6th Annual Yew Dell Sculpture Show load-in

After sitting out for two years, we decided to display some of our sculptures in the Yew Dell Outdoor Sculpture Show again.

 As we loaded up last Monday, we were treated to a full double rainbow (best that I've ever seen!) - I take this as a good omen.  There were ripples of multiple rainbows inside the main arch.  The photograph didn't catch the colors well, but you can see the intensity inside the main part.  The panaramic feature also made the stone studio (right) look really "contemporary".

 I made a crate for Meg's "Daphne" stone sculpture.  We loaded it onto the back of her crane truck and made everything ready for the 70 mile trip.

 Tuesday Morning, a 23 ton crane from JBB, Inc. of Hardinsburg showed up at the studio.  We loaded some of our pieces onto his truck and we made our way to the gardens.

 Dereck Sheroan lifted the first piece into place, which was the base for Meg's "Lilly".

 No sooner was the sculpture in place, that a Mockingbird claimed "Lilly" as part of its territory.

 I set my "Exposure" stone sculpture under some nearby bushes.

 Next, we set a functional (bench) sculpture of mine titled "Entwined Seedlings".

 "Daphne" was placed in front of a Lilac that was in full bloom.  This is the "showstopper" - by far, the best piece in the show this year.

 We moved the crane over to an area near the back of the gardens.  After leveling the ground, we set up Meg's "Otter in Lilly Pads" inside a fountain basin.  Meg fixed up the pump, added water and an electric line - it's ready to go!

My torso sculpture "Summertime" was the last piece of ours to set up.  It was a super-long couple days getting everything ready and installed.  I'll be happy to take my time during the opening on May 17, 5-8 p.m. so that I can take a good long look at the other sculptures in the show. (all photos copyright 2013 Meg White).

Cahokia

While in St. Louis on Sunday, Meg and I went to Cahokia Mounds.

 This is Monk's Mound...and it's impossible to capture the sense of scale in a photograph.  It is 100 feet high and there are tiny figures going up the left side (if you look close).

 It is almost exactly the same size, height and shape as the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, Mexico.

 Follow the line of the stairs, across the modern road and the grass-covered "courtyard" is a truncated pyramid that is very similar to the Pyramid of the Moon at the same Aztec site as the Pyramid of the Sun.  Coincidence?

 Then, looking a little east of The Pyramid of the Moon (or whatever they call it), is the Interpretive Center.  I wish that we had more time to see it, because we got there about closing time.  It is GREAT!!!   Unlike the Ft. Ancient museum in Ohio, which didn't have hardly any Ft. Ancient culture artifacts, this center focused on the importance of the Cahokia culture and the singular nature of the site.

To the west of Monk's mound, is a reconstruction of 1 of 5 woodhenges that they unearthed.  They also found a decorative pottery beaker (lower left in the photo) near the main siting post ...which is strange...because they discovered a decorative pottery beaker near a main siting post at Stonehenge in Great Britain.  Coincidence?

 From the top of the largest pyramidal mound, also toward the west, you can see downtown St. Louis.  There is no mistaking that skyline - the Arch is like nothing else in the world.  (all photos copyright Meg White 2013).

St. Louis Installation and Laumeier Sculpture Park

On Sunday, April 28, Meg and I made the 270 mile trip to St. Louis to install my stone sculpture "Revelations".

 After riding 6 hours in Meg's "new" truck, we arrived safely with the sculpture at a private residence on the south side of the city.

 The installation went smoothly, and the piece looks natural in its new setting.

 This is a close-up of the sculpture.  The Indiana Limestone fits in nicely with the Missouri Limestone on the home and the bed of crushed Missouri Red Granite.

 Laumeier Sculpture Park was only 2 miles from the site!  It was an excellent treat to walk the grounds on a fresh spring day.  This is "Eye" by Tony Tasset.

 I've always been a fan of Mark Di Suvero.  He has an excellent sense of design and implied movement in his metal sculptures.  This one is titled "Bornibus".

 It's difficult to get a sense of scale in photographs - this sculpture, "The Way" by Alexander Liberman is HUGE!!!.  It's made from recycled oil tanks.

 One of the cool things about the park, besides scale, is the variety of colors and textures in the sculptures.  I thought this image of "Sugabus" by Robert Chambers in the distance was well complemented by "Alpha" by Beverly Pepper.

 "St. Loui Bones" by Robert Stackhouse appealed to my Viking heritage.

Laumeier has one weakness - there are very few stone sculptures.  I think that under this "Christo-like" winter wrapping is 1 of only 3 stone sculptures on the grounds.  I think that it is "Aurelia Roma" by Manuel Neri, but it's hard to be sure.  (all photos copyright Meg White 2013).

Bird Bath Installation and John Hartford Pre-Party

On Friday, April 26, Meg and I went to Yew Dell Gardens to pick up a bird bath that they had sold for me.

