged over here.  First, I need to improvise a head.

After finding some appropriate limbs…I set the figure up in the corner of the log fort.  I thought it looked pretty good against the new green leaves of the willows.  In my head I heard this little bit of imagined dialogue…”Wait, wait…it’s not yet Earth Day!  That’s been postponed until May 12.  Come back then and bring the family.”…as he waved all wild-eyed and everything.

I’m not sure how long this guy will last?  It would be nice to think that the kids who play here could see this figure as a part of their creative environment.

The root mass from this great log makes up one “wall” of the driftwood fort.  Here’s another view looking back before I moved on to the rest of my day.

I’m going to bring this post to a close with two photos of a willow tree I saw the other day.  These trees are buffeted by the elements and begin to take on character and personality as their will to survive kicks in.  With their branches reaching for the sun…their incredible roots hang on to the mud and are sculpted by the Ohio River.  It’s good to think of trees during Earth Day.

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The Time Traveler, Another Found Object Story

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, nature photography, Originality, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 13, 2012| 19 Comments »

In the beginning he was so unclear about what had happened.  There was this vague image in his mind of some kind of presence he felt that may have created him?  Even that “fact”  was up for debate.  All he remembers with any kind of certainty was that he couldn’t remember anything at all until the breath of life was blown into him.

What he remembers next is feeling the warmth of the sun on his face.  He tried looking at the sun, but his eyes couldn’t stand the gaze.  Averting his face, he saw a shape on the ground and was surprised when it echoed his own movements like a dance partner.  It was in this moment that he felt his body and became fully aware that he was physical and could move around in space.   He took a minute or two, three, four…to survey his birthplace.

What he saw astonished him!  Positioned in the sand were lots of pieces that looked like the same material he was made from.  It was a bit creepy and confusing for him and his next impulse was to escape.  This decision set him upon the path that would be his life’s adventure.  He walked and walked and everything he saw was new, confusing, and miraculous to him.  There were trees and plants and other life forms that occupied the same space and were delightful to behold. It took a while to absorb and understand some of the things he was encountering.  After a half day’s journey or so, the traveler came to a place different from where he began and after surveying this field…he had an epiphany.

It was a debris field full of all kinds of materials…some of which resembled the pieces he saw before and which constituted his very physical being.  He realized that he was made of the stuff of the world and felt the kinship.  He further intuited that these materials were themselves extracted from what had lived and came before.  Life is built upon life…dust to dust…ashes to ashes…plastic to plastic.  The Traveler moved on.

The Traveler was gaining experience of the world which then led to knowledge of it.  He encountered many other objects and filed them away in his being for future reference.  One such object was this immense cable or rope and our hero recognized that all the individual strands of this rope gave it great strength and unity when they were woven and twisted together.  The sun was at its high point and the day was getting hot.  The Traveler decided to move into the shade of the trees to cool off and discover what he could learn there.  After an hour’s walk or two or three…he came to a large black tunnel leading into the ground and it beckoned to him.

Reflexively, the Traveler overcame any misgivings and entered the tunnel.  It felt cool which he liked and there was blackness which he feared. In the next heartbeat there was an incredible burst of light and he found himself on the other side of the tunnel.  What he saw next was the most perplexing sight of this new and memorable day!

Impaled upon three sticks were three heads that were regarding him with interest.  The Traveler was a confusion of feelings that ranged from horror to outright fascination!  One head was blue and looked like an elephant minus its  ears.   The other two heads were childlike and misshapen.  Within his own mind, the Traveler heard the largest childlike head speak to him and it said, ” Welcome Traveler…we are the Oracle of the Sands of Time.  Together we are the past, present, and future.  All that you were before…you will be again…and more.

The Oracle then spoke in unison and told the Traveler that the Past, Present, and Future simultaneously coexist.  They were appearing to him now to act as a guide to the life that had been given to him.  Naturally, the Traveler was a bit  confused since he was new to paradoxes!  Then the larger head placed an image into the Traveler’s mind and said, “Do you remember that rope you saw today?…imagine a slightly different one more colorful and expanded. Now imagine it’s a model of the universe and everything in it.”

The Traveler then tried to grasp the idea that the universe is made of vibrating strings that phase in and out of time.   Because there are differences in spacetime and your point of view changes depending on how you focus on a moment…the possibility of multiple “you’s” can exist in different dimensions in space and time.  What you were before…you can be again…or not.  Yes, it’s all rather confusing and the Traveler moved away from the Oracle and tried contemplating what he was just told.

What was he supposed to do with this knowledge?  He then remembered the last thing the Oracle told him and it somewhat made sense.  As long as he was fully present and open in each moment of his life…he would be fine.  If he was having a bad day…somewhere in the universe those other “you’s” could be having better or worse days.  In the big scheme of things…it just doesn’t matter.  As the sun was setting in the west, the Traveler was able to face the sun with his shadow confidently following behind him.  He decided that he would keep walking towards the light and treat each day like it was brand new.

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The Variegated Oriole

Posted in Absurd, animal art works, Art, art and environment, birds and birding, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Green, nature photography, Originality, public art, recycled art, sculpture, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 7, 2012| 9 Comments »

It’s Spring and I’m walking the eastern section of the Falls of the Ohio State Park looking for birds.  I have done this religiously for years and have seen most of the species that have been recorded in this park.  I love birds because they are such beautiful expressions of life.  I envy their extreme mobility with so many species able to call greater parts of the globe home than I will ever experience.  This is the time of year when many different types of birds that have been wintering in South and Central America undergo remarkable journeys.  Some will pass through this area on their way to locations as far north as the Arctic Circle. This is my chance to see them… if I’m lucky. The Falls of the Ohio also has another significant bird connection through the life and work of John James Audubon.  He essentially started his life’s work that would eventually become The Birds of America, one of the great achievements in publishing and the most expensive book in the world, by first drawing many of the birds he encountered at the Falls of the Ohio.  Audubon’s example and his journal descriptions of the world he inhabited are frequent touchstones for me and this project.  Two hundred years later…very little remains of the original landscape he was familiar with.  That process and transformation of the landscape is continuing and unfortunately not always in a positive direction.  Birds are such great indicators of the quality of the environment because they are sensitive to changes…the canary in the coal mine was a real thing.  To enjoy birds and birding is an activity that takes you out of yourself for a little while and causes you to engage life on its own terms.  On this day (which also happened to be April Fool’s Day)  I did experience many of the usual year round resident bird species, but did not see any of the neotropical migrants that make the Spring migration so special.  So, when this happens, I’m not above creating my own bird species.  This post is devoted to a new bird I discovered out here and I’ve named it the Variegated Oriole.

The Variegated Oriole receives its name for being multicolored. I first encountered this bird as various bits of detritus that I came across walking the shoreline of the Ohio River.  For the head, I used a small piece of river-polished Styrofoam.  Its brightly colored beak is part of a plastic and polystyrene fishing float that I cut with my pocket knife.  The eyes are small bits of coal.  I used a green foam gasket or washer to act as a transitional element between the head and the body.  It’s a trademark of mine that I seem to do with almost every piece I make out here. For the body, I found a blue piece of river-polished high density foam? that I cut a few slits into the sides to hold the wings which are made from pine bark.  I took one piece of bark that the river peeled off of a tree and I split that in half to form matching wings.  The tail is a piece of yellow plastic I found that reminded me of a bird tail!  I cut another groove into the blue body to insert and hold the tail in place.  The feet, are just rootlets that I sharpened and pegged into the body.  That’s it in terms of materials which I tried to alter as little as possible as not to trump what nature and the river had already shaped.  It’s important to me that this be a true collaboration.  If “we” are successful, then something of the spirit of a bird will take hold and inhabit this small sculpture.

After finishing the bird…I seek out environments that will help put this avian creation into some kind of context.  Everything matters and I hope my pictures convey something of the time of day, the season, the quality of light, the condition of the environment, etc…all those elements help create a sense of place.  I move through the willow trees posing the bird on various stumps and branches.  I usually take a lot of pictures.

Sometimes, I will imagine what kind of habits my new birds might possess.  In the case of the Variegated Oriole…it is not too different from the Northern or Baltimore Orioles that live and nest in the park.  They are among the migrants I look for. I heard one the other day calling, but didn’t see it.  The real orioles that live here are adapting to local conditions by using artificial materials (fishing line and barge cable fibers) in the construction of their hanging basket nests.  I’ve posted on this before in this blog a few years a go.  I think Audubon would have been interested in this.  Anyway, I left my bird sitting on a branch for anyone to discover.  It might still be there and I will find out today when I once again venture out to the Falls of the Ohio State Park.  Perhaps new birds will present themselves to me? I will let you know what I find…next time.

