Environmental Change in Garry Oak Ecosystems

Essay examines traditional ecological knowledge as it relates to contemporary environmental management practices for Garry Oak habitat...

http://www.uoguelph.ca/cedar/Pubs/pdfs/Pellatt%20and%20Gedalof%20Biodiversity%20and%20Conservation%202014.pdf 

bird-based color system

Fascinating article about the bird-based system behind Pantone colors...

http://hyperallergic.com/283388/the-bird-based-color-system-that-eventually-became-pantone/

freeflyflowflume

Last night I had a bad dream involving a grumpy giant.  Perhaps a holdover from yesterday's Presidential press conference.  The words on my lips upon waking this morning were 'fee fie foe fum...' which sort of creates a subtext to all the musing I've been doing over the past couple months trying to shape the conceptual framework for this project.

So this cross between a political nightmare and fairytale about a fantastic beanstalk and a terrible giant (originally printed as Jack the Giant-Killer circa 1711), may provide a little 'a-ha' moment in terms of unifying metaphor for our project.  Perhaps three centuries later, the anthropocenic version of this myth translates as free-fly-flow-flume...

free - Shorthand for 'blue tree'.  The freedom of those craggy Garry Oak branches blowing in the breeze, the seeds that scatter, germinate and grow.  A free-flowing cycle of life.

fly - A tag for 'bluebird boxes'.  A meditation on the wonders of flight, migration and ideas of home in nature.  The flight of imagination as children engage with ideas and materials as part of a learning community.

flow - Moniker for pump house images.  A celebration of the purity of clean drinking water and the infrastructure that provides it to Tacoma.  Also the mercurial nature of our hydrophilic world.

flume - An iconic moment for Oak Tree Park.  Commemorates the historic flume through an overlay of culture and nature carved as fossils in stone.  Perhaps a perch for for a crowning bird bath too.

'flow' at the pump house

A re-think on approach to pump house murals.

Per suggestions by Yuki and Rebecca at our December 12th committee review session, I'm considering a simpler approach to imagery and technique.  Instead of hiring a local mural artist to create 4 unique paintings for the 4 window openings, I'm now thinking about a more unified set of photographic images based on the larger concept of 'flow'.

What I'm considering is 4 highly iconic, visually-compelling images of blue water in various states of flux.  These images could be handled in the same manner as utility box wraps except they'd adhere to a plywood substrate that could simply be screwed into the existing plywood covered windows.

The advantages to such an approach are multiple.  Installation is a snap, 16 screws, done.  Using photographic imagery printed on vinyl sheet offers the ability to easily clean graffiti or if need be, readily replace with another copy stored on the digital file.  Since there is nothing unique about the reproduction, replacement costs are minimal.  And if, at any point, Tacoma Water determines there's a real issue with the installation, images can be quickly removed in a matter of minutes.

Below is an example of the kind of 4 image suite I'm considering...

tree paint

I've been doing a little research on how best to paint a tree.

We want to avoid anything that doesn't allow the tree to respirate, so oil-based paint is out.  Also want to avoid materials that will wash off in the first rain, so basic tempera paint is out.

I considered an egg-based tempera that a friend uses for his tree-painting projects, but he works on a much smaller scale.  Costs are prohibitive for painting an entire tree.  It also wouldn't last more than one season.

Then I came across the following article.  Though it's designed for use on young trees to protect the lower trunk, an application of diluted latex paint appears to be safe for our purposes.

They recommend applying by brush, but we may be able to use a sprayer to reach higher branches.  Obviously we'll need a lift as well.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/tgen/painting-tree-trunks-white.htm

LA biennial

Brief review of LA's first biennial with a focus on Water...

http://forecastpublicart.org/public-art-review/2017/02/going-with-the-flow/

Returning to Stone

I want to reconsider stone as a primary material again.  Thinking either a grouping of 2-3 large stones with some incised fossil imagery or a more involved construction of a mortared stone form. 

A light-colored stone would read well against the foliage and relate well to the pre-existing stones in the foreground.  Large stones could serve as a visual anchor and offer a place of informal play and discovery for children from the adjacent playground.  A mortared stone form could mimic a flume-like element. 

An informal seating/gathering area could be created as part of a flume-like vignette. 

