Environmental Art

Over Labor Day we went camping at one of our favorite places — Abram's Creek in West Virginia — with our friends the Wilhelms. The campground has an artsy/new-agey vibe to it and we're always finding interesting creative contributions to the natural beauty of the woods and creek.

On my way to the port-a-john, I spotted a rusted pole and metal strap in a wood pile and my first thought was that I needed to find a way to take it home with us (hmmm...maybe leave a child behind?). Later, while sitting around the campfire, I read an article on guerilla art in one of Susan's craft magazines and — cue the clichéd light bulb going off in my head — I decided that making a piece of environmental art was what I should do.

The biggest challenge was how, with only a Leatherman for a tool, to fit the two pieces together. I struggled for a while until Rick Wilhelm offered his help and, between us, we were able to make it work. Rick helpfully suggested "Man's Inhumanity to Man" as a title, but an earlier story about Rick's South American colleague's use of an obscure word gave us the perfect name: "Protuberance, Number 7."

Knowing that the placement of a piece of environmental art is key to its success, I searched for the just the right spot to put it and a perfect rotting stump at the edge of our campsite. Protuberance, indeed! I hope Vince and the crew at Abram's Creek leave it it up so we can see it next time we're there.




If you want to see some legit environmental art, check out Robin Croft's impromptu work. Amazing!

Accidental Diorama

I found this photo while going through my archives and it reminded me of a summer spent collecting things, but not really making anything. I try to keep my stuff contained to the garage, but it just wasn't working and this was the result. I actually kind of liked how it looked, but figured it was best not to make enemies of the neighbors and/or lower property values so I eventually cleaned enough of it up to make it less of an eyesore.

Found, Part III

Found this two-part wood piece a couple weeks ago while camping with my son's Cub Scout pack at Pohick Bay Park. After camping, he and I went fishing along the Potomac and I found some great pieces of weathered wood, including this cool thing. It's more wood than rust, but it's still pretty sweet.

Found, Part II

Ever since the positive reception my rebar and concrete sculpture Fossil got at the Private Arts show opening in March, I've been on the lookout for more pieces like it. They're not very common so I wasn't expecting to find anything for a while, if ever. Imagine my excitement (yes, excitement) when I hit the jackpot not once but TWICE this past weekend.

The first came on Saturday at Lake Fairfax Park near our house in Reston. After dropping my son off for his fishing class, I went for a hike around the park and found a baby turtle, an entire deer skeleton, and a juicy piece of rebar and concrete just lying in the woods near a gravel road. I showed the turtle to my son and we relocated him to a safer spot, decided to pass on the deer skull (still a bit meaty), but went back in the car to pick up the rust. Pretty productive for a drizzly Saturday afternoon.

On Sunday, we spent a nice afternoon at the Workhouse Arts Center (more on that later) in Lorton then headed north to DC for dinner at Comet Ping Pong. After some great pizza and ping pong with the family, we left for home, passing through the fancy-schmancy neighborhood of Chevy Chase. The road at that point was really narrow (three lanes squeezed into the space of two normal lanes) and the houses were huge so I was alternating between watching the cars next to us, marveling at the houses, and scanning the sides of the road for anything of interest.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the tell-tale shape of broken concrete with a speck of orange that usually means rebar and my pulse quickened. I turned right at the next street and got the expected "Dad, where are we going?" from the back seats. I could feel my wife Susan's eyes rolling in her head when I said that I had "spotted something." Thankfully, there were no further questions as I pulled over, jumped out of the car, and lugged my heavy prize back to the car.

One of the best parts about this "art" that I do is the unexpected finds that happen every day. You never know when you're going to stumble across something really great and it makes every car ride or walk around the neighborhood a treasure hunt.

Found, Part I

I first saw this piece driving home from hanging work at the Private Arts show in Alexandria in March. I was still being cautious about lifting too much with my surgically-repaired back so regretfully left it beside the side of Lee Highway where it was resting against a sign. Last week, I found myself in the neighborhood again and decided not to let it slip my grasp. It's about 20" across and super-heavy, but well worth the effort of schlepping it back to the car at 10:00 at night.