A sculpture by Joshua Allen Harris

Here is a detail of the Horn Tree. This mother is pretty hard to photograph.

The idea here is that the mouthpieces of the horns grow out of the copper tubing at approximately mouth level. When the horns are blown (and the proper sound is made), the light bulbs (which are suspended from copper tubing overhead) light up. The tree was engineered so that some bulbs light up at some frequencies, and others light up at other frequencies, see? So that if you blow a high note a certain bank of lights go on, and if you blow a low note another bank of lights goes on. Make sense? No? Well here’s a video to explain:

And here’s another picture–a little blurry, but you can get the idea:

My dad helped me to engineer the base (so that it wouldn’t fall over) and then he had to leave, So my friend Mark took over to help with the engineering of the light bulbs–that is, making the light bulbs turn on when the horns are blown. Turns out he knew of this fun thing called a Color Organ. It’s the device that makes those awesome light banks from the seventies function. Don’t know what I’m talking about? I think you do:

Nowadays you can buy a printed circuit board kit that controls the lights. Thank God that Mark knew how to 1) order it and, 2) solder the damn thing together.

The PCB is almost as interesting as the horn tree, really. It looks like three little robot guys with three little robot drums getting ready for a drum circle:

Here’s a wee video of Ken and Mark testing the color organ:

One more thing I’d like to note: Caralie and I felt very proud of ourselves because we learned how to attach plugs and sockets to electrical wire. Here’s a picture of us doing a victory dance:

Did you know that electrical wire is made of latex? I didn’t. One bad side effect of working with this stuff all day (I learned to use a wire stripper!) is that my latex allergy has been upgraded from mild to relatively severe. Now I’m allergic to all sorts of things. I’m even allergic to my iPod headphones. Sheesh.

I’m making a tree with horns. Tubas, trumpets, a trombone and a bugle. Tomorrow I hang the lights from the tree. They will turn on when any of the horns are blown.

Here’s my dad with the horns. He went home today–back to KY where he came from. I’m sure he’ll be glad to be out of the heat, and out of work (at least on my project) for awhile.

Oh, and I’ve adopted this kitten. Gotta get him back home on the plane. His name is Amsterdam, and he’s adopted the horn tree.

A Home Depot update: a couple days ago, I went to the Depot for parts for the tea tree. The one guy who helps me out there led me over to the funnels. When I asked for plastic tubing he gave me a sly look. At some point I realized he thought I was making a beer bong. It was a curious feeling to be thought of as a fraternity party denizen. Exactly the opposite feeling, in fact, as explaining what I’m actually doing with my Depot supplies.

My Yarn Cone tree has arrived. There is much rejoicing. Also, my server has been fixed and now there will be much posting. Rejoicing and posting all the day–that’s how I’m celebrating July 4. Oh, I know…some make cakes in the shape of the American Flag–that’s cool and all, but me, I’m celebrating my right and privilege to say whatever I want on this here blog.

MY SISTER PEGGIE

Here’s what I want to say: I love my sister. I’ve been at her house and in her 2nd grade classroom (it’s off-season space has become my installation workshop). She puts up with a lot from me, and from 100 other assorted people she takes care of every day. Everyone who comes into her house, or within 50 feet of her feels welcomed. She feeds a jabillion people a day. She mothers everyone who needs it. She’s good to the world. You should meet her.

JORDAN SEWS A MEAN LINE

CARALIE IS SKILLFUL AND DANGEROUS WITH SHARP IMPLEMENTS

I would also like to say that I’ve been having a great time hanging out with Caralie, Jake, Ben, Jordan, Tully, Ken and Isaac. They have helped me with sewing, knitting, nest-making, wire-cutting, torso-sculpting, sweater selection, cleaning and etc. I can’t tell you how much I like them. Ben’s here right now power knitting cones on the sofa behind me. Knit like the wind, Ben.