One week later…I returned to the spot where I left my faux-feathered friend and he was no longer perched upon the branch where I left him.  I was able to locate most of him scattered on the sand except for one wing.  My guess was that he was felled by a well-aimed and thrown rock.  The head was shattered and will need to be replaced provided  I recyle these pieces back into a bird again.

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Guardian of the Bottle Tree

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Louisville, Kentucky, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 24, 2012| 12 Comments »

On a variable day where the sun played hide and seek among the clouds,  I visited the Falls of the Ohio to see what there was to see and experience.  Thus far, Spring is shaping up to be much warmer than normal and many different  plants in the city where I live have flowered early.  I was curious to see if this pattern was holding true with the trees out by the river? Upon arrival, I could see that the trees hadn’t “leafed-out” and so I directed my attentions to a slightly high and wild river.  I began looking for river treasures when I met this strange fellow.

He called himself the “Guardian” and he was doing the same thing as me.  Namely walking along the edge of the river and picking up objects that were washing ashore.  The water level has been high and many of the youngest willow trees were poking out of the sand like large hairs on the back of some big animal you can’t totally see because it’s that huge.  I tagged along with the Guardian and we conversed freely.  It’s funny how no two beings react in the same way to the “treasures” the river offers up.  For example, people are always trying to give me driftwood that they think I will like.  Rarely, am I attracted to their finds.  Driftwood aesthetics is a matter of personal taste as is the attraction for all the other stuff that washes up here.  I didn’t think anything at all as the Guardian started collecting plastic bottles.  While those bottles held little interest for me…the polystyrene chunks I was stuffing into my collecting bag held no interest to the Guardian whatsoever.

The Guardian was keying on green plastic bottles in particular.  I had to know why these bottles and what was he going to do with them?  And then there was the added mystery of his name.  If he’s the Guardian…what is he guarding?  My new friend said he would be glad to tell me, but it would in fact, be easier to show me.  Together we walked up the shore to the tree line where my new friend had a project he was working on.

I was amazed to see that he had planted a river-polished cedar trunk into the sand and had attached his green plastic bottles to the nubs that were once branches of this tree.  Judging by his project’s progress…he had been hard at work before I ran into him.  Here’s another view that shows where he positioned his bottle tree.

He told me he had been doing this activity once a year for many years and that he is called the Guardian because he is the protector of this particular ritual.  It’s purpose is to awaken the coming of Spring after a period of dormancy.  There are other beings like himself that are scattered across the planet and serve the same or similar functions through their various rituals.  As he added new bottles to his tree, the Guardian chided me in a friendly way saying did I think the seasons just transitioned on their own? The Earth in fact needs the help of all who love her to keep her from falling into neglect.  The Earth needs to know that folks do care because that extra bit of genuine concern is important and provides the extra energy needed to sustain everything that lives.  Otherwise, this huge task is simply not worth it and the world slips into apathy and falls back asleep.

As the Guardian spoke to me, large dark clouds started gathering overhead.  The first large drops of rain began falling in the sand around us.  It was time to go and I parted company with my new friend.  I thought about what he told me.  I guess I hadn’t considered that the very planet might also be alive and would respond positively knowing that others simply cared.  As I walked home I said a little prayer of my own inside my head and awaited the further greening of the world.

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Goofy Guy

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on March 19, 2012| 10 Comments »

Welcome to another adventure set in the western section of the Falls of the Ohio State Park.  As promised, here is what amounts to part two of my last entry.  On this particular day I was involved with two sculptures made using found materials. The first was the Banana Palm Mockingbird that I was photographing when I was taken by surprise by this odd character that I call the “Goofy Guy”.  He walked out of no where (scared the bird away) and announced himself to me.  I was working intently with my camera and not paying much attention to what else was around me.  Let that be a lesson to me in letting my guard down.  Anyway, here is a picture of him.  Luckily, my absurd visitor was a very friendly chap!

