All Categories

The Power of Native Grass and Community

1/19/2019

Currently, I am exploring land in the center of Salinas. It was known as Carr Lake 100 years ago. The water was diverted at that time to create agricultural lands. I am painting portraits of children and adults who are helping to restore this agricultural land to become Carr Lake once again. This restoration is due to the efforts of Salinas community members, Return of the Natives and the Big Sur Land Trust.

These paintings will be part of a show which will open March 1, 2019, at the CSUMB City Center for Arts and Culture .

This video link below highlights the power of native grasses to restore land to store water and bring wildlife back to it. While it is about land in Texas, the restoration is achieved through the same ecological principles...slow it, spread it, sink it when it comes to water. Then the aquifers can recharge and support new life.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSPkcpGmflE

0 Comments

Day of Dedication

10/1/2018

3 Comments

Back side of Sculpture

This is not the final presentation but it was ready for the day of dedication! The sculpture will be set on a seven foot round cement base, painted with a stain to give the feeling of water, and have river grasses and boulders set around it.

Richard Schrader, metalsmith of steelhead trout; Toni Henderson, graphic designer of the Big Fish Story; Paola Berthoin, Project Director; Fred and Lorie Saunders of Sculpture Works, Inc. fabricators of sculpture.

In honor of the river and watershed, community members placed stones from the Chinese Dam at the base of the sculpture at the end of the dedication ceremony.

24" Steelhead Trout made from two pieces of ninety-four year old steel from the former San Clemente Dam. Refer to early postings of this project to see the metal before it became this amazingly sleek and beautiful fish!

Transformation in Restoration

Wrangled from deep in concrete
of the defunct ninety-four year old dam,
old metal formed, forged, and hammered
into new meaning
for the Carmel River.

Transforming,
restoring
generous river,
spinning, spiraling
swirling.

Transforming
restoring
free-flowing
spirals, vortexes,
pulsating water.

Revitalizing
Carmel River Steelhead
Red-legged Frog
Lamprey.
Damselfly, Dragonfly,
Stonefly, Mayfly.

Transforming,
restoring,
Garter Snake, Western Pond Turtle
Salamander,
Kingfisher,
Great Blue Heron,
Yellow Warbler.

Transforming
restoring
humans,
Mountain Lion, Bobcat,
Fox, Deer and Coyote.

Rythmic flows regenerating
Willow, Cottonwood, Alder,
sediment, spawning gravel,
boulders, logs and leaves.
Glinting points of light
amongst the grasses.

Transforming
restoring
river always giving
refreshing, reviving.
healing itself.

Transforming, restoring.
land and people,
selfless Carmel River.

© Paola Fiorelle Berthoin

3 Comments

Getting Closer!

9/2/2018

0 Comments

Here is the sculpture with the fish added..but not quite done yet! The sculpture was very well received at the West End Celebration..people expressing their amazement and appreciation for such a "gorgeous" sculpture! After the fish creation, Richard will be making the dragonfly and redlegged frog.

The tool on the right that has many round bars of metal on a metal stand was made from an old garage door coil destined for "the dump". In the eyes and mind of Richard, that is certainly not trash! He created that particular tool to make the ribbing on the fish tails and fins.

Here, Richard is determining the best way to create the wings of the dragonfly from flat metal from the dam.

0 Comments

Sculpture finished...fish still in progress

8/13/2018

0 Comments

Last week, Fred worked on adding more willow branches and bulrushes (tule), bringing more movement to the whole sculpture. Richard continues to hammer out the metal to form the steelhead trout. Quite impressive work as he also makes his own tools to do the forming of the bend of the fish, their fins and more! This coming weekend, if you are in the Seaside area, you can get a first hand view of the artwork on display at Fred's shop during the West End Arts Celebration.

Heating the rebar to bend it in a different direction.

A few more willow branches and tule were added after this photo...soon the fish and redlegged frog and dragonfly will make it complete!

Hammering half of the steehead just out of the forge. Richard sets the hot metal onto a concave wood block that has been soaked in water. then he moves over the the anvil to hammer the metal out further. It all happens within about a minute or two...then the metal is too cool to work on. But, if you touched it with your bare hand, you would know it is still very hot!

Richard hammering a fin out on a tool he created just for this purpose. It is made from an old garage door spring that was going to be taken to the dump. Ingenious!

Richard also made this square block tool for hammering out the metal and the round metal ball on a piece of rebar, used to shape the fish.

No need to go to the gym!

0 Comments

getting closer to completion...

