This Spiral is created with river stones, shells, glass and gemstones. I have been hiking Breakneck Mountain in Cold Springs N.Y. for many years. I have wanted to create some artwork on the summit. I collected over 200 river rocks from the Catskills in N.Y. after returning home I weighed them altogether about 160 pounds of rock.
The shells are a combination of shells from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans from 10 years of summer vacations. The gemstones are from deep within the earth and a gift from a friend. The medium I chose is to reflect the environment. My thought process was that if I were to leave this at the top, would it be considered garbage or not fit the landscape? These materials all seem to blend in and if scattered they would not effect the experience.
Breakneck Ridge can be quite challenging due to the steep incline and areas of rock crawling. The trail upwards is constantly shifting from erosion. The grade is very steep over 45-60 degrees. I assembled all of these mediums at home and created a preliminary version. This was so I could create the piece quickly and efficiently. I chose a sunny day filled a backpack with the materials which I weighed on my bathroom scale about 50 pounds. My cousins joined me and assisted in carrying the bag to the summit. Once at the top I assembled the spiral then took some quick photos. I left everything up there. So I felt not only a figurative but a literal weight off my shoulders. The purpose of this piece to hopefully inspire those who walk by, and create art that does not destroy the location that has given me so many wonderful experiences. I also thought it would be interesting to see smooth round river rocks and sea shells at the top of a mountain in this configuration. People will be intrigued about how they were placed there. Most likely those who see this, will be strangers which takes me out of the equation and leaves the creator to the viewers imagination.
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