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Beautiful Ruins

8/27/2015

2 Comments

 
Here is a link to this week's article in the Monterey County Weekly about my documenting the San Clemente Dam Removal .



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Painting at the dam, August 19, 2015
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Painting at the dam, August 26, 2015. About ten feet to go!
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Finished painting "Busy Day at the Dam, August 26, 2015"
Click on photo image below for larger view.
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An invigorating day at the dam site

8/23/2015

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PictureAlders sprouting up in the rocks of the mountain cut.
Being involved in documenting the project, I had the opportunity to be invited to the Granite Family Fun Day at the project site. We got to wander the whole site on our own! So I did just that! I got to view the canyon that is now free of the dam for the most part and the machinery up close, the step pool construction, large woody debris piles and more. Walking along the face of the mountain cut, I saw sprouts of alder trees coming up through the cracks of the rocks..so the site is already beginning to restore itself. The step pool construction is fascinating to see, intricately and carefully constructed deep pools banked to flow like a river. It will be intriguing to see what happens this winter when the river has the first opportunity to flow through this whole site and not be stopped by a dam.

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Looking down on what is left of the San Clemente Dam. They have about twenty feet to go.The Carmel River is currently being sent through an 18" pipe under this area and let out further down stream
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The giant hoe ram that has been the tool to take down the dam these past three weeks, with the help of another smaller one.
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Viewing banner of paintings I have created thus far on the stages of the Dam Removal project.
Click on small photos below for larger view.
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Painting far end of dam demolition   8/11/ 2015

8/16/2015

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Working on an 8x10" painting of the last top part of the dam to be demolished. The part I was waiting to see happen was for the "stovepipe" to come down...The photo below shows the jackhammer operator judiciously hammering away at the base of the structure...
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Here the workers have been watching, as was I, for a good hour until the stovepipe toppled and came crashing to the ground at 12:53..only wish I had caught it falling mid-stream! And there went my still life! 

Painting the top part of the demolition always started with the stovepipe as my anchor point from which to measure and gauge the rest of the painting...



Now they have about seventy feet to go down to the river..solid cement and rebar..chipping away bit by bit with two 16,000 pound pneumatic hammers as seen above in the second photo.
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Painting the dam demolition August 3, 2015

8/3/2015

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This is my second opportunity to be at the overlook from the Dormody land to watch the demolition process. I hope to be able to paint three more images over the course of the next three weeks showing the take down in four parts...the last painting will show the dam gone! That's the plan anyways!
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A few refinements to be done but basically finished!
See the difference in size of people to  machinery and work to be accomplished!
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Beginning the demolition of the San Clemente Dam

8/1/2015

5 Comments

 
I had the opportunity to have a first rate view of the first day of the demolition of the San Clemente Dam. I was there almost all day doing sketches and a small painting and lots of photos, video and sound recordings. I will be going there for the next few weeks to document the demolition as it continues.

It is strange feeling to see it being destroyed....so many man hours went into creating it ninety-four years ago. As far as structures go, it is  a graceful construction. But what a difference it will make for the river's health when it can flow unimpeded.
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Dam in its final hours (approximately 8:00 am, July 30, 2015 ) before the jackhammer comes to begin work on demolition.
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Jackhammer machine on its way to start demolition, July 30, 2015
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Started jack hammering this side at about 10:40 am.
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A smaller hoe ram (jackhammer machine) on its way to continue the job. Such a steep incline to travel! This picture was taken at approximately 2:30 pm....slow going to take the dam down...
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It is intriguing to watch the operators work...a precise job with such a large machine!
You have done such a good job personifying this huge dam that I am saddened by its demolition. I imagine all the memories that it holds expiring as the concrete falls....  Diane Berthoin-Hernandez




Thank you, Diane. It is an interesting idea to think of the stories embedded in the concrete and now being released in the dust and air...

5 Comments

    Author
    Paola Berthoin is the designer/creator/publisher of  Passion for Place: Community Reflections on the Carmel River Watershed. Her focus is inspiring and educating people about the natural world through the arts. She is available to design your book, create (illustrate and write) interpretive materials for your watershed community, consult for healthy gardens, paint a commissioned painting of your favorite place in the Carmel River Watershed and beyond!


    When we allow wildness, our own spirit, to flourish within, we can also respect and allow nature’s spirit, the wild outside, to exist.
             - Paola Fiorelle Berthoin
                                                                                                                                                               

    Blog photographs, land art, and text © Paola Berthoin, unless otherwise noted. 
    All Rights Reserved.

    Picture
    Photograph © Marie Butcher

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