Natures Embrace arrives at its new home at Creekside Environmental Center

[July 07, 2017]  LINCOLN - On Thursday morning “Nature’s Embrace” was loaded on to a transport vehicle and delivered to the Creekside Environmental Center for installation.

Artist Moses Pinkerton was on hand for the process of unloading and placing the statue in its new home. He worked beside several helpers including local artist Jason Hoffman, Bill Davis, Gary Minder and Kenny Hoffman to determine how to lift and drive the statue to its new resting place.

Jason Hoffman, Moses Pinkerton, Bill Davis, Gary Minder, and Kenny Hoffman

There is a great deal of engineering that comes into play during this process. Hoffman and Pinkerton have installed several large sculptures in and around the Lincoln area, and understood the balance and the tilt they would have to achieve when the sculpture was lifted by the forklift. They worried about the large piece slipping from the straps it would hang from, and did a few dry runs on lifting the sculpture before they settled on a method.

Hoffman summed it up finally, saying, “We just have to go and see what happens.” Well, all went well. Pinkerton and Hoffman walked beside the sculpture holding the rods out so they wouldn’t get caught in the gravel of the parking lot. They were also somewhat steering the bottom end of the sculpture in the right direction as the forklift driver did his job.

A pad had be prepared for the statue along the sidewalk that leads from the parking lot to the pavilion. The statue had long steel rods protruding from the bottom that would be placed into holes in the pad. The process would include standing the statue upright over the pad, getting the rods lined up in the holes, then filling it with Quick Crete. Once the alignment was correct, the statue was lifted and the workers began filling the holes with the fast setting concrete and water.

When the statue was on the ground, and standing upright on its own, there was a sigh of relief from Pinkerton whose only comment about the installation at that moment was, “Amen, and hallelujah! What else is there to say?” While Pinkerton may have been short on words, his expression told a story of relief and happiness as he was able to see his art safely placed in its new home.

Dr. Dennis Campbell, overseer of the Creekside facility had a few more words to add.

“I frequently say that Creekside is for (someday) having agriculture here talking about seed corn, then turning around and saying ‘and how does this effect the environment with the use of chemicals?’ I frequently use the term ‘tree huggers,’ and talk about having tree huggers out here and saying, ‘Well, where does your food come from? You can’t be totally against farming.’”

“So here, we are going to have a sculpture of a tree hugger, but it is actually the tree hugging the people, so it is nature supporting humans.

“I think it is a good juxtapositioning of philosophies. I think Lincoln College is fortunate to have an art community that can see that art can be out in nature as well. I’m thrilled that I was approached first by Pam Moriearty, then Moses Pinkerton and Jason (Hoffman), thinking that this would be a site for the community.”

Dr. Pamela Moriearty (left) with Cris Wibben of the Logan County Tourism Bureau

Dr. Pamela Moriearty was on hand on Thursday and watched as the art was installed. Moriearty is a Logan County Master Naturalist and a member of the Logan County Arts that Pinkerton and Hoffman both participate in as well. According to Campbell she was the person instrumental in bringing nature and art together for the project.

With the installation complete, it was time for the passing of stewardship from Pinkerton to Dr. Campbell and Creekside. In a fun and symbolic gesture, the two men shared a hug in front of the sculpture, followed immediately by a hearty hand shake.

The sculpture is large enough for a person to fit in and experience the feeling of “nature supporting humans” from the ultimate tree-hugger.

Creekside is free and open to the public. The environmental center is continually growing and expanding its offerings to the community. Throughout the center there are trails and benches where folks can walk a while, sit a spell, and then move on and soak in all that the center has to offer.

[Nila Smith with photos by Smith and Curtis Fox]