You can see why he’s the Goofy Guy with his asymmetrical face and huge smile.  He seemed really curious about what I was doing and so he tagged along with me for an hour or so.  One of the first things he did was show me this tree that a beaver or beavers had gnawed.  It never occurred to me that beavers might be capable of climbing trees?  I could have this all wrong, but I’m not certain what else is around here that could do this type of damage? Might be some other mysterious critter that I have yet to come across.

I was working my way down the river bank and snapped this image of my new friend standing on a set of concrete steps.  Hmm…another mystery presented itself.  Although I have always acknowledged in my brain that these steps are out here…I have not considered for very long why they are here to begin with?  Obviously, this thing did not just float in with the high water!  In different areas out here, you do come across building foundations that preceded the formation of the state park.  Is this evidence of that or did someone go to great trouble to dump this here like so much back fill?  It certainly would take some energy to do this.  On the other hand, if these steps actually were attached to a building…who would build a structure this close to the Ohio River and for what purpose?  Is this the remains of a boat house?   Where is the rest of the house?  The mystery just deepens!

Since it was an unseasonably warm day…the Goofy Guy decided to cool his feet off.  Waves from the river were lapping the shore line.  If my friend isn’t careful he could easily fall into the river.  Then again in his case, he would just float off to some other distant place.  I believe the flower-like object on his head may be part of some large bubble wand…I just thought of that.  Over the years, I have collected many smaller wands and I should show you that collection at some point in this riverblog.  Always good to have something saved for a rainy day.  I’ll add that to my other esoteric river collections.  If you notice, Goofy Guy is missing the talisman he had on his chest.  It must have fallen off while we were having fun.  I think it was a plastic cookie cutter perhaps to make gingerbread men?  The day was wearing on and so I was working my way back to the Interpretive Center.  I was soon to say good-by to my new acquaintance, but before that happened I created a last series of images of him.

We stopped by a large tree that fell over a year or so a go and Goofy Guy climbed up on the tree’s root mass.  To me, he looked like a preacher on his pulpit.  I wondered later what topic he would elaborate upon and hoped it would have something to do with respecting nature and environmental responsibility.  This image shows the tree better.

Tired, thirsty, and hungry I bid my friend farewell.  I wonder if he is still hanging out or did he attach himself to some other people?  The next time I’m in this section of the park…I’ll make a point of looking him up.  Thanks for hanging out with me and engaging the many mysteries surrounding this special place in the world.

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Palm Saturday

Posted in Absurd, animal art works, Art, art and environment, birding, collections, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, public art, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 18, 2012| 8 Comments »

Dear readers…I have so much to post and have fallen a couple of weeks behind.  The work a day world has been extra busy (and rewarding) of late.  Still, I have made time to go to the river and “do my thing” to maintain my peace of mind.  It’s time now to post my images and tell a story.  The following post occurred two weeks a go when the river was high and I decided to spend the day in the western section of the Falls of the Ohio State Park.  At this point, I was fairly certain that the materials I found and cached at my outdoor studio in the eastern section were either gone or the river was about to take them.  I ventured forward-looking for “fresh” materials and opportunities.

My walk took me past the marvelous tree that the local kids (among others) like to use as a hang out.  I can imagine many potential childhood memories centered around this tree for the folks who grew up with it.  On this day everything was quiet and in fact I didn’t see anybody out here at all.  That bodes really well if you want to see wildlife.  It has been so unseasonably warm…that I wonder how that will affect how spring unfolds this year?  Later we would set several records for high temps in the lower 80’s for early March!!! Technically, it’s still winter here…very odd indeed.  I had heard that a pair of bald eagles were attempting to set up a nest in the far western section of the park and I was hoping to see at least signs of the birds.  I wasn’t lucky on this day with the eagles, but I did come across a few other interesting wildlife objects courtesy of the Ohio River.  For example, here’s the first goldfish I’ve found out here.

This fish stood out against the river pebbles like a red beacon.  I could have found it with one eye closed! We have other invasive carp species out in the river now, but this was a new one.  An actual goldfish probably wouldn’t stand much of a chance against the river’s natural predators.  The non-native carp that have entered the river system eat constantly and grow really fast and large.  It will be a great challenge to rid the river of them. I picked up the neon goldfish and dropped it into my collecting bag.  Here’s what I came across next in the way of wildlife.

