FUTURE BIRDS

Connecting our earth and our sky, birds are amazing spiritual creatures. They are critical to our planets ecosystems and are feeling the pressures of human impact and Climate Change.

Evolving for 150 million years from their dinosaur beginnings, the over 9,500 bird species live on all continents and in every possible habitat. They pollinate, disperse seeds, scavenge, fertilize, create habitat and interconnect our planet with their migrations.

My Future Birds are possibilities for species future evolution in our changing world.

BIRD Ladder Tree was languishing in my studio with only three birds, when some good friends fell in love with the form, birds and colors…asked me to finish it for their living room! Such a delight! I added several LED lighted birds and unlighted birds and insects to complete the piece. It changes quite a bit from daylight to nighttime where the illuminated birds project colored light into the room.

SeaChange: Darkness and Light in the Gulf of Maine is an immersive art installation that is a voyage in time in the Gulf of Maine, which, due to human impact is warming faster than most oceans on our planet,

CROWN OF SPECIES-TREE OF LIFE

Humans have the responsibility to protect all species of our incredible blue marble. Wearing a Crown of Species to remind us to nurture our fellow beings for we are all interconnected. Inside the Tree of Life has a canopy of hearts for empathy for all life on earth.

EARTH FLOWER DREAM

speaks to the amazing ecosystems and species of our planet and how humans need to nurture the planet.

These Wing Walkers are protecting the Earth from the current Global Warming occurring due to human’s burning of Fossil Fuels.

The Heron also is protecting the Earth under its stick frame.

New Renewable Energies are now more economical than fossil fuels and can reduce carbon & methane emissions, so LET’S HELP THE TRANSITION !

WE may all be Climate Refugees in the future or now. This family of refugees have gable forms for Shelter, patched of what they have found along the way and root-like legs to search for a better place to live. They have experienced huge dangerous weather events: hurricanes, forest fires, drought and floods that have been tattooed onto their forms. They worship the earth, all species and pray for a stable planet like in the past. The light they project is optimism for a new human civilization that nurtures our earth for all humans and species.

Majestic Fragility is a Gulf of Maine EcoArts, an Art & Science initiative of a large scale sculpture installation and exhibition at the Bigelow Lab for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay, Maine through December 2022.

Global Warming is increasing the Gulf of Maine ocean temperatures fasted than most oceans in the world and is affecting many species, including the very endangered North Atlantic Right Whale.

The culmination of the collaborative’s first project is the result of three years of work by a team of 7 artists, teachers and students in 16 schools, and research scientists and staff at Bigelow Lab.

The exhibit includes a life size adolescent North Atlantic Right whale skeleton by Andy Rosen & David Mahany, enlarged Comb Jelly lights and Diatoms by Joe Hemes, threatened bird species by Anna Dibble and Lee Chisholm, and Ghost Gear by Pamela Moulton.

Humans have created the Anthropocene Epoch by unsettling the balance of our planet with Climate Change. It is a hard problem to prioritize if you are not directly affected by rising oceans, bigger storm surges, more powerful hurricanes, drought and wildfires, and hotter temperatures, but more people everywhere are.

These pieces speak to preserving the amazing ecosystems and species of our planet.

What more can you do NOW to reduce and slow Climate Change?

Comb Jellies are native to the Gulf of Maine and an important part of the food chain. The are 1/2” to 4” long, have 8 ribs with cilia for propulsion and are bioluminescent in the greens and blues. These comb jellies slowly change color with programmed LED lights to bring wonderful ocean life to our interior world.

Mirror Spore, a commission with Jack & Nancy to add a jewel to the stair hall topped by my ‘Stairway to Heaven’. Flat & concave mirrors swarm a blue painted perforated concave steel armature. Dimmable LED’s strip blue down light and 3500K white uplight provide options.

Turret Flower is a colorful illuminated art commission to celebrate the Master Gardener owners. The conical shaped 3rd floor Turret, on top of a historical home is surrounded by the most amazing gardens. This 30" diameter flower form is based on the seven spectrum colors with various perforation patterns. The center 12" diameter hemisphere is perforated with spiral patterns. This flower with back lighting, changes color and speed with a programmable LED wireless control to provide a contemplative or party atmosphere.

Sunmerica is an illuminated sculpture about the critical transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies. It is also the New American Flag. The black, charred strips represent the fossil fuel industries pollution and warming of our planet are sloping down. The green stripes are renewable energies, decentralized for all to use and are sloping up into the future. The star field is our one sun, which can provide the energy we need. Since 2016, many States and citizens are united in the fight against climate disruption despite the greed of our House, Senate and the White House. Renewable Energy is our planets future.

