Impromptu Sculpture-in-the-Wild
Shipwreck '08 and Shipwreck '09
The images of Shipwreck ’08 and Shipwreck ‘09 document two separate trips to the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge just south of the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge near Nags Head, North Carolina. My collaborator Michael Anthony, a Maryland ceramic artist, and I hauled driftwood lumber along a half-mile stretch of beach to a work area using a flat metal sled and rope harness. Nosed into the base of the same dune site, for Shipwreck '09 we drew a 13-foot-wide, 70-foot-long, 5-foot-high shipwreck, which was nearly twice the size of Shipwreck '08 (this area is known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic"). All of the wood was stacked, with only a few dozen pulled nails reused to stabilize certain areas. Nothing new was added to the beach. The sculpture-in-the-wild, or drawing, is left to the elements to be covered in sand or washed away. |

Shipwreck '08

Shipwreck '08 Under Construction

Shipwreck '08 Detail

Shipwreck '08 with Artist R. L. Croft

Shipwreck '09

Shipwreck '09 Under Construction

Shipwreck '09 Detail

Shipwreck '09 with Artist R. L. Croft
River Pool
River Pool is a ring of stones whose barrier forms an eye of calm in the shallow rapids of the Cacapon River, near its confluence with the Potomac. Once the floor of the river was cleared of large rocks, only a pebble bed remained underfoot. Using a single large stone as a comfortable pillow, one could lie peacefully in four inches of still water surrounded by the sound of rushing rapids. |

River Pool

River Pool Under Construction

River Pool with Artist R. L. Croft

Studio Sculpture
Silo
Silo, though not wheeled, parallels Sower (below) in its suggestion of mobility and impermanence. Made in eight sections, it appears to be a makeshift portable silage container resembling the bottom stage of a rocket body. The walls are constructed of scrap metal tubing from tents, pool skimmers, pipe, golf ball retrievers, artist easel tripods, signs, fish net poles, aluminum furniture, crutches, carpenter’s level, etc. Part of its ambiguity lies in whether the viewer sees the silo as a structure built for peace or war. |

Silo

Silo Viewed from Top
Sower
Sower is a subtle homage to van Gogh’s paintings of the same title in the form of an 11-foot-long maple seed (winged seed or “helicopter”) built in the manner of an airfoil. Its “skin” is primarily cut from screen door kick panels. It features handles, an access panel and a view port. Sower rests on its own dolly, or on the floor propped by a short pole. It also carries long poles and guy wires for temporary, fair weather outdoor display in an oblique upright stance that abstractly mimics van Gogh’s striding figure. |

Sower

Sower Viewed from End

Issue No. 24 ARTerrain : ARTerrain Home : Terrain.org Home
All sculptures, images, and titles in this ARTerrain Gallery are copyright © by R. L. Croft.
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