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| The Work » Ocotillos |
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OCOTILLO
Available - please contact us
Steel
73" x 17" x 18", 54 pounds
2006
Strangers to the Southwestern desert are often awed and befuddled by the strange and wonderful plants found there, with their unfamilar forms, brilliant colors and stark profiles.
Even the names are sometimes romantically odd. Take, for instance, ocotillos ("OCK-oh-tee-ohs"), a tall, spiky plant that would make Dr. Seuss proud.
Large ocotillos can reach 20 feet in height and have as many as 75 whip-like canes. Each year, bright red, flame-shaped blooms top these "branches," which are graced with tiny green leaves amongst its thorns. In the cooler months, however, ocotillos can appear almost dead, with their slender canes slicing the Southwestern sky.
Some people use these amazing plants to build fences, by cutting the canes equal lengths and planting them. They re-root and create a strong and beautiful growing fence.
In his renditions of the plant known as Fouquieria splendens (also enjoy his Oscillating Ocotillo), Kevin used steel railroad spikes, which evoke the romance of the building of the railroads to open the West, to convey the grace of this beguiling plant. (The base can be buried, if desired.)
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