Lost Art in the Lost Coast-Continued

"Buck Creek" Installation View

Artist:  Christopher Casanova

Lost Coast, California 

Solo Trip 2008

I was visiting El Capitan state beach, just north of Santa Barbara and I started to build models of a sculpture that I wanted to build.  I found small little lengths of driftwood sticks and arranged them in "Lincoln Log Cabin" like stacks.  Then I placed a stone on top.  I was amazed that even in such a small scale, the structure was able to support  a tremendous amount of weight.  The stone practically floated.

This was the starting point for the Lost Art sculpture series.  The installation at Buck Creek  was the first work of the series.  It was built at the mouth of a creek in the Lost Coast about 11 miles north of Shelter cove, the last bit of civilization in the area.  I made a solo trip to the area and hiked for two days to reach the site.  Using fallen timbers and large pieces of driftwood, I fashioned a lifting gantry in the form of a pyramid.  With the aid of the gantry, rope and pulleys I lifted the stone into the air. After arranging the driftwood support , I lowered the boulder.  It was a bit of trick to get everything lined up correctly. Once the boulder was in position, the weight settled and the installation was complete.  I disassembled the gantry and walked away.  The installation survived 4 days, until an eight foot high tide took it down in the night.