Stone is easy to clean if tagged.  Depending on type, it is indestructible.  There would be no need for a footing.  A relationship between the meadow along 74^th, the landscape island in the parking lot and the quarry in the park could be established by simply placing a large stone with incised fossils at each location.

As I develop the material approach, weathering steel could be used judiciously as a contrast ‘binding element’ or an echoing frame for the stone.  Could also be a material tie-in with the bird boxes.      

The Heavy Lift

Concerns surrounding safety, vandalism, maintenance, visibility and overall 'heavy lift' of the flume piece linger.  Let's go through them one-by-one...

Safety.  While intricate patterns incised in metal can create some lovely visual effects providing additional depth of meaning, I'm concerned that the proximity of the proposed artwork could offer what is known as an 'attractive nuisance'.  My worry is that a piece of this scale could invite unintended interactive play and resultant injury (falls, cut fingers, etc).  This is something that requires lots of careful thought in an unmonitored site such as this.

Vandalism.  Aside from its naturally rustic quality, the beauty of weathering steel is that it requires little to no maintenance once installed.  There is no need for coatings, patinas or resurfacing...in fact, if weathering steel is coated or treated with any surfacing material it actually undermines its ability to naturally form a corrosion-resistant barrier.  Unfortunately, this feature can make it a temperamental material to deal with if attacked by graffiti.  Given the number of public artworks I've seen in Tacoma that are tagged certainly gives pause to working with such a vulnerable material. 

Maintenance.  Building on the concern about potential vandalism is the repair process required to restore areas impacted by removed graffiti.  Usually a combined process of solvents and abrasion is needed to remove graffiti—a process that strips away whatever patina has built up in that particular area, leaving a sort of ‘ghost’ that may or may not eventually blend with the rest of the piece.  

Visibility.   While weathering steel has a naturally-brown palette, this could work against its potential visibility as an iconic landmark.  Also questioning the visibility of any intricate metalwork against existing foliage.  To be able to read any imagery requires a fairly neutral background (a blank wall, the sky, etc).

The Heavy Lift.  I think I need to really spell out what this means in practical terms.  To be clear: I’m not talking literally about weight here.  What I’m really concerned about is the number of potential issues and processes necessary to create a successful piece given this initial approach.  I’ve mentioned several concerns above.

Others that I’m navigating involve placement of the artwork and its relationship to the ground plane.  Does it require a footing?  If not, should it be partially-buried?  What is the landscaping situation?  Should we bring in additional plantings or work with a simple ‘sculpture-on-lawn’ approach?  Is lighting desired?  If so, what type or approach (landscape uplighting vs. internal illumination)?  

What is flume’s relationship to other elements?  Does it relate to the bluebird boxes in terms of form, color, material, etc.?  Same question for blue tree and/or murals, etc.  There needs to be some esthetic/metaphoric cohesion between elements.  Do we achieve that by simply painting everything blue?  How does this work in terms of working with a more ‘natural palette’?

city tree field guide

Reading through an essay passed along to me about Portland's Heritage Tree Program and a free downloadable field guide entitled From Stumptown to Tree Town by David-Paul Hedberg.

The project invites the public to explore various historical research methods, get outside to see history in the real world and connect to themes in urban, social and environmental history.  The goal is to provide general audiences with a way to personally read and interpret the history of Portland through its Heritage Trees.

Wondering if a similar approach could be applied to Oak Tree Park in terms of creating some sort of online field guide.  Perhaps with tie-ins to the bluebird box project and additional background on Garry Oak habitat and importance to indigenous culture.  

https://www.pdx.edu/history/sites/www.pdx.edu.history/files/From-Stumptown-to-Treetown.pdf

flume forming

Thinking the piece could be a very simple and elegant scroll form.  Each edge would have a subtle sine wave and the piece of ½" to ¾" weathering steel would be rolled with a tighter edge facing the road and rolled more loosely towards the playground.  Less is more.  Let simple shapes, materiality and the play of light and shadow make the piece.  It's all about flow...

There could be a companion Stone with an incised fossil or 2.  Perhaps something that suggests some interrelationship.  Maybe a corresponding incised fauna or flora.  Restrained, simple, iconic.