 I delivered and installed it into a private garden behind a home in Middletown.  The intimate space was extremely well designed with an ample use of natural stone.

 My bird bath found a good home - appearing to spring up naturally, out of the ivy.

 While in town, we went over to the Burkhart Company for the John Hartford Memorial Pre-party. There were several live bands that played in the large space of the custom cabinet business owned by Tom Burkhart:   Whiskey Bent Valley Boys, 220 Breakers, Dave McCool, Steve & the Installers and The Ebony "Cat House" Band.

 An unexpected treat was to see the set up in the basement where a friend of Tom's was making custom guitars and bass guitars from old whiskey barrels.  You can see the preforms of the guitar bodies in this picture.  I was told that the dense wood made for a deep bass sound in the finished instruments.

 Meg and I wondered into the attic, too.  This huge building is on the historic register, having been built around 1880.

It was used as a factory for making burlap sacks and bags.  This is an "artifact" from those long-ago days.

(all photos copyright Meg White 2013)

Seedling to be installed in Robert T. Webb Sculpture Garden

The weather has been abysmal for weeks now.  Spring is late in coming this year...and snow is expected tonight.

 The greatest news is the impending acquisition of the monumental Georgia Pink Marble sculpture "Seedling" to be installed in the Robert T. Webb sculpture garden in  Dalton, Georgia.

I'm also happy to announce that the "River Boat Bench" will be featured in the "Art on the River" Temporary Public Art show in Dubuque, Iowa.

The small limestone sculpture "Thank You" was acquired while in the ReVision art show in Louisville, Kentucky.

Recently, a crane lifted the sculpture-in-progress "Ecliptic" upright.

I wanted to make "Honorable Mention" of some recent purchases.  This is a 10 guage 100 foot extension cord by Yellow Jacket (bought from Amazon.com).  While it's an expensive investment, it supplies adequate amperage to large tools, like grinders and drills.  So many tools in the past have armatures burned up from using regular 100 foot extension cords (which are usually made with the lighter 14 guage wire).

I am VERY happy with the Howard Leight "Sync" headphones and the Sansa "SanDisk" Mp3 player (also from Amazon).  The headphones block out the sound of the tools, and the music gets me into 'the zone' quicker, and keeps me working longer.  I drilled a small hole in an Altoids box, fit the cord through it and filled the hole with a small amount of silicone to keep the dust away from the player.  The altoids box fits in my pocket, I slide the cord up through my shirt and plug it back into the headphones.

I end this week's post with the comparison of the "Medicine Wheel" earthworks in Kentucky (across the river from Portsmouth, OH) with the diagram on Quantum Atom Theory.  I'm not suggesting that there is any connection; it's just for your entertainment.  No one knows the purpose of the earthworks - it wasn't used for burials, fortification or habitation.  Yet, it was certainly intended to be viewed from high above, like our modern 'crop circles'.

Raven Rock

While in Portsmouth, Ohio recently, I was told about a cool place called Raven Rock.

Take 53 west of town and look for this sign directly across the road from Riverside Park.  You'll notice a white church on the right (north) side - same side of the road with the trail.  There's also a school just past the park on the south side of the road.

After a steep climb, I saw what I thought was the rock that "looked like a Raven with swept back wings".

When I got on top of that, I could see further up the ridge.  Behind those branches is the actual Raven Rock - way up there on top of the hill.

 
When you finally make the steep climb, you are about 500 feet above the Ohio River.  These are the bridges into Portsmouth which is upstream from the rock.
 
This is a small natural arch to the right of the rock.
 
In the foreground of this picture, you can see a sign that explains how the indians used this vantage point to scout out settlers coming down the river.  They would send out raiding parties from the Scioto River.  It's quite a view and worth the effort.

Murals of Portsmouth, Ohio

I recently had the chance to see the murals in Portsmouth, Ohio. They are painted along the flood walls down by the Ohio River. They are about 20 feet high and a half mile long...and quite impressive!
 

Starting at the up-river end, they show scenes from the first human inhabitants, up through time to the modern age. I was instantly knocked off-center by this rendition that shows a complex earthworks that leads across the Ohio River to a concentric circular earthworks on the Kentucky side.

This overview shows the complex. My inquiries uncovered the fact that most of this incredible site no longer exists. Only one of the smaller horseshoe-shaped mounds is intact in a Portsmouth park. The concentric mounds in Kentucky have been all but completely obliterated by years of plowing over the top of them. This should be a world heritage site; it needs to be reconstructed and saved for future generations.

The rest of the murals were also educational.

 

They showed every aspect of the area.

 

It gave a glimpse into the city's past.

 

It showed the importance of early industries.

 

I'm only showing a tiny portion.

 

There is more to Portsmouth and the area than meets the eye.

If you get a chance, check out the murals. I definitely recommend it.