HYACINTHS FOR THE SOUL

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Tales of the Traveling Tote #14 ~ Stickworks

Welcome to Tales of the Traveling Tote # 14

Home Bodies, that's what we've been! With the push of the holidays in December and the bitter cold of our January and Februay days this year, Miss Merri Mac and I have not ventured far

from the warmth of the cozy fire in our living room. What to share for an adventure when one is curled up on the sofa reading, stitching, or napping?

How about filling Miss Merri Mac with sticks for a little stitck adventure?

Those of you who follow Hyacinths know of my love of nature, gardens, and parks. Austin has many natural areas with hike and bike trails, creeks, and rivers, some of which I've shared in the past.

You might recall one of Miss Merri Mac's early adventures to Zilker Park here.

Shoal Creek flows through the heart of Austin where it empties into Lady Bird Lake. Though it definitely shows the stress of urbanization, it also offers respits of natural beauty with city hike and bike trails and parks, including Austin's oldest and much beloved Pease Park.

What's this you ask?

It's a recent Stickworks sculpture right

here in Austin's Pease Park.

Some of you may know of the internationally

aclaimed sculptor, Patrick Dougherty.

He has created over 280 of these organic outdoor sculptures made from twigs and sticks and sapplings gathered from the area in which he constructs these large scale structures.

Click Here for an fascinating interview with Patrick Doughtery about the process of creating Yippee Ki Yay.

Yippee Ki Yay here in Pease Park is constructed of

Roosevelt Weed, Ligustrum, and Ash, all sourced from

the hill country west of Austin.

A Spanish cathedral was the inspiration for this patricular sculpture. According to Mr. Dougherty, "The surfaces are a bit rude and raw like the terrain of the hill country where the material was gathered. I imagined cowboys herding cows through the mesquite trees and decided on a cowboy saluation, Yippee Ki Yay!"

There are five of these large "rooms" that create a

delightful maze to wander. As you can see,

the 12-14 feet height dwarfs me and Miss Merri Mac.

Photo Credit, Margie Gaudin
The sculptures are intended to be interactive, both in the construction with local volunteers who helped to buid the sculpture along side Mr. Doughtery and his son, Sam and in the enjoyment as visitors young and old experience
Yippee Ki Yay first hand.

It's heartwarming to see children and parents chasing each other through the stitck passageways, sounds of glee echoing through the park as families come to see Mr. Doughtery's latest work.

Photo Credits Clockwise From Top Left Daniel Finchum, Shannon Clark, Bob Joy, Pierre Charbonneau

As you can see in the sampling above,

you must go visit Patrick Dougherty's site and

view the distinct sculptures he has created round the globe.

Click Here!

You can find an interesting article here on the process of constructing Yippee Ki Yay.

Thank you for joining me again for Tales of the Traviling Tote.

Miss Merri Mac and I will leave you with a touch of spring.

Iceland Poppies from a local flower farm, Grassdale Farm.

Read below for the details of the latest giveaway,

MacKenzie-Childs soap dish

with the Beekman 1802 Goatmilk Soap.

Our Traveling Tote Group is pleased to welcome Ricki Jill and Countes DeMonet @ The Sketchy Reader Jackie and Miss Madi K @ Purple Chocolat Home Lea and Miss Scarlett @ Cici's Corner

Please come along and travel with us. Just click the link to join each of the Traveling Tote Adventures.

Debbie with Miss Aurora @ Mountain Breaths

Emily with Miss Courtney Childs @ The French Hutch

Patti with Miss Kenzie @ Pandora's Box

Jenna with Miss Coquille @The Painted Apron

Linda G with Miss Poppy @ More Fun Less Laundry

Linda P with Miss Lola @ Life and Linda

Rita with Miss Luna C @ Panoply

Jackie and Miss Madi K @ Purple Chocolat Home

Ricki Jill and Countess De Monet @ The Sketchy Reader

Lea and Miss Scarlett @ Cici's Corner