Swimming at the river’s edge I stumbled upon this golden sea turtle.  It was playing among the bubbles and rootlets.  Again, here was an image that was unnaturally beautiful…like the current weather.  The pattern we have been experiencing is that the river will rise and then fall in quick succession as the Army Corps of Engineers regulates the water level for commerce and flood control.  Walking even further west I came across this “elephant’s graveyard” of plastic and my heart sank.  You can pick this stuff up all day long and it seems the next day gives you a fresh supply. Sometimes it feels like you are rolling that proverbial rock uphill only to have it roll back down.  What’s happening up river from us?

As you can see…it’s not a pretty picture.  Mostly plastic containers like old milk jugs and laundry detergent packaging.  As this plastic weathers and breaks down from UV light, the pieces keep getting smaller and smaller without ever completely disappearing.  The next stop could be the Gulf of Mexico. I found one other notable object and set it up among the still bare branches awaiting the new leaves of the year.  This is also the first time I have come across one of these things.

It’s either an artificial palm or banana tree?  As the day continued to warm I wondered to myself about how plants might be reacting to climate change?  Are the warmer weather plants moving northwards and what else will this change? While I was musing on this I received an answer in a most unlikely form.  My “banana palm” was visited by an unusual bird.

Here’s another first! Leave it to the only Banana Palm Mockingbird to find the only banana tree around here.  I watched transfixed as the bird explored the tree and the surrounding area.  A bird of this species is more likely to be seen in Central America than mid America.  I don’t know much more about it.  I saw it investigate the river’s edge for food and here are a couple more images to prove it was here.

Here’s the mockingbird with Louisville’s skyline visible on the opposite shore.

The mockingbird didn’t hang out for very long and soon it was time for me to head back.  I’m going to be off for the next couple of days and will attempt to post more of my adventures…if the call of the river doesn’t get me first!  Have a great weekend everybody!

 

 

 

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The Water Weasel

Posted in Absurd, animal art works, Art, art and environment, collections, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, recycled art, Styrofoam, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on March 3, 2012| 12 Comments »

Twenty four hours later, people in the Kentuckiana area are still trying to absorb what happened yesterday.  A monstrous tornado completely wiped out several small communities including the town of Henryville which is about twenty miles from my home in Louisville.  It’s a scene of complete destruction and there was loss of life all along the course of this twister.  Believe it or not, we were anticipating that this could happen.  Meteorologists were telling us that the conditions were right for violent storms. I was sent home hours early from work as were many other people in town to take shelter in our basements and safe places.  I wonder how much worse it would have been without the advance warning?  Thus far, we are more than double the usual tornadoes normally seen in the early spring.  Throw away your Farmer’s Almanac…I’m not sure it describes the physical environment we now live in.  It seems we are living in extreme and unstable times.  Pick your poison, too hot, too dry, too wet, too many powerful storms, too many natural disasters.  I hope this won’t be a dangerous spring…but it is already off to a bad start.  My heart goes out to all the people affected by this tragedy.

I’ve watched the local news on television and read the morning newspaper.  I feel like escaping and so I go to the Falls of the Ohio.  I see just one other person all day, otherwise, it’s sunny, windy, and the river is rising.  The tall figure I made last weekend is gone!  Not a trace…nothing.  I guess it got up and walked away.  To haul something that big out of here takes some effort and commitment.  I head down to the water’s edge which is creeping up the bank.  As the waves crash against the shoreline, I’m scouting for the flotsam and jetsam the river gives me as gifts.  Here are a few of today’s finds.

I believe this might be a teething ring for a doll?  It’s tiny and the black object next to it is an ordinary plastic bottle cap which is a good gauge of scale.

And now for another object whose identity I’m not sure of!  My guess is this is some plastic toy vegetable?  Anyway, I dropped it into my B. Deemer Gallery collecting bag and moved on.  My fake produce collection keeps getting bigger!

In my hand, I’m holding a plastic smiley fish!  Probably a child’s bath tub toy. And now, for my favorite find of the day!

When I find something like this I wonder how long it’s been in the river?  It could be years based on the patina it has acquired.  I was admiring the frogman when I saw something else moving along the driftwood.  I froze so I would not scare it away.  From memory I quickly recognized it as a Water Weasel which is a seldom seen animal in these parts.  Carefully, I eased my camera up to my eye and recorded these images in quick succession.

