One more day of gusts

I spoke too early yesterday.  Wind will be here for one more day. The sails are reefed today. Look for them Friday.

Photo by Jeff Derose

Looks like the sails will be back up on Thursday

Photo by Jeff Derose

Gusts still in the valley

The ladies are resting on the ground today.

Photo by Jeff Derose

Gusty high winds predicted for the next few days

Photo by Jeff Derose

So the sails are down for the next few days until the gusts pass through the valley. As the installation is in it's final week I want to thank the artistic community that has fed me throughout this installation and performance of sailing and sheep farming. Starting with the people I bounced construction ideas off of, back in the days of Pleiades' conception, Tim Holcomb, Miles Herter, and Tim Eliasson, to students coming over to felt with me and help install, Casay Yamazaki-Heineman, Colten McCormick, Olivia Holcomb, Nick Teensma, Eliza Fishman .  Christine White who owns New England felting supply, where you can get lost in the colors and texture of wool, was a valuable resource when my large sails were not fulling (finishing of the felting process).  Thanks to the New England farmers who donated their wool and to Jody at Tregelly's Fiber Farm for sharing her love of all animals wooly and hairy.Thanks to Nicki Robb and Elyce and German Perico for installation help, as well as artist and friends Bryan Gill, Megan O'Brien, Ted Ollier, Holly Lynton, Sarah Bliss, Jeff Derose, James Young and Stephen Kiernan for their support and encouragement.

A hearty thank you to farmers Heather Lee Colson of Thistlebloom Farm and Sarah and Joe Swartz of Swartz Family Farm for their gracious use of farm fields.  Each farm has it's own personality and color ranges that the sails interacted with.

Terry Rooney deserves all the praise that has come her way for a wonderful Biennial exhibition. Not only did she launch the inaugural year for the Amherst show, but Terry continued throughout the show to provide tours to school groups, and interested parties throughout the months.

And then there is my honorable first mate and crew. Andrew and Charlie and Margot, my family, has helped me lift sails that are too heavy for me, think of new mast designs, and encouraged me at every turn.  Thank you my dears.

Shedding Light

The Sails will be up today.

http://sheddinglightamherst.blogspot.com/
Please visit this blog explaining the beautiful public art of Erika Zekos.  Zekos will be relighting the shed for one night on 12/11/10.  Pleiades will be coming down the next day.

A Hearty Thanks

Yes, the sails will be back up at noon today.  That was quite a storm yesterday.

 

Photographs by Jeff Derose

I want to thank incredible artist Jeff Derose for his beautiful photographs of Pleiades in both afternoon and morning light. Please look for more of his work of Pleiades on my website and visit this site of his documentary work with his brother Kevin Derose.

Pleiades deinstallation date of 12/12/10 nears.  This weekend please visit the Amherst Biennial ending party:

Biennial goes out with a bang this weekend! East St. School installations open Sat 1-4, Sun 1-8. Closing reception 5-8 Sunday. Special
performance by Karen Dolmanisth 6-8, and Erika Zekos' video
installation "I Dwell in Possibility" will be projected on the exterior
of the school.

High winds predicted

The sails are under a tarp for this Wednesday's storm.  Last week when the sails where on the ground the rain froze the sails in all sorts of fun shapes. The ice however makes the felt fragile as the wind playfully billows out the sails. So, we are taking precautions and covering them now. With these careful procedures the sails have far outlasted what I predicted would happen.  Wool is resilient, and the felt is strong.