Sunday, June 27, 2010

Sand Sculpture Event 2010


The fun started Friday, June 18th when 300 tons of sand was dropped on Hampton Beach and Greg Grady's group of sand sculptors started pounding up the sponsor site. The entire area is illuminated for night viewing through June 30th. The event is funded by the Hampton Beach Village District and Sponsors, in cooperation with The Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce and The NH Division of Parks.

This was my first time sculpting sand and I made a sand elephant and a sand jaguar for the demo site. All of the Master Sand Sculptors contribute creative pieces to the site and the logos of all of the major sponsors of the event are sculpted onto the demo site. This year's theme was Shangri-La or heaven on earth and I had a great time making magical works on art on the beach. The sand used for this event has more silt in it than regular beach sand and it is 'pounded up' or packed tightly using a tamp and water into wood and/or plastic forms which are then sculpted into temporary works of art on site.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

The Moose Myth


The Moose Myth

There is a story told of twin moose brothers, each robust and noble, who shared the Northern Kingdom. One fine day they met in a glade and neither would yield. They charged and impacted with a resounding crash of angry power. In the ensuing battle they entangled antlers in a death lock. Unable to separate, they continued to battle. After days of throwing their enmeshed antlers and bodies about, unable to eat or drink, exhausted, they were on the brink of death. A small child came upon the feuding but now feeble twins and offered to free them, but only if they would promise to live in peace. They thankfully accepted the offer.

Freed, the twins stood on two feet in honor of their human friend and lived their lives striving to solve conflicts with negotiation and compromise. They agreed that one would live by the sea and rule over the Portsmouth waterfront and all the bridges and seaways linking NH to the world. The other mighty moose would rule inland, near the confluence of the Nashua and Merrimack Rivers, majestically protecting the vital and diverse city of Nashua.

Two sculptures celebrate this myth:

Moose Myth Nashua
Bicentennial Park
66 Main Street
Nashua NH

Moose Myth Portsmouth
Market Square
Portsmouth NH

By Donna Dodson & Andy Moerlein

*Update: Foster's Daily Democrat and The Daily Portsmouth covered this piece.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Nashua Sculpture Symposium 2010

The artists, Donna Dodson and Andy Moerlein will build a Moose Myth in BiCentennial Park at 66 Main Street during the 2010 Nashua Sculpture Symposium May 16th - June 6th. This 20’ tall sculpture will incorporate Dodson's vocabulary of animal headed mythological figures and Moerlein's technique of sapling construction. This piece will reference the iconic quality of the moose and the mysterious nature of this wild animal. The monumental moose headed figure, striding along the river walk, will be a symbolic landmark. The overall feeling of the piece will be transcendent and magical.

Collaboration:
The collaboration between Moerlein and Dodson is born from a love of the wild. Moerlein takes inspiration from events in the natural world that leave visual marks which strike a narrative chord in the artist. Dodson takes inspiration from the mysterious nature of animals that spark her imagination. Together these artists seek to create a piece that will surge up from the earth as if it was a creation of nature.

There will be a reception with the artists on Sunday June 6th at Greeley House on Front Street in Nashua, NH at 2:30p.

Moose Myth drawing by Andy Moerlein, pencil on paper, 2010

Moose Myth

In the beginning,
a grid of all Earth’s possible fragrances
was encoded into a glyph of a Moose etched upon a rock.
Her own breath begat it as beast.

The heady suspense of being alive
pulsed its alertness into the erection of ears.
A percussion of antlers spread wide
to resound the essence of listening.

Sight, the seedbed of thought,
was blocked by the swelling hill of nose
as the Bull inhaled the love of the Planet.


A poem by Charlanne Kallay
In artistic collaboration
With sculptures by Donna Dodson

*Update: The Nashua Telegraph covered this piece in a recent front page article.