Sculpture Celebration @ Pepper St!
ON DISPLAY
October 5 - December
The Sculpture Celebration collection at Pepper Street showcases works from this year’s Simply Elemental show at the Hahn Horticultural Garden at Virginia Tech. Some of the more robust pieces that can withstand the weather have been relocated to the Montgomery Museum’s grounds on Pepper Street.
An example is David Pearce's copper sculpture "Swinger." Inspired by Alexander Calder and Henri Matisse, David hung his swing from two ropes tied to a tree limb. The outstretched figure in the swing appears to be in motion with her hair blowing in the breeze.
Sue Hossack's fish in the “Forest Aquarium” also blow, or rather swim, in the breeze. Each fish has it own personality. One has eye lashes and lipstick. Sue uses a process called quilling to create art from paper, but the outdoor venue called for a material that could survive the elements. But then the fish started to collapse and sink in the middle. "It's just an engineering problem," said the computer engineer. Pipe cleaners solved the problem.
Many of the art pieces in this collection were made from objects found on the artist's property. Terry Warthen lives on a creek with a low water bridge, so he often finds new treasures such as this log with a hole in it. It looked like the perfect home for a pileated woodpecker family. Gourds became the woodpeckers.
Linda Correll's "Curiosity Got the Cat" is a 13-foot-long Cat-a-pillar made from large ash logs cut into slabs. Her husband and son had to help with the heavy lifting, but the piece comes apart into five sections for transport. Inspired by Alice in Wonderland, this whimsical piece sports vibrant colors.
Pam Goff uses all kinds of found objects in her mixed media pieces. She is know for the semi-precious gems and minerals in her works, but the humble rock or scrap of glass or metal also finds its way into her mixed media works such as "Stopping for a Sip in the Butterfly Garden." Granddaughter Serene helped paint the flowers.`
The Textile Artists of Virginia (TAVA) collaborated on "The Ringing of the Bluebells." Bluebells symbolize constancy, humility ,and everlasting love, but they are also associated with fairies and witches, so they lend themselves to many artistic interpretations. Made from fiber, ribbon, felt, and pipe cleaners, the bluebells are displayed on shepherd hooks, garden flag stands, a light fixture, and even bicycle wheels.
Save Damon Brewer's sculpture for last and hope it is getting dark or you will just have to wait. This one lights up. Inspired by the stored energy in flower buds, Damon and his fellow artist Braden used parametric design to create a 3D printed sculpture. But how does it light up when there is no place to plug it in? The sculpture uses 3D printed buds fit over industrial hose. Internally to each cluster, LEDs are wired to a solar recharge circuit and activated at sunset by a Light Dependent Resistor. If it were easy, everybody would be doing it.