Wander Photo's "Getting to Know You"

So while getting serious about my photoblogging, I've joined a few blogging rings, including Alabama Women Bloggers. They posed the ever burning question, who are you?  So, armed with a list of provided questions, I set about trying to answer.

• 1. What part of the state do you call home?

Bright lights, big Rocket

I currently live in North Alabama, Madison County, Huntsville. I was raised in Gurley and have also lived in Birmingham. I travel whenever I can, to get more experiences and photograph them.

• 2. How long have you been blogging?
• 9. Who or what inspired you to blog?

(So I'm already breaking the rules, answering questions out of order and two at a time! Tsk, tsk. Sometimes things just work out that way. When I got to question 9, I realized I had already answered it.)
  Um...technically...I've been blogging since 2009. This year is when I've really gotten serious about it. Why? If you look at my blog archive you will see that I have no posts last year, 2013. The year started off with a lack of focus, and then quickly was shot into a hyper focus on my grandparents, when my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer in late February. I had tentative plans to move back out to Gurley with them anyway, and garden the massive plot my brother had made the year before. 

Lilacs on Keel Mountain

  I quit teaching, and for the rest of the year my life was taking care of my grandparents. I still photographed a few things, such as these lilacs, one of my grandmother's favorites. My grandmother died only 2 months after her diagnosis, and my grandfather followed her that December. I bent my grief to productivity and creation.

• 3. Why did you start blogging?

 I started blogging for two very different reasons. The first was to get my photography out there with the simple goal of making money. Unfortunately, if that's your sole goal, you aren't going to get very far...and I didn't. The second reason - the better one - I have a deep rooted desire to share what I see and how I feel. I love to go on trips and write about where I've been.
  

• 4. What do you love most about blogging?

Wade Wharton's art

 Sometimes - when I'm very lucky - someone will write me a couple of sentences about one of my posts. I suppose my real craving is to invoke feeling in others. It excites me to hear people's reactions to my photographs. 
  Shortly after the death of local Huntsville artist, Wade Wharton, I visited the Botanical Gardens to see his sculpture in the face of an uncertain future. His granddaughter tweeted me about how good it was for her to see my posts. In the wake of my own grief from my grandparents' deaths, I had the opportunity to give comfort, even in some small way, to someone who was hurting. That was the highlight of my year, and will continue to be.
  I'm very slow visiting places like museums or gardens. I like to take in the feel of a place, what it is, what it was, what it could be, inspecting it down to the minutest details. I invite others to take the journey with me, in person or in the digital reality.
 

• 5. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Well, my dream is to get enough attention to fund my photographic adventures. Whether or not this will happen...I guess we'll have to wait and see.

• 6. What is your favorite movie?

 I can never really answer this question. Since I was a child, my pat answer has been Legend. And I still love it, although nowadays my love is split between the theatrical release (for the soundtrack) and Ridley Scott's directors cut (for the missing dialogue).
  I tend to stick to the fantasy realm for my chosen movies, no dramas or crime thrillers. I get enough of real life in real life.

• 7. If you could use any actress to play you in your life, who would you choose and why?

 Still with the movies! I would probably have to go with Jennifer Connelly. I've been told I look a bit like her, especially when she was younger - I'll never lose the babyface, apparently. I also have a few autistic tendencies and she can express that fierce stoic look I often have.

• 8. Name the top 5 things on your bucket list.
  

train tickets in Chicago

 My list would be pretty much all travel related - places to visit. Every place has it's own unique feeling, even if it's a crappy roadside dinner. Traveling is not just a destination to me; it's about the journey. I love everything encompassed in the word "road-trip".

• 10. If you could be known for one thing in your life, what would it be?

volunteer work for MARF

 Obvious answer would be for my photography, but I would also hope it would be for my charity work, too, in hopes that others would be inspired to kindness.

• 11. Where is your favorite place to go on vacation?

SoWal beaches

As much as I love new experiences, I do have one favorite place: the beaches of South Walton -- Grayton Beach State Park in particular. Love the white sugar sands, and calm waters! Most of the time you have the beach to yourself at Grayton, in addition there are some great walking trails through the park, clean camp grounds, and quiet cabins.
  I also love to visit the nearby picture-perfect towns of Seaside (where they filmed The Truman Show) and Watercolor, and it's just a stones throw from the larger cities of Destin or Panama.

• 12. Describe the best moment in your life.

Oh no, we're not going to have a City Slickers moment, are we?

• 13. We’re headed to your neck of the woods for one day. What is one thing we have to do, and what restaurant we must eat at?

a Maple Hill angel

 I already know what restaurant we have to go to: Mangos Carribean Restaurant. They're locally owned, lots of options on the menu, and I've never taken anyone there that didn't like it. Mangos is very vegan friendly, having several options already on the menu and even making special orders for me. Their vegan fish is amazing, and I would probably eat their rice & peas and cabbage until my stomach exploded. Wonderful image to make you hungry, huh?
  As to places to visit or things to do, it would depend upon your tastes. If you're a history or art buff, I'd take you to The Weeden House. This small museum doesn't get the credit it deserves. It encompasses a lot of local history, as well as wonderful paintings and poems by the artist that lived there. When I taught, it was always a favorite field trip for me.
   Afterwards, we could stop by Maple Hill Cemetery, the largest and oldest in Alabama. Non-locals are a bit creeped out by the idea of visiting a cemetery for fun, but the place is beautiful. Blooming dogwoods and irises in the spring, scarlet colored maples in the fall, and wonderful statues year round, make this a great place to walk or bike. Huntsville was considered for the state capitol for a while and Maple Hill is the final resting place for many important political leaders and Civil War heroes.

