catalyst cata·lyst (kat′ə list′): Big Dream: Big Art At Dodge

"Jaguar Bench"

Mankato limestone

Western Sculpture Park, Saint Paul

Peter Morales

We are pleased to announce that Saint Paul sculptor Peter Morales has joined Dodge Nature Preschool for a mini artist-in-residence program.

Dodge Nature Preschool recently received a very generous and anonymous gift. The bulk of the check was earmarked for our ongoing, vital mission of staff development, but a portion of the funds was available for use immediately and intended to go towards some sort of child-centered project. Staff did a lot of brainstorming together and got in touch with all of our various pie-in-the sky dreams. These dreams included, but were not limited to:

-playground greenhouse

-playground water feature

-playground farm animal paddock

-playground sheep

-outdoor classroom/gazebo/meeting place somewhere out there off the beaten path

-Gamelan Theatre presentation

-juicer

-immersion blender

-couch

-new rugs

We could not come to agreement on any of these things, even the immersion blender. What we could agree on was art. We wanted some art here at Dodge, somewhere out there in the wilds. We wanted to invite an artist to make site-specific work here, and we said, "Gee, wouldn't it be great if this were the start of something lasting and long-term? Maybe this could mean big things for the School, and the Nature Center." Then we imagined a whole bunch of art here at Dodge, all over the place...on the prairie, through the woods, around the orchards, in the ponds! Dodge could join the ranks of places like the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and Tamarack Nature Center, offering nature and art experiences simultaneously-- reflecting our land, our environment, our culture, our heritage, our history...Boy, did our dreams get big!

"Paisley Perch"
Mankato limestone
Como Park at Lexington and Jessamine, Saint Paul
Peter Morales

We've discovered that it is good to start with a big dream. Start big, and then see what you can do to get you on the path. We envisioned a big, bold, solid, kid-friendly sculpture that would serve as a catalyst for future art endeavors here at the Nature Center. So we began looking at sculpture. Franconia Sculpture Park was our starting point. It's not to far away, and choc full of local art. Right away we spotted some intriguing work by a guy named, Peter Morales. Turns out Peter lives right in Saint Paul, and little did we know, his art is all over the city. It is pretty easy to experience Peter's work in-person and we did just that. It seemed to be just the sort of work we were looking for: big, bold, solid, kid-friendly, zoomorphic stone sculpture. What if we could get this guy to come build a sculpture here with Dodge kids?

"Cajibracan"
stromatolite
Hamline Park, Saint Paul
Peter Morales

It all happened pretty fast, but here we are in the midst of an artist-in-residence experience-based program with Peter Morales. Peter has agreed to come and share what it is to be a sculptor with our classes, and to embark on a collaboration. To date, we've met with Peter, seen his work and shared time with him in our classes.

Sculptor Peter Morales with "Jaguar Head"

Morales with "Hatchet Head Helmet"

Our next point of inquiry will be stone-splitting and tools. We are determined to trek out in the field, lasso ourselves a sizable rock and drag it back here to school, where Peter will help us split and shape the stone. We have plans to cast some creations in metal too. This will entail making moulds of shapes and objects in preparation for casting in molten metal. Dodge families will visit Peter's studio, and we might even get to attend a hot metal pour at a local foundry.

Morales journalling with Spruce Room kids at the Preschool

"Water of the Doodem Spirits"
1113 Franklin Avenue East, Minneapolis
granite drinking fountain
Peter Morales

So far, the children are most fascinated by what sculpting has done to Peter's hands, the sharpness of his tools and Peter's childhood in Guatemala (Peter's older brother was a spider monkey). This is as it should be; the children gravitate to concrete experience. And so we embrace a residency with a heavy emphasis on experience, rather than end result.

Dodge students with wooden "Hacha" component for bronze casting

Teachers too are fascinated by the hands-on, nuts-and-bolts stuff, the "Oh, so that's how you do it!" revelations in learning about making art. But we are also intrigued by the more esoteric things that go into creation: where an artist grows up (in Peter's case ancient Tikal), his influences (Peter's parents were archaeologists) and his inspirations (jaguars, cajibracan and antlered beasts).

Making an impression in clay with "Hacha" component

"Hacha" impression

Esoteric ideas are the things that children take for granted, the things that just are, and that too is as it should be. Kids are alive to the whole world, closer to it in its complexity than adults. Kids seem to seek a physical understanding first, through nose-to-nose familiarity, rather than interpreting stuff at arms' length, after reflection as adults do. That's how art works on so many different levels, why it's so good for all of us. Something for everyone, from the purely visceral to the totally cerebral, art keeps connecting us to who we are here on earth.

"La Santa Hacha"
cast bronze kinetic sculpture (the top hatchet or "hacha" moves!)
Peter Morales

"Mother Baby Bench"
Mankato limestone, cast iron and forged steel
Mother Baby Center Children's Hospital, Minneapolis
Peter Morales

And if we can raise a few more dollars, we are bound and determined not only to have this terrific learning experience with Peter Morales continue, but also to place a BIG, BOLD, SOLID, STONE Morales sculpture right here at Dodge-- something for the community at large, something that will continue to serve as a catalyst for learning right on through the ages. Just imagine...a giant turtle in the Farm Pond, a big unexpected antler in the Stick Forts Woods, a stone coyote howling in the Prairie, a fish in the Bee Creek, an owl in the Piney Forest...Dodge kids, Garlough kids, Heritage kids, school kids across the metro and wandering grown-ups can stumble upon one more fantastic surprise right here at Dodge.