LARGE INSTALLATIONS | Talbot World

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Large Installations

Entry Arch and Bench Sculpture Ferrocement, tile, colored mirror. Dimensions vary. Located at xxx Southland in South Austin.	Fairy Pavilion Recycled and new wood, cedar, recycled aluminum cans, plexiglas, steel, colored plexiglas mirror, mirror glass ball. Dimensions vary. To be auctioned: bidding starts at $7500 (plus transportation and installation)	International Herb Garden - 1998 Ferrocement, earth, plants from around the world Carla Marshall, from the internationally renowned Austin Green Classroom, commissioned me to do this sculptural planter wall. Located just south of Becker Elementary on Milton St., it was built over a year's time using volunteer labor from AmeriCorps. It was modeled after a Raku sculpture I had done called Enough (see Ceramics and Mixed Media section) and its primary function was to provide large planters for herbs from around the world.
Transition, Time & Space Lines - 2006 Tile, handmade glazed ceramics, limestone, plain and colored mirror, colored Plexiglas mirror, broken safety glass on painted backer board, glitter, colored grout	Transition, Departure End - 2006 Tile, handmade glazed ceramics, limestone, plain and colored mirror, colored Plexiglas mirror, broken safety glass on painted backer board, glitter, colored grout At the "destiny", or airport end, each bridge has both a Sun (day, masculine, conscious) and Moon (night, feminine, subconscious) opposite each other, made of tile, glass, and colored mirror.	Nicholas Dawson Park Sculpture Ferrocement, colored glass and Plexiglas mirror, ceramic tile Built in 2004 and located in a neighbor-developed park at 3rd and James in South Austin, this functional sculpture takes its cues from 3 sources. First was the existing street sign — its shapes and the mosaic stripes added to it by several nearby residences. The second was a new water spigot installed by the city at the request of the neighbors. And third was a donated trash receptacle that needed a little camouflage.
Memorial City Mall Playscape - Houston Wood covered with dense foam, colored plexiglas mirror, styrofoam, rubberized flooring, plastic, nylon netting and rope, colored plexiglas, formica I designed this indoor playscape for toddlers and their caregivers. It is located at Gessner and I-10 in Houston, close to the ice rink in Memorial City Mall. The central play area is surrounded by a seating wall with planters and large arched windows.	Reunion Ranch: Music Maze 1994 Wood, poly barrels, Plexiglas mirror, PVC, Astroturf, chain, musical instruments Phase 2 was this 3-D maze that had 5 concentric octagonal layers to penetrate before reaching the musical instruments in the central pavilion. Events along the way include a trapeze walk, barrel tunnels, a house bridge, hanging panels of Astroturf, funhouse mirrors, secret passages, and a topsy-turvy bridge.	Wells Branch Community Center - 1996 Wood, plywood, colored Plexiglas mirror, PVC, glitter-covered bowling ball, musical instruments This colorful play castle has everything: a turret with a spiral staircase up to a 360 degree view, 2 secret passages, a sand chute, 2 music centers, a low counter, multiple levels, a storage shed for trykes and toys, and a gold finial ball.Its "gingerbread" roofs were made with strips of plywood cut in random curves, routed, stained dark blue, and then with the lower edges "frosted"...
Westlake Baptist Preschool Playscape - 2002 Wood, chain, poly barrels, tires of all sizes, earth berms, brick, cable Built on a steep slope, this playscape has a commanding view of Lost Creek and the sunset beyond. Its several components include a 4-level fort with vertical climbing tube and log and plank ramps, a trellised commons area leading to a tryke path with hills, a sand play area with an "archeological dinosaur dig", multiple swings, a hillside-mounted 18' wide slide, earth-filled tire climbing cliffs and retainer walls...	Robertson Elementary Playscape - Round Rock, TX 1984 Wood, tires, ferrocement, poly barrels, rope, earth, chain, cable, PVC, plants This was a huge community-built play park adjacent to an elementary school, and a project I took on when I was auditing Joe Frost's UT course on play in the early 80's. You can compare the model I built with the aerial photo to get a sense of its size (you can just make out the stockpile of tires, some 2000 in all, that were used in the project).	The Park at Walnut Creek - 1995 Wood, tires, ferrocement, earth, chain, cable, shrubs Another community-built playscape, this was created for a north Austin homeowners' association. It is located adjacent to their pool and is divided roughly into areas for little kids and big kids (although the adults seem to like to use it after hours!).
