Renee Leverty of Pleidies Gallery Durham (http://pleiadesartdurham.com) and I completed the installation Tuesday for the Fuquay-Varina Downtown and Open Art Society collaboration , placing artists work in downtown storefronts. Kelly Knapp also assisted in the creation. Inspired by the theme of water in the call for proposals and the rich history of the town, we created You Can Heal the Waters at Family Optical on Broad St. Many thanks to Heather Allen, Jessica Moore, and Naomi Riley for making this happen!
The sculpture and drawings evoke the flow of water in the Cape Fear River Basin, which Fuquay -Varina and surrounding creeks are a part of. Local advocates of this watershed can be found at The Cape fear River watch: http://www.capefearriverwatch.org/about-us/mission
"The Cape Fear River watershed is the largest in North Carolina, covering over 9,100 square miles of the U.S. in east central North Carolina. The Cape Fear is the only major river in the state to flow directly into the Atlantic Ocean, entering the ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The Cape Fear River watershed is an incredibly rich and diverse ecosystem, home to a wide range of plant and animal life, including ancient cypress trees, alligators, otters, black bear, a large variety of birds and a host of fish species. Cape Fear River Watch strives to protect this beautiful ecosystem for future generations to enjoy."
There are things you can do to heal the waters everyday such as conserving water, keeping plastic off the street and out of the storm drains, leaving a riparian buffer to filter run off around waterways (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riparian_buffer), and planting a chemical free lawn and garden.
Water is life for all and we should protect our waterways everywhere, from the rivers to the sea, where all of the waters flow.