8/1/2018

0 Comments

This week the kelp fronds to represent the ocean and the willow branches to represent the riparian habitat for the river have been added. Additional refinement on the spiral of the river was also accomplished. Richard continues to forge and fabricate the thirteen steelhead trout for the sculpture...and soon, a red-legged frog and dragonfly! Following are the photos showing these different aspects.

adding kelp frond

Lori Saunders beveling leaves for willow branches

Fred welding leaves to branch

Richard forging one side of largest steelhead

shaping hot steelhead!

two sides of one steelhead

two sides put together...more shaping to come to make a seamless fit

largest steelhead at base of sculpture..still to come...detail work on fish...

0 Comments

Sculpture taking shape standing up!

7/27/2018

5 Comments

Below you will see new steps in the process of creating the Rebar Sculpture: Transformation in Restoration. Working with this old metal is quite a challenge which is dictating how it is taking shape!

It is a process of building, then taking away, reshaping, bending, adding and reshaping again. Bends in the metal are achieved by heating the metal 'til red hot then slowly pulling with a metal tool...it is slow going!

The fish have been cut out of the flattened metal and will continue to be refined in shape and texture and turn of the body...all with the allowances of the metal.

Fred bending the rebar.

This shows the sculpture where we tested placement of the fish. The second week we have started to remove and reshape some of the metal to form more spiral shape in the center,..a work in progress as seen below.

Heating the metal to red hot to bend a bit at a time.

Removing some metal to bring focus to sprial section. More may yet be removed...

And here are a couple images showing the fish...drawn on the metal ready to be cut out...and fish below in various stages of formation.

5 Comments

San Clemente Dam Rebar Sculpture Coming to Life!

6/14/2018

0 Comments

It has been almost three years since the San Clemente Dam came down. Now, the rebar I collected from the dam is coming to life in the sculpture.
Below are some photos of that process.

Wayne Bounds of Granite Construction helping with gathering cement and rebar from the dam

Rebar and other metal collected from dam at my home. The flat metal on the left side is what Richard Schrader is using to create the steelhead trout, red-legged frog and dragonfly.

Fred Saunders of Sculpture Works collecting rebar to create sculpture

Fred unbending rebar

Richard Schrader unbending metal plate to create fish.

Metal plate now flat with fish templates

Marking metal to cut fish out of metal plate

Richard cutting out first Steelhead from metal plate

Rebar laid out with fish..first time to see the drawing of the sculpture coming to life!

Rafael Payan, General manager of the MPRPD holding one of the fish

Fred Saunders, Rafael Payan, Jackie Nelson, Education Supervisor MPRPD, Richard Schrader

Thank you to all who have made generous donations to make this sculpture happen! Truly an historic endeavor. Stay tuned for more blog posts showing the progression of this creation. The sculpture is planned to be installed and ready for the dedication of the new Palo Corona Regional Park (former Rancho Cañada) on September 28, 2018.

0 Comments

Red-legged Frogs - State Amphibian

3/1/2018

0 Comments

Young Red-legged frog at my home pond

Mature Red-legged frog at my home pond, 2011. The red-legged frogs have been breeding and living here for at least eight years.

On June 28, 2014, the CA Red-legged Frog became the official State Amphibian. This came about through the persistent efforts of Save the Frogs! organization and Assemblymember Pérez and his staff; the students, teachers and administrators of Sea View Elementary School in Salton City; all the legislators who voted in support of this bill; and SAVE THE FROGS! supporters who sent in letters of support on behalf of the California Red-Legged Frog!
(Click on the green text to learn much more about their multi-year efforts to make this happen.)

0 Comments

Crosspollination

12/8/2017

0 Comments

Monterey County Arts Council Executive Director, Paulette Lynch interviewed me for the Access Monterey Peninsula Your Town program. The focus was Passion for Place and the importance of bringing the arts and sciences together. The more we can cultivate this in our lives, the more creative we can become in our lives. Watershed Arts is all about supporting the cross-pollination of the arts with ecology and vice versa. The images in the video are all aspects of my work from various explorations along the river. You can watch the interview here.

Explore your watershed wherever you live, develop your sense of place and protect what you can!

0 Comments

Swimming with the Steelhead!

11/5/2017

5 Comments

I have been exploring the river by walking upstream in the river...and sometimes swimming with the steelhead! With the recent heat waves, it made it an inviting proposition to fully immerse myself in the river. When I did, with goggles on, I found young-of-the-year Carmel River Steelhead there! So invigorating to capture the images and feel refreshed in the cool water.

5 Comments

<<Previous

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.

Archives

Categories