The annual LandARTLab kicked off a few weeks ago at King Farm, in Woodstock, VT. Sculptures were scattered across acres of old farmland with magnificent views of the green mountains in the distance. Thirteen different artists contributed to the show, with sculptures ranging in media and content from tiemless abstract forms to current day political statements about mass school shootings.

It was a beautiful evening and visitors to the exhibit walked the land, taking in the art, while many set up for picnics as the steamy afternoon gave way to a proverbial August evening. Several groups of people stayed to watch the harvest moon rise over the works of art, and the picturesque King Farm landscape.

It was wonderful to have a chance to see many friends, old and new, and to have the chance to enjoy work from other artists. Edie, Cedar, Silas and I (and Leo of course) thoroughly enjoyed the evening. I felt especially blessed to share this opening with my dear Venezuelan friend, Sandro Oramas and his daughter, Alejandra who I have not seen for twenty years.  Sandro is a gifted photographer; we collaborated on various projects when we lived in San Francisco. I am hoping a peaceful transition will take place in his troubled country and a sustainable path forward will be pursued.

Currently, my stack of ancient roofing metal is beginning to dwindle. There may be enough material left for one or two more pieces, at most. The waste stream of pressure treated wood seems endless so I am sure I will be continuing to find ways to re-purpose materials. Hopefully soon I will be installing “Dormant” in the community garden of Hartland, thanks to the generosity of Todd Alexander, who purchased it in memory of his late father.

     My show at the AVA Gallery is coming to a close, and I have to say, I am very pleased with how it went. From putting the show together, to the opening reception, to the artist’s talk, I feel that the show has been a success.

     The opening reception was well attended, with several dozen people, both friends of mine and members of the local community, present. These particular sculptures are very interactive, and it was a pleasure to watch people enjoying them. People can touch them, walk under them, and a few people were even sitting on them. There was a musician present at the opening who immediately saw the sculptures as instruments and asked me if he could ‘play’ them. It is wonderful to see people interact with the sculptures in ways for which they were not initially intended. And it turned out, when the sculptures were banged on in different ways, that they did, in fact, produce very interesting tones.

I was also pleased with the turnout for my artist’s talk. About 20 people were present, some friends of mine and some who I had never met. I enjoyed getting to share with the audience about the process I have gone through putting this show together as well as a little bit of history in where I am coming from and what has sparked my interest in this kind of sculpture. It was a great opportunity to put my work in a little bit more context, and it was great to hear some questions and to be able to respond.

All four sculptures are for sale. However, any of them that don’t sell will be going to live at Sculpture Fest and King Farm, where they will continue their lives gracing the hills of Woodstock.

In the meantime, I will be continuing my explorations of art from repurposed materials. I have some new ideas that I would like to pursue, and, as the new work develops, I will continue sharing photos in my newsletter and here on my blog.

If you missed my artist’s talk, you can watch it here.