Houseboat

(photos on the Salmon River near the mouth at the southern base of Cascade Head on the central Oregon coast)

Title: Houseboat
The title of this work is Houseboat. Rest Assured is the name of the boat.
Place/Time:  on the Salmon River on the central Oregon coast in 2015

Size: 10′ long x 4.5′ wide x 5′ tall
Materials: gifted rowboat, beachfound rope and tarp, salvaged: wood, wheels, plexi, corrugated fiberglass panels, roofing rubber, grill cover tarp (all materials selected for their specific and inherent story of place relevant to the concepts within this work)

Details:
Houseboat speaks about notions of home and perceptions of safety. I use Houseboat to explore what it is like to live in a place of tides and tsunamis where land is not always land, sometimes it is water. Within Houseboat I reflect on the wide range of public conception regarding safety. I also poke at the possible wariness of lifestyles deemed as seemingly not appropriate ways of living in a place. The method in which I constructed Houseboat reflects my wish for adaptability and resourcefulness. I want to live in a way of safety yet acknowledge that home is not always a place of security, that at times by embracing fear and taking risks I find meaningful ways to live in a place.

As an artist spending time in this place I acknowledge and pay respect toward those who today are represented by the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians and the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, and whose stewardship of Cascade Head and the Oregon coast continues today.