BEN HEARTS YARN

Also, I must mention that my dad, whom I’m probably killing, is working outside with  a herniated disc and 115 degrees temps. He never complains. And the kiosk he’s building is going to damage your eyeballs it’s so beautiful. I’m a complete idiot and didn’t get a picture of it before it was disassembled for painting. 

Today I am going to begin work on building the bulk of my installation. I have recruited my dad to help: he’s engineering the structures of the trees and buildings. We are going to convert my sister’s 1st grade classroom in Phoenix into a Central Park workshop. I’m excited to use tools for a few weeks. I love to build.

The one piece I’ve been working on (at home) is stuffed into a box and put into the care of the USPO for it’s journey from NYC to AZ:

The whole thing fit rather nicely into a Fresh Direct box, minus cupcakes and ladder, of course.

Next thing we work on is the Tea Tree. Oh joy–the tree will make you tea! I can’t wait to see it.

I’m also looking forward to the indoor Great Lawn. I’ve always wanted to roll sod out on a floor. I’m drooling just thinking about it.

I’ve lived most my life (with the exception of the first few years) in non-suburban settings. First, redwood forest, then NYC. Because of this I have mostly been left out of superstore shopping of any kind. So, I was overjoyed to walk around Home Depot in Mission Viejo (where I’m staying for a few days) to do some research for my impending installation build. THEY HAVE EVERYTHING! YOU CAN BUY IT ALL AND PUT IT IN YOUR CAR AND DRIVE IT HOME! Brilliant.

Do all people feel the same surge of joy that I do when they walk into the Depot? I hope so. It’s a lovely rush.

I know some will say that hey, you have a Depot in Manhattan. Yeah, it’s just not the same thing. It’s small, understocked, and the Depot People won’t tell you where anything is.

Yarn cones + nest + teeny cupcake= awesome.

Here’ s a photo of what I have done of the tree part–you can just make out the cupcake nest at the tippy-top. Eventually it will have several nests–about enough for a dozen cupcakes.

I was hoping to make the frosting robin’s egg blue, but the blue cupcakes didn’t show up enough from the tree. Were I a real bird that would be a good thing–a little camouflage never hurt anyone. But my goal is for people to see the cupcakes and eat them all up. They have to be visible, see?

I tried a lot of different ways to make this nest. It was my idea that I’d use no glue–that I’d attach twigs together with back pressure. When I realized that was not working I tried sewing them together with thread–also not happening. Did you know it was so hard to make a nest? Well, it is. It’s hard and time consuming.

In the end I caved and bought a nice can of spray glue. Even this was not without its difficulty–the sticks stuck to my hand more than to each other. It’s actually not coming off my hands any time soon, nor the spatula I used to detach the poor nest from the plate I constructed it on. I may have to throw the spatula away or just use it in nest making evermore.

All this to say: I don’t know how they do it. This is really a sorry nest–it wouldn’t keep any eggs warm for a second. . And I had tweezers, a spatula, spray glue and needle and thread to help me, not to mention advice from a nice lady at Michaels. It looks simple, but it aint.

I read that the American Goldfinch makes its nest so snug that it can hold water. The American Goldfinch are geniuses!

This nest is going into my Yarn Tree and will soon house some teeny cupcakes with robin’s egg blue frosting.

My tree is nearing completion. My joy is great. I still think i have around 100 cones to go, though. Turns out, making a tree is pretty time consuming too, almost as time consuming as growing one.

My brain is boring, thank God. Perfectly normal, see? I left the doctor with a huge envelope of brain pics, feeling like I had just been to some demented elementary school Olan Mills shoot. Really, the individual scans come out in little squares that are more-or-less wallet sized. I might sign one “have a nice summer” for Jad. He used to tell me he liked me for my brain.

I’m thinking of cutting them up and using them somehow in the installation. They might make good tree innards, coupled with my lumbar spine MRIs. Like the tree skeleton is in there and it’s just like yours, you perfectly normal (albeit with some bionics) patient, you.

I’m considering making knot holes in the Yarn Tree or the Sweater Tree which have a magnifying glass and an LED light so you can see the bones.