Gaia Walk

Finally, after many, many days of re-finishing the sculpture nicknamed the Pumpkin Pole, it was installed on the eve of Good Friday.

During the Easter weekend myself and Marisa have been working around the base of “Birth” in preparation of sowing grass.

Here’s a very short four second video that is fun to watch.

gaia from Peter Adams/Windgrove on Vimeo.

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I would imagine that most people when heading off to work on a Monday morning would rather be home or, at least, not stuck in traffic.

My drive to work this morning was out towards the Point and the Wombat Circle; about a half kilometre, three minute drive. I would have walked, but the car had tools, drinking water, etc.

With heavy duty shears, for the past few weeks I have been cutting back and burning native currant bushes to create a large circle whose centre will mark the ending of the 1.2 kilometre Gaia Evolution Walk.

Yes, the work is exhausting and by the end of the day I want nothing more than a cold beer as any decent construction worker would want.

But while on the job and needing a bit of a rest, I just push through the gate to the Wombat Circle and rest with a cup of cold water and a packet of potato chips.

If the view gets too boring, I can take a short walk further south to the Point to refresh myself there.

All in all, not a bad place to spend a day working. And don’t think for a moment that I’m all alone. There are delights everywhere from eagles soaring overhead to seals frolicking in the water. And on the ground, countless droppings of wombat poo.

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Every afternoon after carving for most of the day, I leave my studio around 3PM and head out to the Point or other parts of the Gaia Evolution Walk to put in a couple of hours of work before the sun goes down.

The first photo shows my studio with the sculpture ‘Present Time’ on the work bench. It’s about nine foot long and will (one day) stand tall like a totem pole. In front and on the sawhorses are 22 sand blasted wooden posts that are to be installed along the Gaia Walk as soon as they are prepped — holes for steel posts and a bit of sanding.

I found this squashed creature along the Walk this past week and it somehow seems fitting to rest it on the stack of sandblasted posts.

Of the eventual 80 posts, to date forty have been placed along the 1.2 kilometre path.

The “20” signifies 20 million years ago. I, myself, find it interesting that for most of the history of Earth, there wasn’t the melodious voice of any bird to welcome in or close down the day.

Most of the 13 illustrative panels have been placed along the path as single units. The last three, however, representing the Cenezoic Era (65 million years ago to present day) have been placed together.

And, flat on the ground like all the others. Level, too. With a slight slope for drainage. And branches to deter wombats. Length is 3.6 meters or 12 feet.

I like the concept of ancient time buried in the earth, yet visible.

My shadow gives a sense of scale.

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The star like mini-sculpture that I’m holding in my hand might look like an intentional artistic endeavour, but it’s nothing more than an off-cut.

To date there are 126 of these off-cuts.

They come from the ends of 63 hardwood signage posts varying in length from three feet to four and a half feet (or 900mm to 1400mm).

To date 15 of these posts — giving the evolutionary periods in millions of years — have been sand blasted.

And placed along the Gaia Evolution Walk.

Stay tuned. The Gaia drawings are presently being printed on 1200mm x 1600mm panels.

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