Drought Flowers - My Process

How to build Drought Flowers?

Spring Semester 2006, one of my instructors had his sculpture class make something out of 100 identical objects. I decided then and there that I would do something with CD's; and I knew they had to be used CD's. If you leave CD's out in the weather, the paper backing peels off and makes a mess of the CD. So, the following summer, I glued two CD's back to back to see if they maintain their integrity. I left them in my veggie garden where they would be exposed to the weather for a year--and they remained intact!

The idea of solar flowers came from "Ringworld", a science fiction novel by Larry Nivens. Nivens' flowers are called "Slaver Sunflowers", silver disks that use the sun to "zap" anything edible.

The idea of having the CD flowers face the sun pleased me. l imagined them on some sort of flexible rod that would allow them to sway in the wind. I allowed the idea to percolate until I took a 3-D class this spring (2008). Then I faced questions about where I would present them, how would I assemble them, how would I get them to stay in the ground in 35 mph winds?

I glued ten CD's back-to-back then glued a group of three "petals" on one CD. Next, I glued another CD on top of them, making a sort of CD sandwich. I fiddled around with an old bamboo garden stake and some hardware to see if I could get an idea how to make it work. It turned out that by screwing nuts on the joins on the bamboo stakes, I could make them stable.

Once I figured out how to make the project work, I presented it to the division dean. She said “yes”, and the project was on. A week later I had made 44 “flowers” out of 506 CD’s, mounted on bamboo stakes.

I used a long screwdriver to make holes in the hard ground and hammered the “flowers” in. It was the only way I could figure out how to do it so that the things wouldn’t fly away in high winds. I made a few at a time and went out to plant them. I chose an area between the art department and music department that was un-tended. Students had made their own path through there, so that’s where I decided to plant them.

I arrived one day to discover that the music department had transplanted a few on their side of the sidewalk. They didn’t secure them well, so I planted a few for them.

I didn’t alter the space where I put the flowers; it was pretty trashy and it added to the air of desolation. Two weeks after the installation was finished, the area was free of trash and has stayed that way for three months.

People got all fussy about why I wasn’t worried about them being stolen. My attitude is that public art is, well, public; and part of the fun is seeing how people relate to the project. The only flowers that have been picked are the ones I planted by the music department.

People go by the office in the art department to ask if they can have one when the installation is over. I’m not quite sure what I will do with them. They have faded a lot in the sun and seem to be becoming brittle.

I have left them alone and they’ve accumulated a lot of dirt. Next week I will clean them so they will be ready for the beginning of the semester. I hope the school newspaper will do an article. The local Fairfield newspaper came out and interviewed me; it was a nice article with a very unflattering photo of me.

44 flowers sound like a lot, but they don’t come across as a huge field of them. It is a small, intimate installation. When someone approaches the installation, they don’t see it until that are in the flowers midst. People are surprised by them and delighted. They really “get” the message about the lack of water, but one of the things that surprised me has been all of the comments that it is too bad we can’t use them to collect solar energy. Another thing that has surprised me is a comment that someone made that all of the CD’s have been used, which says a lot about the way we de-value information.

Someone from maintenance wanted to take a couple of them to make "eyes" for a topiary caterpillar. I made two matching flowers for them; and they finally installed them but didn't do a secure job of it. They were taken the next day.

The flowers have been on display for three months; I go by regularly and do maintenance. Sometimes the bamboo splits in the wind and I just trim them so they are stable. Other times the hardware is loosened; sometimes I have to take them home to get the hardware to fit.

At this point, three months after the installation, all of the flowers I originally planted by the path to the art department are still there.

I feel that I am successful as an artist with this project. People are engaged, delighted, curious, entertained; they "get" what I set out to do and add their own reactions.

One last thing. I believe that creative people have to define success for themselves. I don't require financial gain to feel successful; it is my audience's reaction that satisfies me.