Jester Estates Community Center - 1995 Wood, tires, ferrocement, earth, chain, cable, poly barrels, plants This community-built playscape for a west Austin homeowners' association is located next to their clubhouse, pool, and tennis court complex. Nestled among trees on a gentle hill country slope, as well as revitalizing an existing play structure that had been installed for smaller children, the playground terraces down the hill in sections.	Interior, Jim Eure Residence - 1984 Limestone, ferrocement, coping, plants, mirror. Jim Eure, who originated the Mr. Gatti pizza empire, hired me to do exterior and interior stonework for his mansion on Mt. Bonnell. Part of the program was to create a "natural" waterfall and grotto for the swimming pool in his central 3-story atrium. Stone floors with built-in planters surround the pool. This project provided the cover story for the Jan. 1985 Austin Homes and Gardens.	Transition, Home End - 2006 Tile, handmade glazed ceramics, limestone, plain and colored mirror, colored Plexiglas mirror, broken safety glass on painted backer board, glitter, colored grout This was an AIPP commission for the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Austin, Texas. The title refers to the changes we go through when we travel.
Austin Center for Battered Women Exterior 1982 Limestone, glazed and unglazed brick, wood, concrete, ferrocement, glass block, fiberglass, tires, chain, mosaics, native plants This was the first center in the US specifically designed and built to shelter battered women, and was featured on 60 Minutes as soon as it opened. Working with Powell Nurseries and many other community businesses and organizations, I developed an exterior scheme to surround the building.	Mosier Residence Landscape, Lakeway, TX - 1984 Weathered limestone, concrete, ferrocement, steel, native plants, PVC The Mosier residence sat in the upper 3rd of an extremely steep hill country site that sloped from the street down to Lake Travis 200 feet below. I created an artificial spring up at street level, which feeds a waterway with numerous ponds and waterfalls, and meanders along boulder terracing and freeform retainer walls.	Hanson Stone Work Chopped limestone, concrete, steel, saltillo tile This rather steep site had 3 requirements: to mask over an old driveway that shot straight up to the house; to cover the exposed side of a swimming pool; and to create a grand entry to the house. These 2 photos show the entry, which now covers the upper part of the old driveway, and the terracing that masks the pool. Since the owner was a devout Christian, I shaped some of the drain holes in the retainer walls accordingly.
Honduras Treehouse 1970 Locally cut mahogany, thatch on tree-supported barbed wire grid, woven grass, live trees, plastic skylights, hemp rope I was floundering in my 3rd year of Rice U. architecture when I got the opportunity to help design and build a treehouse on the northern coast of Honduras. I devised a plan with classmate Hugh Brown that would earn me credit for designing and building a house from scratch.	Folk Toy Exterior - 1981 Limestone, crystal, semi-precious stone, glazed and unglazed brick, wood, mosaics, and ferrocement, mosaics, mirror, colored mirror, native plants. Folk Toy was a well-known Austin toy store at 9th and Rio Grande for many years. It was not only a toy store, but a counterculture landmark in old West Austin and a hotbed of political activism and alternative media activity (the first incarnation of ACTV was housed in their garage!).	Policano Residence Exterior - 2005 Ferrocement, plaster on lath over wood, mosaics, colored mirror This project included not only the re-covering of walls on all sides of an existing suburban house, but also the entry sequence, the sculptural retainer walls along the driveway and in both front and back yards, and a freestanding yard sculpture/planter.

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