The Short but Thrilling Life of a Waterfall Gnome

Impermanence is a key variable to consider. I don’t want my creations to last forever.  I want the sculpture to be interactive with the environment in which it is immersed.  All living things must someday die because it is only through death that we can understand life.  All of my stone structures will one day collapse or get knocked over or crashed into.  Accepting and foreseeing the ultimate demise of what I am creating changes the nature of the artistic process. I am not capturing an image or idea or feeling. I am, instead, creating a life form.

I like to do it on public land that lots of people have access to but in an out of the way place that few people visit.  All I need is a pile of rocks to play with and an atmospheric background in which to put them together.  I like to imagine that  occasional random hikers will come across my creations and say something like, “wow, would you look at that.”  But it is just as likely that a reckless kid or an angry adult will see the ‘rock pile’ as a target for destruction.  Or maybe, no human will see my creation at all and it will be knocked over by a wild animal or blown over in a big wind or flooded out in rising waters.  Of course, I can take photos or videos of this creation and share those photos on the internet so lots of people can see it.  But seeing something after the fact is not nearly the same as seeing it LIVE!

The Waterfall Gnome was created on October 20, 2024.  The forest in New York State was exceptionally dry at the time because there had been practically no rain for the previous two months.  There is a spot on the creek where I occasionally go to dunk my head under a small waterfall to cool off.  But the waterfall was practically non-existent in October because the rushing creek had been reduced to a trickle.  So I built a Waterfall Gnome out of stone next to the trickle as an offering to the gods of nature.  I said a simple prayer and made a wish for the return of the waters.

The rains returned in November and the Creek rose. But the gnome stood his ground  Then, in early December, crazy storms arrived and the creek totally overflowed.  But still, my little gnome friend stayed standing.  He didn’t make it until Winter though.  I was away from the forest for a while and when I went back up there on the Winter Solstice (December 21), the Waterfall Gnome was no more. I didn’t see it happen so I don’t know for sure.  But he  probably got taken out by a  December blizzard.  Or maybe he was kicked over by a passerby.  No matter, the cute little guy lived a short but very thrilling life.  

To see the action packed video, you have to be a patron of the Stoney Rock’s Museum.