IPAR Project Needs Volunteers, Materials

The Initiative for Public Art Reston (IPAR) is preparing to welcome artist Patrick Dougherty, who will begin a public art installation built from tree saplings at Reston Town Square Park.

IPAR says the project needs help — both from people and from saplings needed to construct the sculpture.

Volunteers are needed during the “harvesting” from April 7 to 9.

Ten volunteers are needed for each morning (8:00 am – 12:00 pm) and 10 volunteers are needed for each afternoon (1:00 pm – 5:00 pm), says IPAR. Volunteers will be cutting, bundling, tying, and carrying saplings to the truck and stripping leaves. Note: This is physical labor.

The project also needs construction and installation volunteers at the following times:

Friday, April 10  to Friday, April 17, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
Monday, April 20 to Saturday, April 25, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm

Four or five volunteers are needed for each morning (8:00 am – 12:00 pm) and 4-5 volunteers are needed for each afternoon (1:00 pm – 5:00 pm).

Volunteers need to be comfortable working on scaffold and be at least 16 years old.

To register, visit Sign Up Genius.

The project also needs tree saplings.  If you have the right kind of saplings (see below), contact IPAR Executive Anne Delaney at [email protected].

From IPAR:

The artist requires quite a lot of saplings and has a preference for red maple, gray dogwood, and sweet gum, and possibly ash and certain types of willow (excluding black willow). Other species might be possible depending on flexibility, but most invasive species are not usable.

Ideally, we are seeking a site that was cleared in the last few years, so that the growth of the saplings would be approximately 3 to 5 years. At this point, we are seeking only small saplings, finger-sized in width but long: approximately ½ to 1 inch in diameter at the base, and between 4-6 feet in length.

The saplings will need to be harvested during the period from April 7-9, 2015, so that the materials are fresh and flexible during the construction of the work.

Photo: Patrick Dougherty/Courtesy of IPAR