  If you're a hiker, let's head to Monte Sano, one of our gorgeous mountains, either the state park or the Land Trust - I'll take my dogs.

•   14. What is a tradition you and your family have?

On the trail

No kids and no marriage, so family to me is my parents. We are very close, and we often go on trips together. Christmas is our big family time. We open our presents on Christmas Eve, a tradition that started when my brother and I were kids. My mother loves to have the X-mas lights on at night while we open the presents, and we would go up to visit my grandparents on Christmas Day.

• 15. We all love social media, share your links so we can follow you. 

I'm so glad you asked! I post a lot of pretty pictures on Facebook, often photos I'm working on for my blog before I've finished, but also some random pics that don't warrant a whole blog post, but are still entertaining. I also share links to other photography projects going on in the world. Like my page, The Wandering Photographer.

I've recently joined the ranks of Twitter and I update folks with my photographic doings. My posts are fairly similar to Facebook, with more of a local bent. I post more often, since Twits seem to like that, and I also chit chat a lot more with fellow Tweeters. Follow me @Wander_Photo

I had dismissed Instagram for so long that I finally had to get an account to grow as a photographer. Like it or not, phone photography is a big part of the future, and I can either get on board or be run over. Like all change it has bad parts and it has good parts. It can't replace SLR photography, but I have to admit it presents images in a way traditional photographers don't. I haven't produced an image I'm happy with yet, but I think it requires me to take images differently than how I usually do, hence the "growth as a photographer." Everyday, I take at least one photo with my tablet, or another handheld cheap camera and post it. Follow my great photographic experiment on Instagram @wander_photo


Thanks for reading everyone! I hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about me and my life. I love to hear from people, so drop me a note.

Wade Wharton Sculpture Trail pt. 3

 "Light bulbs die, my sweet. I will depart." --Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
 

detail from "Blue Bottle Tree"

My third and final blog post about my journey discovering Wade Wharton. If you're just now joining us, be sure to catch part 1 and part 2

detail from "Jack In The Beanstalk"

Discovering Wharton's sense of humor was a delectable surprise. Some are jokes on the turn of a phrase.

"Spring Just Around The Corner"

Some are puns on the materials used for the sculpture. My partner and I puzzled over the meaning of this piece, made from an old plough. I consulted my mother later who reminded me that "to harrow" meant to plow the ground. 

"How Did These Flowers Get In Har?"

Most of his pieces are full of whimsy. 

cow from "Jack In The Beanstalk"

 Loved his dog and cat pair! The caption for "Digger" states that Wharton added the goggles to keep the dirt from getting in the dog's eyes. 
 

"Digger"

 Even when they seem straightforward, there's often more than meets the eye, such as in this piece made from an old sewing machine.

"Tractor"

"Dragon Fly"

Sometimes I think his artwork was an affirmation of life for him. Wade told one interviewer that he, "tried everything to capture these neat feelings that I've had. I want people to know that after a stroke this is what you can do."

"Red Man" in the bamboo

January 15th, Wade Wharton was murdered in his home. Seeing his artwork was an affirmation of life for me as well - dealing with my own grieving for family lost.

detail of "Fan Blade Flower (unpainted)"

"When King Lear dies in Act V, do you know what Shakespeare has written? He's written 'He dies.' That's all, nothing more. No fanfare, no metaphor, no brilliant final words. The culmination of the most influential work of dramatic literature is 'He dies.' It takes Shakespeare, a genius, to come up with 'He dies.' And yet every time I read those two words, I find myself overwhelmed with dysphoria. And I know it's only natural to be sad, but not because of the words 'He dies.' but because of the life we saw prior to the words."
--Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

detail of "I Dig That"

 Walking the Wade Wharton Sculpture Trail, we came near to the end at "Blue Bottle Tree". The sun was going in and out of wispy clouds as it journeyed  towards the horizon.

detail from "Blue Bottle Tree"

Something so simple, that was absolutely striking when you looked at it the right way. Death is surprising like that, no matter how it comes.

detail from "Twisted Tail"

In the last few years of his life, Wharton was worried about the continuation of his work after he passed. Where would his artwork go? Would a museum agree to care for it?

detail from "Blue Bottle Tree"

I  hope so. In fact, let's insist on it. As I said, death is the great unifier.

detail from "Blue Bottle Tree"

 So we've reached the end of my Wade Wharton Trilogy blogging. I hope you have enjoyed the journey as much as I have. The Wade Wharton Sculpture Trail is currently at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens. Go check it out and remember a wonderful man.

