While working in the 100 Acres Art & Nature Park a couple of weeks ago to get it ready for the opening, I spotted a Scarlet Tanager:

(image via dave.lipper)

Of course, covered in mulch and mud and shovel in hand, I had no chance to whip out the camera and snap a shot. So, thank you Dave Lipper for this picture! Nonetheless, I stopped digging for the moment to enjoy the handsome fellow.

There are so many more beautiful birds in our 100 Acres. IMA’s photographer, Tad Fruits caught this Pileated Woodpecker in flight.

And this Blue Heron seems to have taken up residence along the banks of the lake.

What I would suggest to every visitor to the park is to sit a spell in Alfredo Jaar’s Park of the Laments (or anywhere for that matter!) and just listen. Listen to the different songs of our feathered friends. Maybe too, you’ll see a flash of color for an Oriole or Indigo Bunting!

Indigo Bunting (via Nature Nook)

Baltimore Oriole (via Harrier)

Filed under: Art and Nature Park, Horticulture

Hey,

Haven’t blogged in a while. Strange. Am a bit detached at this point with the opening of 100 Acres this weekend. But, that kinda makes sense. It’s the culmination of a long endeavor on my part, Type A’s part and, of course, the IMA and everyone who works (and has worked) to make the Art & Nature Park a reality. It’s at times like these that I get a bit detached. It’s a method of approaching exciting and nerve-racking times. Since there are so many ways in which this event can be “ruined,” it makes sense to take the good with the bad, as they say.

For example, the weather forecast for the opening weekend has been, how shall I say this, horrific. Maybe some people don’t mind 90 degree weather. But, add in storms and flooding…

Lisa Freiman says bring it on.

I could just get all upset and ask how could the weather gods let this be. But, it’s just a (bad) coincidence: crappy weather for an outdoor opening (paging Alanis Morissette). In any case, I could get upset or just take it in stride (I am throwing in a lot of cliches for some reason). It is as it is.

Strangely enough, this tactic of not taking things personally has led to quite a bit of introspection. Basically I go through a laundry list of the things that have happened in the time it’s taken to create and complete the project. Was Team Building successful? I’m gonna say yes. Will people notice? What kind of an effect will it have on my career? Come to think of it, where is my career now? There’s good momentum from 100 Acres. And we have a monograph out! But what’s next?

And, while we’re at it, how’s my personal life? It’s certainly different than when this project started. Well, for starters, I’m no longer married. Single dad time for me! And that’s just the tip of the iceberg (cliche alert #37). That I claim to let things go is not entirely true. It’s not true at all. In fact, it’s all personal. What to do? I can elevate the importance and get all prima donna about it.

Or…

I can think back to the whole point of the Team Building project, the whole reason for being involved with the IMA and 100 Acres in the first place.

Team Building with Type A

The experiential education elements shine through. I remember how experience occurs without an inherent value attached. Once through the experience, then all the thought processes and value placing begins. And it’s here that releasing the experience from all of that can be liberating. It makes it harder to sum up and convey, especially without the positive or negative elements that help turn the experience into anecdote. But it’s not about conveying; it’s about letting others have their experience and, if desired and possible, sharing in some way.

That’s what Type A attempted to capture in Team Building (Align). And it’s that sentiment, that modus operandi, that I am trying to apply to my pre-opening weekend jitters.

So, the park will be muddy and humid and hot and everyone’s hair will be frizzed out. Okay. And it will be stormy over the weekend and on the Summer Solstice, and clouds will block the sun from casting the ring’s shadow. Okay. In any case, the opening will continue and will be marked in a myriad of ways by everyone there. Hopefully we can share the experience communally and retain what’s important personally.

Life imitating art. Or is it the other way around?

Adam
Type A

Filed under: Art, Art and Nature Park, Current Events, Guest Bloggers

The pocket sketchbook is the universal tool of artists, writers, musicians, designers, archeologists, and pretty much anyone who might need to note something now and refer to it later.

It is a little life raft for ideas, observations, and inspirations-it saves them from drowning in the deep sea of everything else that occupies space in your mind.

You don’t want the seed of an idea that might turn into something great getting lost in there between the names of your cousin’s dogs and the half-remembered lyrics to the theme song from Mr. Belvedere.

