Baby Steps!

Yes, I have neglected my blog for too many weeks.

Alas! There is progress yet to be seen: ajunkjunkie.com. It's mine! All mine!!

Wahahaha. :D

Mobile in Montana

I left Montana in early September. It was a melancholy last few days. Matthew, the housemate for the summer, became more heart broken as my date with the Greyhound grew nearer . To occupy my last tens of hours, to use up craft materials that I didn't want to drag back to Oregon, and to say “Thank you” for an adventurous rent-free summer, I made a couple of repurposed gifts for my hosts.

For the head of household I made a small mobile which I hung up above the kitchen table. She had loved a gourd mobile we had seen in Lower Lake, California earlier in the summer (see previous post, “EcoArts of Lake County”). I had a nice selection of found objects and other trinkets in my craft stash left to utilize.

The structure is composed of willow branches from the yard. These are secured with scraps of leather rope (not vegan). The mobile dangles from the ceiling by an electrical wire. A disassembled rosary (gasp!) allows the bottle caps, aluminum heat sinks, and steel washers to sway in the kitchen breeze.

A small feather found in central Costa Rica is preserved between two pieces of clear glass secured together with aluminum tape.

A heart of wood spins around steel, aluminum, copper, glass, and plastic.

Dainty beads and charms add delicate tips of flare.

For Matthew: a bookshelf collaged with images and figures from a briefly used Geology lab manual. I ran out of images – that is why you can see areas of exposed wood. These bare spaces are on the backside of the shelf.

However, bare spaces don't matter much. I hear that this is now buried under Isaac Asimov science fiction novels. But in cold and (soon to be) snowy Montana, books are a must. And where there are books, there should be shelves.

(Miss you, Montana!)

EcoArts of Lake County

When in California visiting Dandelion Farm, (see "A Stroll Through Dandelion Farm,") my host and I went for a nice drive so that I could see a bit of rural Lake County. I was her driver, she was my navigator. At the time I wasn't sure specifically where we were headed, but I gathered that my navigator must be directing us around some lake after seeing signs for "Lower Lake," "Clearlake," "Hidden Valley Lake," and such. Near the southern end of our route - I'm driving along a winding road, sucking down a mango hemp milk smoothie I had picked up at some java hut cafe back in Middletown - my navigator says she saw a sign.

"A sign? What kind of sign?" I was busy drinking hemp and driving. I didn't see a sign.

"Eco art or something."

Oh, really? So we u-turn and look for a sign.

"EcoArts: Lake County Sculpture Walk."

We are both intrigued. We follow the sign, park in the gravel lot outside of a park entrance, and walk up to an opening in the fence. My host/navigator picks up a brochure: "7th Annual EcoArts: Lake County Sculpture Walk - 2009 Exhibit Guide."*

So we walk through Middletown County Trailside Park. I have my smoothie and a camera. She reads through the brochure. This is what we see:

Walking along the path, we first approach "Blind Ambition" by Karen Turcotte. It's a larger sculpture (my picture doesn't do it justice) composed of mini-blinds, bottle caps, and PVC (plastic #3). I say something obvious like, "Cool! It's a sculpture made with repurposed materials." My host smiles and nods, continues browsing the brochure, and walks on. I snap a few photos.

The second sculpture on the walk is "Joyride" by Glinda Addington.

It's a tower and stands tall over me. The foundation is a large rusted barrel, on top of which is a massive metallic lotus flower. Rusted iron rods rise around a dark statue. The lone figure stands before a gold sun and beneath a pink skull that is looking down from its third eye.

We turn right off the main path. Before us is "Sun," by Mary McGregor, a wood, fabric, and blue beaded sculpture that appears to represent sun and water. Beaded strings drip down like rain, and a bright yellow circle, composed of a weaved spiral, stands out from the backdrop of oaks.

"Travel Plans in Stone" by Kevin Byrnes is unlike the other pieces we've so far come upon. The totem is a mosaic of cut stone.

Upcycled colorful and printed fabric was sewn to make massive oak, ginkgo, and maple leaf tree ornaments by Shelia O'Hara and students.

Sherry Harris' “Garden Clutch” stood out among the previous. I stopped and gawked and thought, “that is just... beautfiul.” It was intricate, symmetrical, abstract, and stunning to look up into. Gourds gather in a woven mulberry branch sphere centered between two tall towers.

A “CommUNITY” project assembled by elementary age kids. A display of respect using both the natural and the synthetic - stone and plastic.

“The Old Fisherman and his Cranky Dog,” a sculpted scene near a drying lake, was created by James Douglas Marble.

Give a man a fish...

Steel bait.

My navigator/strolling companion was partial to this piece. As a gift to her, before I left Montana I made a small 'junkie' mobile inspired by this (see future post “Mobile in Montana”). “Diego's Mobile,” by Diego Harris, is a massive spinning sculpture created from found objects and colorful gourds. Someday, when I have a yard and a big tree in that yard, I'm making a massive hanging gourd mobile. Someday.

I was impressed by “Window of Opportunity,” from Lawrence Lauterborn. The brightly painted oak galls are exploding from a suspended window frame.

Anthony Johnson's “Eclipse” is a simple but stellar sculpture created from a wagon wheel and grinding stone.

“The Plight of Plastic – Something's Fishy in the Oceans” is right! Karen Magnuson uses the living surroundings and plastic garbage to represent some sea creatures.

The whale eye stares at its perceived plight.

The gull tangled in trash struggles for flight.

“The American Weigh,” a heavy set wisteria figure by JV Magoon.

Go kiddos! “We Can....” is another school project.

What can you do to save the planet?

You can “Create-with-Nature.” An interactive piece by Zach Pine.

There were several other pieces created with nature and other upcycled materials not pictured here - 23 total. These 15 were my favorites... and I had decent enough photos of them to post. I was buzzing from hemp and sugar, and California is also very hot. The art trail was awesome, but I found myself moving swiftly from piece to piece in an eager search of shade.

*(A special thanks to featured artist and EcoArts Executive Director Karen Turcotte for snail mailing me a copy of the brochure!)