Giant Purple Cactus

-Neal Lucas Hitch, Artist-in-Residence

#giantpurplecactus

The latest installation of desert-sized art at the Imperial Valley Desert Museum is the interpretive execution of a child's rendering of a purple prickly pear cactus brought to life.  Now a trio of brightly-painted sculptures, these large cactus give new life as defining characteristics on the landscape and greet visitors to our desert.

The cactus are made of rebar-supported plywood.  During construction museum staff tested multiple ply materials to determine the optimum deformation of the sculpture in the wind. As residents of the area know, Ocotillo is no stranger to high winds.  Gusts exceeding 45 miles per hour are common experiences, and are always a consideration in new construction: this land of extremes requires extreme installations.  Against this, building three desert-sized art pieces, each essentially acting as its own sail in the wind, was no small task.

Lucas takes a break in the shade of his cactus before painting

The result is a kinetic sculpture that gently sways in the wind like a real cactus.  Its upper areas are painted an assortment of bright colors, designed to reflect the life and diversity of the real purple prickly pear cactus, and to be just as eye-catching in its presence. Getting up close to it, visitors will see an even greater detail.  The base of the sculpture is covered in a mosaic made from hundreds of pottery sherds, collected from failed pit firings of pottery first made by children at the museum.  Their inclusion speaks to the nature and success of the desert itself: everything comes from something and the desert is a place of infinite resourcefulness and repurpose.

As with all museum installations, the giant cactus will be added on to over time.  Coming soon will be a small kiosk or sign explaining the art, as well as a landscaped trail guiding visitors the short distance from the road over the wash to the sculptures.  Small solar lights to spotlight the statues at night have already been added. Museum staff have seen many people stop by to admire the cactus and take pictures of them, and we hope this exciting trend continues! If you snap a picture, consider sharing it on social media and tagging the museum, and let’s get the hashtag #giantpurplecactus trending online!

Desert-sized art before paint

Desert-sized art after paint

Stucco Party: Volunteer Fun!

-by the Curator

When the mixer broke, all stucco had to be mixed by hand

Some chose to ignore the tools and dive right in

One of the projects our Artist-in-Residence has been working on this summer has been to finish stuccoing the Ocotillo Observatory.  It has proven challenging, and slow going.  To help get more done,  this Sunday a group of friends came out to the Museum to have a stucco party.  Even though the mixer broke early on and all the stucco had to be mixed by hand, everyone had a good time.  The competition to see who could become the best at stuccoing was matched only by the unintended competition of who would come away covered in the most stucco!  The Observatory is not entirely stuccoed yet- so another volunteer party may be coming soon

Lucas wins the competition for having the most stucco on him in this volunteer shelfie

What We're Doing Today

-from the Curator

We've been working so hard lately we've forgotten to tell you what we're up to!  Besides the usual visitor tours, grant writing, and painting as we finish the new exhibit, there's plenty happening behind the scenes.

Lucas and Davis Hitch are learning to apply stucco and finishing off the Ocotillo Observatory . . . 

It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it . . .

And who doesn't want to work outside in the summer. In Ocotillo.It's barely 100 with cloud cover

Marcie is learning to edit videos for our Cal Humanities Community Stories grant: The Kumeyaay Nation: Stories of Change 

Learning a new skill: video editing

We've accessioned a new collection and you know what that means- curation continues!  Are you interested in learning how to curate and seeing some of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into making the museum run? Talk to us about volunteering!  

Curation continues!

Artist-In-Residence Project: Jacumba Mosaic Tables

-from the Curator

This week our Artist-in-Residence Lucas Hitch finished a set of 6 picnic table mosaics in Jacumba.  The project was an original design submitted for a $5,000 Community Enhancement Grant funded by the San Diego County Supervisors for the Jacumba-Boulevard Revitalization Alliance.     

Matching finished tiles to designs before instal

Making snakes from scratch 

Mock up of finished table with 'sandy' mosaic background

Lucas's design concept called for all 6 picnic table tops to be covered with a carefully designed mosaic.  Separately, each table will stand alone as art, but taken together they will form one image of three snakes.  "The snakes are not necessarily meant to be photographed and pieced together by the public" Lucas says.  "The art is experienced by looking at the image and seeking out the various tables.  More like a scavenger hunt." 

Original Concept Art of tables & finished tables- Lucas Hitch

Jacumba students sign the finished tiles

Each snake tile was made by museum staff with the help of students in the Jacumba After School program. The junior high students learned all the steps of making mosaic tiles from kneading clay to painting tiles, and participating students wrote their names on tiles that will be included in the tables. "Our names are going to be there forever" one student said "I can't wait to show everyone."

 "They can bring their parents and their friends here and show off their work" said Lucas. "It gives the students and, through them, the community a real sense of ownership in the project.  The impact of this project will last for years to come." 

Jacumba students learn to set tiles on a picnic table

Students from the Jacumba After School program learned about the art of ceramics, the importance of designing and planning ahead of time when building a mosaic, and enjoyed breaking up ceramic tiles that have become the sandy background for the snakes. They even got to learn how to apply grout and lay tiles.  

Lucas Hitch, IVDM Artist-in-Residence

Our Artist-in-Residence program provides outlets and programs directed by local artists for local artists, and has been incredibly successful since its inception in 2012.  The Museum has twice won a Sidney Stern Memorial Trust Grant to support this program and our Director, Neal Hitch presented on the program at the American Alliance of Museum's annual national convention this spring.