This sculpture was inspired by a picturesque grouping of Prickly Pear cactus in the Texas Hill Country.  I envisioned a stylized ‘protector’ overseeing the beautiful scene from its elevated stature.

This tall and slender sculpture draws the eye upward.   The elongated, parallel lines and joinery 'cubes' are reminiscent of the Art Deco style.  A subtle green sheen emanates from the three pods, and the base integrates into the overall sculpture.

Dozens of joinery pass-throughs kept me occupied for days at my drill press, drilling and fitting pieces together.  Because of this joinery approach, the sculpture required assembly in a certain  order — so figuring that out was a bit of a puzzle.  Luckily I didn’t get myself backed into a corner, and a streamlined and sleek look is the final result.

Nevertheless, while entertainment exists for those inclined to reverse-engineer its construction, the casual viewer can simply enjoy ‘Green Screen’ from afar and find delight when exploring it up close.

‘Green Screen’ measures 90” tall x 35” wide x 35” deep.  Multiple coats of clear lacquer have been applied to the entire piece to retard rusting and maintain the sculpture’s refined, polished look.

In need of a two-wheeled vehicle to enjoy the bike-friendly town of Missoula, MT, this summer, I bought a rebuilt bicycle from Free Cycles, a non-profit and primarily volunteer-run community bike shop.

Free Cycles’s founder is Bob Giordano, and his vision captured my interest.  So when an opportunity arose to design and build a sculpture for the building’s new entrance, I didn't hesitate.     

‘Hive’ is a wall sculpture comprised of five separate honeycomb structures of various sizes which can be mounted in endless combinations.  Dozens of bees adorn the honeycomb cells.

The cooperative nature at Free Cycles and the activity buzzing around the indoor and outdoor work stations reminded me of bee colonies.  This observation made the sculpture’s theme and design come into quick focus, especially when I realized that freewheels on bicycles look like honeycomb cells... 
 
In keeping with the repurposing ethos at Free Cycles, the elements for the sculpture were harvested from the bike yard:  honeycomb cells, bees, and bee antennae -- in other words: freewheels, bike chain, and brake cables.   

To bring the sculpture to fruition, a day was spent harvesting bike parts.  Then, over a period of several days, I worked with a couple of local folks in the metal-working community who provided shop access and project assembly assistance:  

• Jason Cox gave his time and access to his his studio; any improvement to his fine motor skills from brazing ‘antennae’ (brake cable) onto dozens of ‘bees’ (bike chain) was purely incidental.
• Charlie Bruce of Artifact Fabrication generously provided shop space and access to his welding equipment.      
• Reed harvested and cleaned  the elements for the sculpture (no easy task, given they started life as greasy bike parts), and he took on assembly and miscellaneous tasks throughout the project as needed.

Many thanks to Jason, Charlie, and Reed!  It wouldn’t have happened without y’all.    

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This is my first ‘found object’ sculpture.  I’ll tell you, it makes a piece come together much quicker when the elements are already made.  

Getting to create and build public sculpture was an ultimate vacation surprise, and I’m grateful for the opportunity.  

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Each honeycomb is approximately 3” deep.
There are five honeycombs, and they can be installed in any orientation.  34 bees adorn the honeycombs.  There is a singular Lone Drone (solitary bee).

Measurements of each honeycomb are:

• Honeycomb # 1:  11” x 7”.  [3 cells, 4 bees].  This honeycomb rotates.       
• Honeycomb # 2:  17” x 8”.  [5 cells, 5 bees].  This is the honeycomb with the chain.
• Honeycomb # 3:  12” x 9”.  [5 cells, 5 bees].  This is the honeycomb in the X-pattern.
• Honeycomb # 4:  18” x 14”.  [9 cells, 10 bees].
• Honeycomb # 5:  16” x 12”.  [10 cells, 10 bees].  This honeycomb has a double-stack.

I received a delightful variety of responses to my inquiry about the last place y’all enjoyed public art.  There were seasonal/temporary creations as well as permanent sculpture; there was artwork ranging in scale from silver dollar-sized rocks to 20-foot tall monumental creations; and the locales ranged from neighborhoods to university campuses to national parks.  In at least one case, the creator of the art is anonymous.  

Compiled from the responses, here are some places across the United States to see public art:

• Smither Park in Houston, TX - “It’s always being added to and is fun to take friends from out of town.”
• Head to Minnesota in the winter for temporary sculpture:  Stillwater, MN, hosts an event in January featuring snow sculptures created by sculptors from around the world.  And there's also the Rice Park Winter Carnival in downtown St. Paul, MN...
• ‘Girl with Doves’ by David Wynne is sited in front of the main library at the University of Arizona.
• In Dillon, CO, gaze upon a bronze likeness of John Bailey, a former mayor of Dillon who was instrumental in relocating the town to its current location after the original town was flooded for a dam project.
• In Atlanta, Georgia, there's anonymous art:  “I see public art on daily walks with my dog:  a neighbor paints small rocks and nestles them in the base of trees along her old-school, low-rise, block-long condo, moving and changing them about.  It’s always fun to watch closely because there’s often something new to discover…”
• “We have some cool public art in Glenwood, CO. I particularly like this "Topec" project that the art center organized." ​

When a long-time friend requested a sculpture for the front yard of his residence, I wanted the sculpture to acknowledge a couple of things about our friendship:  How we originally met (working at Habitat for Humanity) and our commonly shared love of the Texas Gulf Coast’s flora and fauna.

I visited the site and determined the appropriate scale to compliment his 1950s-era home.

Complete creative license was a highlight of this project, the only request being a sculpture designed in the style that I’m currently doing.  So…it would riff off of 'Interconnected' and  ‘Interwoven,' two of my most recent outdoor sculptures which feature hammered sheet pods, Art Nouveau-inspired flowing lines, and a refined look.