This Altar for Pollinators provides a safe haven from toxic pesticides and habitat loss that increasingly threaten bees and other pollinators. Custom cast resin ghost honey bees glow, infused with the light-pollen that provides fertilization of our flowering world they pollinate.

21” high x 14” x 14”.

Originally shown at George Marshall Store Gallery in York, Maine

With  'Shelters', Hemes' intent is to whimsically reveal our universal need for inner sanctum, while illuminating our humanity.

In order of appearance:

Speed of Light

Shelter for the Heart

Ocher Edifice

Incubator (print/painting)

Dream Shelter

Altar for Minerals

Ramblin Pink Shelter

Unidentified Flying Shelters

Flowering City

This custom Mobile was commissioned by an architect friend who specified silver, brass and copper materials to hang within her new 1 1/2 story hipped living room ceiling. Polygons, ovals, circles, clouds and orbs made of metals slowly swirl above. 7 feet in diameter, 3 feet high and 9 feet off the floor, this mobile is constantly moving, reflecting, form changing, close-kissing and kinetically dancing.

Copper Projectors change marvelously from blue green forms to wonderful light projectors!

In 1909 the Wyoming, a six-masted, 459-foot coal schooner, was constructed and launched in Bath, Maine at the Percy & Small Shipyard.  Still today it is the largest wooden ship ever built. With a national competition to evoke and celebrate the Wyoming, the Maine Maritime Museum awarded Joe Hemes and team the project.

The skeletal form conveys the monstrous scale of the ship to museum visitors, who can wander around in the grassy fields below.  The bow and the stern were completed in the first phase of the project, in 2005, followed by the 120-foot-tall masts in 2012 and lighting in 2015. The 19 foot long flags flapping in the breeze brings this schooner to life.

Joe Hemes and Andreas von Huene were co-artists leading the team which included Pat Carroll, Sam Manning, Bob Swift and Larry Bartlett. The contractors were ARC, building the curved steel ribs, and Reed & Reed constructing it. The Wyoming can be viewed at the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, Maine.

Flanagan Farm in Buxton, Maine has two barns and a farmhouse for events of all kinds. The circa 1800s barn needed unique chandelier for celebrations, with colored lighting options. The design is inspired by a line drawing based on a five petal flower with five stamens and one pistil supporting 16 dimmable ornamental bulbs. Custom bent steel septa-stars are 7 feet in diameter, wrapped with LED strip lighting and have wireless controls to produce any color for optimal ambiance.

A new party barn required a chandelier with colored light options. The custom bent steel SeptaStars are 7 feet in diameter and wrapped with RGB LED strip lighting and have wireless controls for any color and 30 mode operations to get the beat on. 

The Asterisk lounge light, harkening to a UFO above, lights up the casual seating area at Foulmouthed Brewery is in South Portland, Maine.  Asterisk is custom designed with Paisley eyelet fabric, hardware cloth, local marine charts and a dimmable LED.

Five conical forms with colorful custom inked fabric skins adorn the Falmouth High School Performing Arts Center Lobby. The curved hats are perforated with celestial shapes for light projection of galaxies onto the ceiling. The 7-foot-high forms, suspended on cables, subtlety spin with air circulation.

This State of Maine Percent for Art Project was installed in in 2001 in Falmouth, Maine

The Zeppelin form is both modern and organic, seeming to float naturally over kitchen and dining room tables. The paisley eyelet fabric juxtaposes the regular grid of wire mesh. Stripes emphasize the curved form with colored papers or marine charts, sometimes customized for the location of the owners’ home. Three feet long, sewn with monofilament, and illuminated with two LED, these Zeppelins can be custom designed for your particular space

TriZeppelins are a natural form I derived from microscopic diatoms. The largest is 7 feet long and was custom designed for Coffee By Design headquarters and cafe in Portland's Back Bay. Vertical or horizontal, this form makes a great modern illuminated sculpture for any room. Most are custom designed and fabricated to order.

These early sculptures explored a variety of materials and techniques to create luminous sculptures or light projectors. 

MOOrul is a marker in time as it looks through the city, across the agricultural valley to the Spanish Peaks. In 1978, I painted this 34 feet by 54 feet mural using a 3 foot square string grid for layout on the north side of an existing downtown building. The cow is similar to the cover of Pink Floyd’s 1970 Atom Heart Mother. Now over 40 years later, you still can visit it today at the Cateye Cafe at 23 North Tracy near East Main Street in Bozeman, Montana.

As an Architect since 1986, I have endeavored to site buildings for views, fill them with daylight, design for comfort and energy efficiency, renovate and reuse, and detail gorgeous materials in wonderful ways.

Recently, I have mostly retired from architectural design!

All those sensibilities have enhanced my art.