Stone Clouds Materialized

The shape of a project is pointy at opposite ends and lumpy in the middle. The spark that starts things off may be as quick and simple as seeing a cornstalk-stubbled field sprinkled with the till of a bygone glacier, and thinking, “What would it take to put those stones back up into the sky from whence they fell?” In between that thought and standing under Stone Clouds at Shelburne Museum yesterday was a year-long ride’s worth of lumps and bumps. The unknown is an uneven landscape. Highs are best employed to gain speed for the roll up out of the lows ahead. Uncertainty provides its own propulsion.

Art, Environmental Art, Sculpture, StoneDan SnowSeptember 22, 2015art, environmental art, eyes on the land, featured, land art, mettawee, mettawee river, mettawee valley, mettowee valley, sculpture, shelburne museum, stone, stone clouds, vermont land trust

Stone Clouds

“Permanent” is one adjective I associate with my dry stone constructions. When I was asked to make a temporary installation on the grounds of the Shelburne Museum for the upcoming “Eyes on the Land” exhibition, some very different affiliations sprang to mind. And so, as I became acquainted with the Vermont Land Trust properties in the Mettawee Valley that I was partnered with for the show, I sought out examples of land formation and land use that might be described as “short term”.

Art, Exhibit, SculptureDan SnowAugust 9, 2015art, farming, farms, featured, jay stearns, mettawee, mettawee river, mettawee valley, mettowee valley, sculpture, shelburne museum, stone, stone clouds, vermont arts council, vermont land trust