Stepping away from the place where it was constructed revealed a whole new world for the Polystyrene Person to explore. The sun was shining and birds were singing and the Falls of the Ohio were once again turning green with emerging tree leaves. Driftwood was everywhere along the river and there were plenty of micro-environments to experience.
Being made of trash caused the Polystyrene Person to be less judgmental of the discarded man-made items it came across. An old inner tube became a tiny arena perfect for dancing.
A tough plastic cable captured by the willow branches during the last bit of flooding became another object of interest. The Polystyrene Person admired the graceful arcs and how the cable defined this bit of space. The white figure played with the cable by walking around and stepping through the loops. There was still more stuff snagged in other trees.
Discovering a fraying barge cable tangled in the willow branches and dragging on the ground gave the new figure an odd mental image. What if this was how the sky was tethered to the earth? What would happen if this cable broke? Would the blue sky with its flimsy clouds just drift off into space? Remembering that this was simply a rope caught in a tree brought the smile back to the figure’s face.
Standing among the roots of a fantastic willow tree, the Polystyrene Person marveled at how the tree maintained its grip on the earth. Beneath the larger roots was a dense mat of very fine rootlets that held the soil together.
The figure moved to the river’s edge and couldn’t wait to experience water. It was such an entirely different sensation than standing on solid ground. Cold water splashed up onto the Polystyrene Person’s face and being wet wasn’t the most pleasant feeling. The literal tug of the river caused the figure to scramble up on the roots of a nearby willow to keep from being drawn further into the liquid. Instinctively, the figure realized that it would be lost if the river was allowed to have too tight a grip. Pulling the Polystyrene Person back upon the shore, I explained it was time for me to go home. I offered two choices to my creation. It could stay at the river and face an uncertain but potentially exciting future where it more than likely would be destroyed by either nature or the hand of man. Or, it could go home with me and see a different part of the world. Perhaps because the river was a little scary, the Polystyrene Person opted to go home with me.
Because my hands were full…the figure opened my car door for me. It’s really a very polite and innocent being. During the short ride from the river to my house…I asked the Polystyrene Person what it would like to do? The figure replied that it would like to continue to be out in nature and so I found the perfect place in my yard for it. Happily, my latest creation takes pride in watching over my spring plants as they reveal themselves during the new season.
Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog 