PARRSBORO – What do horses, a deer, a dog, a wolf, a pea pod, music and Lorena Bobbitt have in common?
They are all subjects of sculptures on display on Main Street in Parrsboro.
“I see humour and I love to see people smile. I want to tweak peoples emotions,” said 77-year-old Doris Soley, who has close to 15 sculptures installed along Main Street in Parrsboro.
Men looking at Soley’s Lorena Bobbitt sculpture probably won’t smile and will likely have more than just their emotions tweaked.
Lorena Bobbitt is famous for cutting off her husband’s private part with a knife, going for a drive, rolling down her window and tossing the severed item into a field.
Soley’s Bobbitt sculpture is made of scrap iron welded together by her husband Claude. The sculpture stands about eight feet tall and depicts a woman in an iron dress. In her left had she carries a cleaver, and in her right had she carries a platter made from a buzz saw blade with a severed head sitting atop it.
Soley says its most rewarding when her artwork creates a dialogue among people on the street.
“People don’t ordinarily go up to a stranger and talk but if they’re standing by a piece of work they can discuss it, and that happens a lot,” she said.
Slowing people down and creating dialogue is exactly what Taylor Redmond hoped for when she co-ordinated and curated the inaugural Art Installation Fiesta, which opened Saturday on Main Street Parrsboro.
“The artists brought their work and the streets had lots of people, so it was really impressive how everything came together,” said Redmond.
Artists with works on display include Soley, Bill Shaw, Joy Laking, Heather Lawson, Tim Feeman and John Little.
Little has been a blacksmith for 44 years and creates what he calls Sound Contraptions.
“The neat thing is you put them in front of trained musicians and they go nuts,” said Little.
Little has two sound contraptions on display in Parrsboro - Man-O-War and Mystery Pipes.
“You can’t tune them, and when you start playing them you can’t predict what they’re going to do,” said Little. “You wonder why musician would be interested but they love it.”
Sticks and bows are placed beside the contraptions so people can play them.
Redmond says the art exhibit brings art out of the museum and into the street where people can feel free to better appreciate it.
“People don’t always like the atmosphere created by a museum, but this exhibit brings art out into the open,” she said.
The art will continue to be on display until Oct. 26, and Redmond hopes the art catches people’s eyes and, instead of just zipping through Parrsboro, they will take the time needed to appreciate the different pieces of art.
“That’s what we want people to do,” said Redmond. “We want people to come here, sit, and stay awhile.”
PARRSBORO – What do horses, a deer, a dog, a wolf, a pea pod, music and Lorena Bobbitt have in common?
They are all subjects of sculptures on display on Main Street in Parrsboro.
“I see humour and I love to see people smile. I want to tweak peoples emotions,” said 77-year-old Doris Soley, who has close to 15 sculptures installed along Main Street in Parrsboro.
Men looking at Soley’s Lorena Bobbitt sculpture probably won’t smile and will likely have more than just their emotions tweaked.
Lorena Bobbitt is famous for cutting off her husband’s private part with a knife, going for a drive, rolling down her window and tossing the severed item into a field.
Soley’s Bobbitt sculpture is made of scrap iron welded together by her husband Claude. The sculpture stands about eight feet tall and depicts a woman in an iron dress. In her left had she carries a cleaver, and in her right had she carries a platter made from a buzz saw blade with a severed head sitting atop it.
Soley says its most rewarding when her artwork creates a dialogue among people on the street.
“People don’t ordinarily go up to a stranger and talk but if they’re standing by a piece of work they can discuss it, and that happens a lot,” she said.
Slowing people down and creating dialogue is exactly what Taylor Redmond hoped for when she co-ordinated and curated the inaugural Art Installation Fiesta, which opened Saturday on Main Street Parrsboro.
“The artists brought their work and the streets had lots of people, so it was really impressive how everything came together,” said Redmond.
Artists with works on display include Soley, Bill Shaw, Joy Laking, Heather Lawson, Tim Feeman and John Little.
Little has been a blacksmith for 44 years and creates what he calls Sound Contraptions.
“The neat thing is you put them in front of trained musicians and they go nuts,” said Little.
Little has two sound contraptions on display in Parrsboro - Man-O-War and Mystery Pipes.
“You can’t tune them, and when you start playing them you can’t predict what they’re going to do,” said Little. “You wonder why musician would be interested but they love it.”
Sticks and bows are placed beside the contraptions so people can play them.
Redmond says the art exhibit brings art out of the museum and into the street where people can feel free to better appreciate it.
“People don’t always like the atmosphere created by a museum, but this exhibit brings art out into the open,” she said.
The art will continue to be on display until Oct. 26, and Redmond hopes the art catches people’s eyes and, instead of just zipping through Parrsboro, they will take the time needed to appreciate the different pieces of art.
“That’s what we want people to do,” said Redmond. “We want people to come here, sit, and stay awhile.”
