The Mayflower II at Mystic Seaport

I went with Dalvero Academy to Mystic Seaport. I was most excited to revisit the Charles W. Morgan and see the Mayflower II—the newest acquisition at the Mystic Seaport Museum.

The Mayflower II was hauled out of the water to begin the five year restoration. The Mayflower II is owned by Plimoth Plantation and is undergoing a multi-year restoration in Mystic Museum’s Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard.

The ship had three masts—Mizzen (aft), Main (midship) and Fore. There is also a spirit sail in the bow area. The design of the Mayflower II was quite different, I thought the ship looked very “English” with two castle like structures fore and aft. These structures—30 foot high were square and bulky making it extremely difficult to sail against the wind. This awkward super structure configuration made the Mayflower unable to sail against the North Atlantic Westerlies. This is the direct reason why the voyage from England to America took over two months.

I enjoyed learning about what the Pilgrims and Adventurers brought to start to the New World. Among the items brought were 126 pairs of shoes, 13 pairs of boots, an assortment of fine clothing, utensils for food preparation such as teacups, as well as pigs, goats, poultry, and some family pets.

Unfortunately I was only able to spend one day due to the cold weather and didn’t get to visit the Morgan. I am looking forward to return!

You can read more about the Mayflower II Restoration on the Mystic Seaport Museum website.

Creative Cup Sketches

Creative Cups is a project that encourages artistic expression in celebration of the lives of those living with breast cancer and those who have lost to this terrible disease. Participants in the project design and build original works of art using bras, which are exhibited and auctioned at a Gala reception at Adelphi University in NY. All money raised goes to offset the costs of running the Adelphi NY Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline & Support Program.

Below are original sketches for my Creative Cups bra.

Read more about the project here.

Altered Earth Reception

Thank you all for sharing the beautiful day at Saunders Farm with me and the cows!
I’m so glad to have been apart of another successful year of Collaborative Concept’s Farm Project and look forward to next year!

Altered Earth Process Photos

Synthetic nitrogen farming; the consequential machine

The struggle to feed the growing population of the world in the late nineteenth century led to the introduction of synthetic nitrogen farming to increase crop yield. Over half of our population today is fed with the dependency on nitrogen fertilizer. Nitrogen fertilizer not absorbed by crops travels through our water, soil and air leading to contamination affecting our environment and human health.

The sculpture is made from 1/8" stainless steel, painted mahogany and aluminum discs.
Measuring 4ft. D x 8ft. W x 9ft. H

Below are process photos of the build of this project. You can read more about the sculpture here.

Sculpture for Leonia

On June 16th I had the privilege to deliver two of my sculptures to Leonia, New Jersey.

This beautiful town has an array of sculptures dotting it’s community. This is made possible by the volunteers of the non-profit organization, Sculpture for Leonia. The goal of the organization is to provide a dialogue between art and community and to enrich and educate. With the help of Nora Veca’s placement, you can view Legends in the sculpture garden and Corn Fields at the Leonia Public Library.  They look amazing in their new homes!

Corn Fields is made from painted 1/8" steel and painted wood pieces. Measuring 4ft. D x 5ft. W x 8ft. H. Legends is made from mahogany, steel and glass pieces. Measuring 2.5ft. D x 2.5ft. W x 8ft. H.