River Collectors:
Installation of two ceramic forms in the Upper Sacramento River, Dunsmuir, CA, June to November, 1999
Both hollow, horn-like ceramic forms were placed in the Upper Sacramento River in the town of Dunsmuir in June of 1999. The pale forms were partially covered with river rocks for camouflage and left in the river until November 1999. During that time, the forms became home to aquatic insects, algae, small trout fry and sculpin, who found refuge from predators. Where the surface was exposed to sunlight, algae grew and colored the forms, adding a greenish brown patina that was left on the pieces after removal and became a semi-permanent “glaze.”
With their wide open ends facing upstream, the pair of collectors passively accepted whatever happened to drift downstream with the current. Water could flow through each form and out a rear opening. As soon as they were installed caddis larva crawled up and into the forms and started making themselves at home. The “collectors” were quickly accepted and utilized as habitat by many forms of aquatic life.
The forms were designed to be a temporary installation, and a first effort to offer sculpture as a way to interact with the river in my absence, in a hopefully positive way by providing shelter and a substrate for living organisms. But, being fragile, they were removed from the river before the winter high water could cause any damage.
The forms now exist as a record and reminder of their time in the river with their brownish patina.