"I've lived all five of my acts, and I am not asking you to be happy that I must go. I'm only asking that you turn the page, continue reading... and let the next story begin. And if anyone asks what became of me, you relate my life in all its wonder, and end it with a simple and modest 'He died.'"
--Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium 

Wade Wharton Sculpture Trail pt. 2 - A Closer Look

Thank you for the attention I've received from my first blog post about Wade Wharton! If you haven't read it yet, please check out Part 1. Since my last blog post, I've learned from others that Wharton also did beautiful wood sculptures. I hope to see them someday.

This post I'll be taking a closer look at a few of my favorite Wharton pieces in the garden. There's a few pieces whose beauty and...well...genius - for lack of a better word - cannot be contained within one photo alone. 

As soon as I glimpsed "Alligator" in the Aquatic Garden, I fell in love. Wonderful quirkiness!

The placing of the sculpture in the water gardens is perfect. It looks great out on the water. Even in the winter, with no green vegetation or flowers, the rusted metal seems to compliment the color of the bricks.

 It is also unique to many of the other pieces in the Garden, since its individual parts are not as obvious on first sight. Many of Wharton's pieces are in fact optical illusions, taking advantage of how our brain works. It's theorized that humans might be unique in the way our brain works, to see a flower in a pile of lug-wrenches, for example.

This sculpture is an alligator first, a bunch of shovels and hinges second. Unlike most of his work, like "Gear Tree". You see the gears first, then the flowers pop out at you.

"Gear Tree"

I also just think his expression is adorable.

 The other piece I want to explore in this post is actually two pieces interacting with each other. "Praying Mantis" appears to made up of many different metal elements. I can pick out garden rakes, patio table tops, and may some sort of propane or helium tank. It also features more involved painting than most other pieces, using yellow highlights to bring the insect to life.

"Brauns Bug" made from springs is adorable as he climbs along a tree root. Any Huntsvillian ought to appreciate the pun in the name.

 

"Praying Mantis" is stalking "Brauns Bug" through the woods along the Mathews Nature Trail.

 

Although these are just bits of metal stuck together, they are placed in such a way as to seem very lifelike. The whole scene is enough to make me feel sorry for Brauns Bug.

 
And the praying mantis is fairly intimidating. Look at the expression Wharton can evoke from metal bars and nuts & bolts.

 

Thanks for joining me on my trip. In the third and final blog post, I'll talk more about the quirky humor I found in Wharton's sculpture and captions. What a great sense of humor! Also, I'm sure when I get to my final pictures, I'll wax philosophical with my personal reflections of death (after having lost much last year), as the sun sets behind Wade Wharton's monuments. 

If you knew Wharton or have something to add about his life or work, don't hesitate to comment on this post, on Facebook, Twitter, or send me an email.
See you next week.

Wade Wharton Sculpture Trail pt. 1

"Plumber's Bouquet"

 So probably most people from Huntsville have heard of Wade Wharton. They probably first heard about him when he was in trouble with the city for keeping his junk art sculptures in his own yard. The Huntsville elite hates self expression and division from the norm. Wharton certainly divided from the norm. 

"Alligator"

 I've always had a soft spot for junk art and when I heard that the Huntsville Botanical Gardens was showcasing his work, I'd thought I'd go to see it sometime. Months later, I had almost forgotten about it. Then I heard he had been killed.

detail of "Rototiller Rose"

I have said that death is the great unifier, and it was so. I was worried I had become like so many others, only showing true interest in an artist's work after his death, but never the less death brought me together with everyone else to learn about Wade Wharton...and that can't be too bad of a thing.

detail of "Trace Chain"

Apparently, Wade had considered himself a normal guy, with a normal job, a normal wife, a normal life. Then he had a stroke. One article quotes him as follows, "The stroke killed off the left side, threw me plum over to my right side. Then I got ideas. Maybe not unique ideas, but they was unique to me, whoo boy."

"Floral Surprise"

After that, Wharton blossomed in metal flowers. Unfortunately, his wife couldn't follow him into this new area of self-expression, but Wade continued alone, bringing to life dozens and dozens of new metal citizens. Using found metal parts, such as rusted wrenches, debris from car wrecks, and old farm equipment, Wade welded these separate parts together to create flowers and insects that are surprisingly lifelike, especially considering they might be made from shovel heads. 

"Dig and Divide"

I was also surprised at with the organic nature of this metal work and how well they fit into the landscape. When I went to photograph, it was just a few days out from the really hard freezes we had this year. The landscape was a lot more barren than we Southerners are used to seeing, even in the winter. Wade Wharton's sculptures filled the void and were one with the garden. I and my companion found ourselves wishing that the Gardens hadn't erected the bamboo dividers around the sculptures.

"Skinny Petals"

Of course, we also found ourselves wishing they knew how to make a map. But we had a wonderful time wandering the gardens, and discovering the sculptures.

"I Dig That"

In the next two blog posts, I'll talk more about the quirky humor I discovered in Wade Wharton's pieces, and showcase a couple of installations in depth.