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4/16/2013

6 Comments

Emergence from Winter

 
PLACEHOLDER TULIPS

Every year tulips planted by the last residents on this place open their petal-jaws and unfold bright red and yellow over an old stone laundry sink below the house. I’ve taken a picture every year since I came here. The tulips offer new expressions of themselves each year, that follow recognizable patterns. We could be fooled into thinking they are the same tulips. The background has been changing as the place evolves, as the work moves through.
Tulips

Revealing Form
REVEALING FORM
Much of my creative work this year has been involved with restoring the landscape around the studio and house. This winter we cleared tons of ivy, opening up Trickle Creek and its draw below the house. The creek drains ten or fifteen acres to the east and north. The watercourse rises by the blueberries at the top of the Refuge and runs down into Puget Sound, nine or ten months of the year. Decades of neglect and abuse had caused the old creek to present more like a drainage ditch and garbage dump when I first arrived. It flowed out of sight, silent through weeds.

Local ivy magician Daniel Marcotte directed a team that cleared the draw and brought in hundreds of reclaimed plants to restore the natural forest understory. While that was going on, Bill Lenker brought in many tons of granite boulders to define and ground the watercourse. 

Now flowing water sparkles, and sings, strengthened every time it rains. An occluded acre of the place has been opened up. At first it all felt too exposed; there was a sense of vulnerability. Now as the Indian Plum gets into full leaf, and the ferns begin to unfurl, it feels like revelation. Perception carries farther into the depths of the forest; dimension has been somehow doubled. The whole place feels larger—the invisible brought to light.

Ongoing Dance
ONGOING DANCE
 
Ring Dance No. 2/ CORE has been on Percival Landing in downtown Olympia, holding the ground at the corner of State and Water streets since last June, as part of the city’s year-long Percival Plinth outdoor sculpture exhibition. 

You already knew that, right? What you didn’t know is that a couple of weeks ago, Olympia's Parking Business Improvement Area decided to buy the piece for their Project for Public Spaces “Placemaking” initiative. Thank you, Olympia PBIA, for the recognition and support! Place it well. Sometime this year the piece will be moved to a new location downtown, not yet determined. I’ll let you know when I know. The rings will keep dancing in public.

While Ring Dance No.1 and No.2 make their way in world, No.3 and No.4, a relational set of two, entitled “DUET,” are still available. You can see them up by the entrance to the Refuge, by the blueberries.

NEXT DANCE

Last week I finished a smaller Ring Dance, composed of 30 six-inch steel rings sliced from an oxygen tank. The piece measures 42” tall, and stands in a space roughly 16” in diameter. I had this one galvanized and powder-coated, in fire-engine red. It stands out in a complex outdoor or landscape placement, and is small enough to be indoors as well. The working title was “Tiny Dancer” which has a fairly obvious baby-boomer cultural reference. Now that it’s finished, the piece begs to be called the more timely “OXYGEN.” Which do you prefer? [The piece has been sold, and lives in Milwaukee.]

Be well,
Don
OXYGEN
6 Comments
tom anderson
4/17/2013 02:31:30 am

wow, congratulations on the sale of Ring Dance to the city. A pleasant surprise for a Wed morning. You should stop by the studio when you are downtown to check out the floor project downstairs we are just finishing up, using torn kraft paper. Decoupage on steroids.

Reply
Barbara LaForge
4/17/2013 02:32:05 am

Don,

I am thrilled that the City, wisely, has purchased Ring Dance. It was one of my favorite pieces. I am only sad they are moving it because I really like coming upon it as I come down State St. and round the corner. Oh well, I look forward to coming "upon" it in a new location. Congratulations.

Reply
Jodi Bernstein
4/17/2013 04:36:26 am

I am thrilled about the revelation of Trickle Creek. Reading about it, I felt an answering revealation inside. Something previously occluded cleared, breathed and shimmered. Thank you for this joyous gift!

Reply
karen lohmann
4/17/2013 06:37:48 am

Don,
Ah, poetry in motion on many levels here and there. Thank you for the visual treats this day! Congratulations on the sale to the city! Fantastic
taste they are developing! I like the Oxygen name. Spring blessings,
Karen

Reply
Diana Moore
4/17/2013 01:41:28 pm

Congratulations, Don! And I love your work of restoration in that ancient and beloved area of our beautiful Sound.

Reply
Joanne link
4/18/2013 11:29:53 am

Great photos, Don!
Hope you get input on how "Ring Dance 2" is displayed.
I like "Tiny Dancer" :)

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    Don Freas
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    Don Freas is an artist, writer, and poet in Olympia, Washington.

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