The result was ‘Riparian Habitat,’ an outdoor sculpture comprised of two separate elements installed side-by-side to read as one.

Until the sculpture was unloaded for installation on his property, the client had nary a clue of what he would be getting.  He wanted to be completely surprised, opting to not even view a sketch beforehand.  

Installation time was approximately 3 hours, leaving me and my crew a couple of hours to get cleaned up for an on-site reception with friends that afternoon.  Celebrating the installation of ‘Riparian Habitat’ and visiting with friends was a delightful way to end a busy day…

‘Riparian Habitat’ measures approximately 64” tall  x  52” wide  x  10” deep.  

This is now the perfect spot for you to pause or cease your reading -- unless you are inclined to know the details about the sculpture's materials and construction: 
 
The sculpture is comprised of two forms (the 'heron' and the 'cattails'), each atop a torch-cut and textured steel plate.  The two forms are positioned in close proximity to each other so that the sculpture ‘reads’ as a singular piece.

Attached to the underside of each steel plate is pipe stem of 12” in length.  The pipe stem nests snugly within an outer pipe stem housed in an 8”-diameter concrete block, thereby uniting the sculpture and concrete block and providing the necessary weight to securely balance and anchor the sculpture to the earth/ground.

Hammered sheet steel and various sizes of flat bar and square bar were volumized, forged, and plug welded.  Gilder’s Paste creates subtle highlights on the hammered sheet pods; this was my first time using Gilder’s Paste to add colored hues to my sculpture.  The entire sculpture was sealed with multiple coats of clear lacquer to retard rusting and maintain its refined look.   

The ‘heron’ element weighs approximately 50 pounds; the ‘cattails’ element approximately 70 pounds; and each of the two concrete forms, weighing about 110 pounds each, were poured off-site and brought to the client’s residence for installation. ​

'Interconnected' resides at 7th and Church Streets in Georgetown (606 S. Church Street).  Just one block off of the historic downtown square in this charming little Texas town, you can view this public art sculpture until October 2023. 

The restaurant in the background is The Golden Rule, and I can personally recommend it, having hosted a reception there with friends to celebrate the inclusion of 'Interconnected' in Georgetown’s Sculpture Tour 2022-2023.

As you can see, a couple of folks have already discovered the sculpture.  When you visit ‘Interconnected’ in person, please snap and pic and send it to me.  It’ll make my day!​

To read the back story of 'Interconnected,' click on this previous post.

Georgetown Sculpture Tour 2022-2023

While I welcome private commissions, public art enhances quality of life in a community and reaches a larger audience.
   
‘Interconnected’ has been accepted in the Georgetown Sculpture Tour 2022-2023 which features public art installed throughout the Cultural District in Georgetown, TX.  
   
For about a year, beginning October 2022, ‘Interconnected’ can be viewed at 606 S. Church Street, about a block from the courthouse on the Square.

I welcome this opportunity to share my outdoor sculpture with the Georgetown, TX, community and its visitors!   ​

‘Unleashed’ represents an elemental force which has burst free from its constriction.  The energy unleashed is on the move.

This sculpture utilizes a critical element -- a 5-degree Morse taper -- to create a joint that provides stability when assembled, yet allows the sculpture to disassemble easily for transport.

'Unleashed' was created by The A-B-C  Collaborative (Armstrong-Bastas-Crouchet), and getting this creative team together was handy since we all reside in the Austin, TX, area.

William Bastas was particularly instrumental in the Morse taper design and execution.  Bastas determined that this approach for the joint would allow Laura’s sculptural vision to come to fruition.  Additionally, Bastas’s ability to have just the right stock on hand for a project is uncanny…

John Crouchet’s willingness to lend his time and shop for the creation of the joint is only yet another generosity of spirit from that seemingly endless well.   

I cherish the time spent with my blacksmith friends and hope to continue finding reasons to work together.

‘Unleashed’ is made from 5/8” square steel bar and measures 49” tall x 34” wide x 24” deep when assembled and weighs 23 pounds. When disassembled, the sculpture's seven pieces fit handily in a slender case for transport.  ​

‘Interwoven’ is sited amongst prickly pear cactus, granite boulders festooned with lichen, and Texas persimmon trees.  Seasonal elements include wildflowers, native grasses, and a meandering waterway which fills when the spring rains come to Central Texas and runs dry when the rains cease.

A small clearing between prickly pear and boulders was handpicked as a sculpture site.  ‘Interwoven’ was designed for this specific site for a Hill Country private collector.

Perhaps the copper-brazed pod is ripe, ready to burst forth with seeds to scatter in the wind — or has it withered with nothing more to offer while remaining resolutely in place?  The larger pod appears to have already bloomed, revealing lacy skeletal ribbing as its final legacy.

‘Interwoven’ is a nod to the interconnectedness and cycle of life in the natural world.

The sculpture was designed to complement its surroundings and not necessarily be the primary focus; rather, the sculpture blends into its picturesque environs which change with the Texas seasons.  To that end, ‘Interwoven’ is an acknowledgement of working with natural patterns and rhythms and not overpowering them.

I wish to thank my SCR benefactors!  'Interwoven’ was made possible by an SCR Grant in support of my Hill Country Artist-in-Residence program.

This kinetic sculpture measures 60" tall x 42" wide x 3” deep. Steel of various dimensions; steel sheet with copper brazing; brass rivets; stainless steel, copper-coated, and brass welding rods.  

Other site-specific sculptures to date created by Laura Armstrong Studio include ‘Walking Stick,’ ‘Sinuosa,’ and ‘Swivel-Stack Totem’ in Colorado, Argentina, and Texas, respectively.    
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