The Water Weasel is an unusual mammal.  It’s always on the move and it’s always hungry.  Rarely do you see more than one of these critters at a time.  It can probably only stand its own specie’s company during the mating season. The Water Weasel is also extremely secretive and so it’s exceptional to spot this guy.  As it comes closer to my position…I realize why it hasn’t seen me.  The weasel is chasing something and is focused on its quarry.

The Water Weasel has relentlessly pursued its prey across wood and sand and made its kill.  This time the victim is a small White-footed Mouse that had the misfortune of crossing paths with this predator.

The mouse disappears with a few bites and with a quick lick of the lips the weasel vanishes into the nearby driftwood mound.  The whole predator/prey relationship crosses my mind.  It’s not about picking winners and losers…nature is indifferent and has no stake in the outcome.  I notice it is getting colder and the wind has picked up again.  I can hear the logs crashing into one another in the river and making that sound which I associate with the grinding of teeth.  A drop of water falls from my runny nose.  It’s time to go home and cross the bridge back into Louisville.  I wonder how high the river will rise?

Postscript:  The Water Weasel is similar to another small mammalian predator known in folklore as the River Ghost.  Here is a preserved specimen from the collections of the Museum of Unnatural History.

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Studio 2012, A New Beginning

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, environmental art, public art, recycled art, sculpture, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 27, 2012| 6 Comments »

On an absolutely beautiful day I recorded these images of my latest found materials sculpture made at the Falls of the Ohio.  The morning started briskly, but warmed up enough that I felt comfortable taking my jacket off!  Around here, we were wondering if winter would ever arrive and now that it’s late February…we are beginning to have our doubts.  Without question, this has been the warmest winter I can recall around here.  At first, I had the park to myself and I began my day scrounging the river bank for materials.  After a couple of hours, I had enough river polished polystyrene assembled at one area that my latest outdoor studio was born.  As long as the river doesn’t swamp this spot anytime soon…I should have enough materials to keep me busy for a while.  Here is my first image of my latest Falls of the Ohio atelier.

It’s mostly Styrofoam chunks in various sizes, but you can see other stuff as well.  I found an interesting sign written in black marker that looks to be quoting the price of various scrap metals.  The sign is so crudely made that I wondered if some backyard entrepreneur was collecting aluminum and copper for later resale to a salvage yard?  That makes it a true sign of the times as metal of all varieties becomes increasingly valuable.  I also have a section of fire hose I salvaged.  It’s canvas-covered rubber and it’s just the right kind of thing that one of my stone carving friends could use.  When a particularly heavy piece of stone is moved, pieces of fire hose are used to protect both the stone and the ropes from abrasion as the stone is lifted by crane.  I found an especially long length of fire hose after the big driftwood fire of the early summer.  That fire must have caught the fire fighters by surprise because I can’t imagine why such a large length of perfectly good hose would be cut and abandoned?  I also found a Styrofoam life ring and various odds and ends I may use when I make my own brand of sculpture.  The following are images that show the progression of this day’s figure as it came into being.  First, I started with a large section of lightweight material that I heard one old-timer call fiberglass?  I’m not sure that it’s made of that, but it definitely is not polystyrene.  I hammered some legs into it with a board and set it upright.  I’ll let a few of the photos speak for themselves as the figure comes together.

The head is made of various found plastic fragments.  The head crest is composed of a half of a frisbee and the hard bristles of a large push broom.  The ears are the bottoms of aluminum cans which suggest ear spools.  Here is a detail of the head.

He’s a handsome guy in a Mayan sort of way isn’t he?  After assembly, I reposed the figure at different places near my studio and ran into some new friends.  This is Annie and James who were at the Falls enjoying a little photography of their own.  They had seen my work out here before and now they have a name and face to go with the artist.

After a nice visit with the couple, I reposed my piece to face the river and took these parting images while soaking up all the fresh air and light.

I’ll be curious to see how this figure survives until my next visit.  Should he disappear…I’m not too worried.  I have more materials at my outdoor studio and more arriving daily including a couple of huge Styrofoam chunks too heavy to move! Here’s one photo of what must have been a section of a boat dock.  See you next time around from the Falls of the Ohio.

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