100 Acres opens to the public on Sunday.  Brand, spanking new works of art and architecture , music and dance performances, spontaneous freebasketballing, the chance to meet people who live on an island in the lake, a giant insect (and probably a few regular sized ones, too) …plenty of things that might trigger your next big idea.

There’s a lot going on though, and you don’t want to forget this kernel of a brilliant notion, so you reach for your trusty sketchbook to make a quick note and…what’s that?

No sketchbook?  Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.  Stop by the area just outside of the Visitors Pavilion and make your own sketchbook/field journal/idea bank.  Assemble it, personalize it and make it your own, then head out into the park to draw a diagram of the dynamic interaction of participants in a team building exercise or jot down a few lines of poetry inspired by a peek into a bee hive.

Bring your sketchbook back on your next visit to the museum and explore the park further, or drop by the Visitors Pavilion and make a new one between noon and 4 pm each Sunday from July 11 – September 26.

Filed under: Art, Art and Nature Park, Current Events, Education, Local

Planting for wildlife is quite the rage these days. And a fine thing it is. We need to do more to support the creatures that are essential for life itself. And look at the ornamental value of, say, an eastern bluebird perched on an orange butterfly weed creating ideal color echoes and contrasts. Or the think of economic value of our many pollinators. Sometimes though, the wildlife takes a bit too much. Many folks deal with the ravages of the whitetail deer for example. Then, there is the beaver. People near water can experience this toothy neighbor’s appetite.

Recent plantings at 100 Acres are fine examples. A few trees were planted near Kendall Buster’s Stratum Pier. The first night two cottonwoods were removed at ground level. An oak was girdled, its impending death certain. The next day the beaver came back to finish the job.

Hardware cloth was put around a remaining hackberry and cottonwood. The hackberry got the tall piece of wire. The cottonwood got the short piece.

It’s all part of the reality of working in and with nature. No making it rain when you want it. No making it sunny when you need it. No stopping the wind. So you adapt.

No hardware cloth. No tree.

Know beaver. Know hardware cloth.

Thanks to Tad Fruits for the photos in this blog.

Filed under: Art and Nature Park, Horticulture

Web designers know that the industry involves plenty of change, and continuous adaption and development of skills is required in order to stay up to date. In the past few years, one of the biggest areas of change has been the amount of web-savvy users who are accessing their favorite sites via phones and mobile devices. (via smashingmagazine)

To coincide with the opening of 100 Acres, we are releasing a greatly enhanced mobile version of our site, with more content accessible from mobile phones. Anyone with a modern phone using Webkit (iPhone, Android, Palm Pre, etc.) can explore the IMA online by visiting http://www.imamuseum.org right from their device.

The cool thing is, our website automatically detects if you are on a mobile phone,  and you will be sent to the mobile version of the site. You’ll have quick access to upcoming events and general visitor information (hours, directions). You can also check out our twitter, facebook, flickr, and videos.

We’re excited to also release a rich experience in the 100 Acres section of the mobile site. In order to provide trail maps we turned to OpenStreetMap, which we like to describe as the “Wikipedia of maps”. Anyone can contribute and edit map data. You can draw new features directly on maps or upload GPS trails from a device. On our site you can toggle between trail maps provided by OpenStreetMaps or satellite imagery provided by Google. The map is also aware of your geolocation, and will place a blue dot exactly where you are in the park.

OpenStreetMap: The "Wikipedia of maps".

We are going to provide a rich mix of art and nature tour stops to give visitors access to videos, photos and text for specific locations in the park. We plan on updating nature stops to highlight when certain plants are in bloom and to show you where we see some of our furry friends.

100 Acres mobile landing page.

Toggle between satellite and trail maps.

Interactive tour stops for works of art and nature.

In the series of screen shots below you can see how to bookmark the IMA mobile web site on an iPhone to make it look and feel like a native application.

Press the "+" to add the site to your home screen.

Select "Add to Home Screen"

The site now acts like an app.

Mobile view of http://www.imamuseum.org

Don’t forget to take some time to look up from your phones when in 100 Acres!

Filed under: Art and Nature Park, Technology