Report from the trenches

So much for daily postings.... I've been so active doing things that exhaust me that there's been no time to record what those things have been. September 20-24 were a great whirl of setting up at ArtPrize which required solving a variety of problems to address needs for both of my activities–sculpting my log and providing a sandstone carving experience for all comers.

But before I have to stop writing this, I want to announce that I my log and I have moved from our original location to a better one  a half block away.  I am now tcuked behind the Grand Valley State University sign in front of Eberhard Center on Front Ave. very near the Blue Bridge. Why? Because this is where there is an electrical receptacle to power my tools. So my activities are split up now. The sandstone carving is still at the tent (we REALLY didn't want to move the ton-and-a-half of stone parked there...) and I move back and forth.

The weather was obliging the first few days. It only rained once that mattered. But we also had the automatic sprinklers to contend with. Although I'd been assured before I set up that the sprinklers were all off, they weren't. The computer program just kept trying to keep that grass green, green and things in and out of the tent and underfoot got wet, wet, wet. We think they're turned off now and will see later today after I go to South Haven and  St. Joe to fetch other sculptures home before going to GR. See you here or there?

Ta-da! My Log Takes a Trip to ArtPrize

All day yesterday was spent figuring out how best to get my beech log ready to be transported to my exhibition area on Grand Valley State University's Pew Campus in the heart of Grand Rapids. I spent a couple of days physically looking for just the right base/support system that would keep the log up off the ground and accessible to be worked upon.  The challenge was to reuse/recycle something that would not be ugly, dangerous or require too much fussing and adapting to the purpose. I brought home several possible solutions from the Clark Material Handling warehouse and then about 2a.m. Thursday I saw what I needed right in own gallery window! It was the wheeled cart I'd used in the first ArtPrize to support a hanging sculpture for my display at Huntington Bank (a wonderfully gracious hosting venue, by the way!) The cart was hidden under its display shelf, but when I removed the skirting and took a measure, I was elated. The next afternoon I began searching for the proper sized rod or tube to attach to the log that would slip into the pipes on the cart. My friend, Alan Weathers stopped by and was kind enough to lend a hand and back and mind to helping me. We managed to carefully rotate the log so it was belly up and hen lifted the cart on top to mark where the "feet" would be inserted.


After cutting pieces of steel rod to the proper length with a reciprocating saw, I drilled the holes, mixed a bit of epoxy to secure the rods and then placed the cart onto the rods..well, that would be the ideal story.... The fact is that the rods were not perfectly aligned on one end so we took the cart off and I adjusted one hole and then another and after six or seven times, the rods slipped into the pipe sleeves properly and so the log now could move–well, if it was right-side-up it could move.

Now it was time for my Granny Smith green forklift (which I named Gramercy Melville for a kind applegrower who befriended me on a Scottish train once) to do his part lifting the log upright. But Gramercy would not start so I put the battery charger on while Alan and I rotated the log manually and got the straps placed in preparation. It took three false starts/battery rechargings before I realized that I had not turned the propane on! Duh! It was nearly dark now, but with the forklift happily sipping fuel and the hydraulic forks lifting the log while Alan pushed down so the casters couldn't roll away, we did it! The log was ready to roll–and did so smoothly and easily. During the waits between battery chargings, I cleared the path to where the flatbed would pick her up in the morning and reveled in how much more space I have in my outdoor covered work area now.

The other pre-Friday task was to arrange to transport a couple tons of sandstone we'll be providing for students and others to carve at ArtPrize in order to understand what the reductive sculpture process is like. Holland Alloys, a casting company in Holland has generously donated their sandcores, a non-toxic waste-material from making molds, for carving workshops I've done for various schools. So I asked again and sure enough, they said, Yes! I visited Todd Anderson, their plant manager to discuss logistics. He offered to sort pieces of from five to fifteen pounds into big reinforced cardboard boxes that could be transported on skids.

So I contacted a couple of towing companies to see if we could haul the sandstone and the log at the same time. Henry at Holland Towing said he thought we could so that's what happened. He loaded about 3500 pounds of stone at the front of the bed and the winch rolled the log up behind them. We strapped everything down securely and I followed to Grand Rapids. My view:

 

In Grand Rapids, we were met by Ellen Sprouls, the GVSU ArtPrize director and Leon from Pioneer Construction who made sure that my load got lifted off of Henry's flatbed truck and placed precisely as requested by their heavy-duty lift truck. Here's a partial side-view (I was too involved to take very good pix) of the load on arrival and below is how it looks now.

I screwed stakes into the grass and attached cables to be sure the log will not be reported careening through traffic with joyriders aboard. While doing this I was approached by two Kendall students who were shooting stills and video of every ArtPrize artist they can find. So they gathered some images that I look forward to seeing projected on a big wall outdoors next week.

After dropping off some materials for one of the upcoming high school workshops, I drove home to open the gallery. The weather seemed like it might rain and as I had forgotten to take my tarps, I phoned Ellen to ask her to cover up the sandstone and my log if possible. She scouted for coverings and called me back to ask me to phone Saugatuck painter Jim Brandess to see if she could use some of his plastic. I did; Jim said "Sure"; Ellen took care of it.

Try It! Scheduled Stone carving times at my Tube Station

These are the times when you can come to carve a chunk of sandstone into a "Mini-monument to Mother Nature" and become part of the collaborative sculpture project. There may be other times when the carving stations will be available, but these are the times you can count on:


Thursday 9/22  1-4pm

Friday 9/23-   3-7pm

Saturday 9/24 -3-7pm

Sunday  9/25  1-4pm

Saturday  10/1  3-7pm

Sunday10/2  1-4pm

Friday 10/7  3-7pm

If you'd like to retrieve your carving, you can come to pick it up on Sunday, October 9th, the last day of this year's ArtPrize. And remember to put your name or initials on your work so you will know which Mini-monument is yours (or your child's).

Marcia Goes To ArtPrize

Up a tree?

Not for long, I hope.

"What are you doing for ArtPrize this year?"

I will be sharing the process of reductive sculpting as one of Grand Valley State University’s exhibiting artists. A log I’ve had seasoning for over fifteen years will go through the final steps of shaping, smoothing and finishing. Meanwhile any and all visitors can try carving on chunks of soft stone and add their creative works to the collaborative assemblage of “Mini-monuments to Mother Nature.” Periodically I’ll be demonstrating working on trees and stones and discussing the age-old process of starting with something big and taking material away to reveal an inner beauty, a hidden truth.





Here’s what my beech log looks like at the moment. It began as an almost-solid cylinder that had considerable interior decay. I spent a long time in cramped conditions cleaning out the inside and then pierced through the walls. The wood is beautifully striped and colored where it has been inhabited by the microorganisms that gradually break down the hardwood and turn it back into dust and dirt.

It’s often a challenge to have room to work inside of a log. The openings offer a little better access. Maybe not everyone my age (or any?) would enjoy climbing on and crawling around inside of trees, but I find it fascinating to explore the unnoticed, untrammeled worlds of bugs and squirrels.

Already the play of light and shadow is emphasizing the dynamic contrast of textures. I’m beginning to have ideas about how it will serve to give people a chance to lean on or sit in making humans apart of the sculptural form. But it could take another direction. What do you think?

By the way, although my entry is listed as "In Progress" in the catalog, I've been calling this log the “Can-do-it Conduit” to cheer me on to finish it before ArtPrize is over. As it is evolving every day, I may need to rename it when it's clear what it is. Anybody interested in a "log-calling" contest?