Sculpture Trail

The first thing that caught my eye when I went to the sculpture trail was the enormous bull sculpture that is sort of a quasi-smoker as well. This sculpture is pretty rusted, but the features are really good considering it is made out of scrap metal and an old smoker/grill. Another interesting piece of artwork that you will see if you head off to the right is an assortment of reflective hands that are suspended in the air. This piece is really cool because all of the hands are waving in the wind and reflecting the light in all directions. As I continued off to the right, there was a sculpture that I could not identify. It appeared to be a combination of a stop sign, water pale, weather vane type instrument, and some other knick-knacks. Despite its obscurity, the piece fits in with the other strange attractions. From there, there was a small little connecting trail that put me over to the other side of the sculpture walk. At the junction of the two trails, there was a small little lighthouse made from rocks of all different sizes. It appeared to be quite weathered, so probably not as good-looking as it has been. Continuing on the new path, there were some other neat pieces. I saw a large pocket knife sculpture, and what seemed to me like an attempt at a jail. The pocket knife was made from large pieces of metal, and the apparent jail was made from metal piping and concrete. There were some other pieces on the trail, but much less notable than the ones I have mentioned. A few of the pieces were simply abstract pieces of metal that were shaped in ways that are not typical. Overall, there were lots of things to see at the sculpture trail, kind of like an outdoor museum. I will also add that the parking is on the side of the road, and it is not very easy to see the trailhead. You can kind of see an area where other cars have pulled off and the ground is slightly eroded, this is the area where I parked and the area where I believe patrons are expected to park.

First of all, I think the idea of an outdoor art museum is awesome. After completing the trail, I was thinking about how an outdoor museum not only challenges artists to use materials that will stand up to the weather but also the creativity of the trail builders that have to make the layout of the outdoor museum aesthetically pleasing. I also felt like it was a really good use of space for the land trust because it is such a small little piece of land, and it doesn’t have a ton to offer in terms of conservation/preservation. Incorporating some artwork that is relatively environmentally friendly was a productive way to make the property attractive to visitors, while still maintaining a pretty undisturbed habitat. Another thing I was thinking about is how all of this stuff got here. I was wondering if the artists assembled their stuff on-site or if they had help from people to haul entire structures. Besides what I was thinking when I visited the Sculpture Trail, I felt fascinated with the different types of artwork and the obscurity of all the creations. I think it would be cool if some of the artwork was switched out every year just to have some variety, but all of it was really well put together. Of course, I feel like the metal bull is the best creation the trail has to offer. Also, I feel like this is the perfect trail for someone with little kids. The trail is short enough and there is enough material out there to keep little kids entertained and I just think it would be a great experience for them. Not to mention, the beach is not far away, so you could just make it part of a larger trip. Overall, I feel like this trail contributes to the diversity/variety of offering the South Kingstown Land Trust has for locals. I don’t believe there are any other trails like this one nearby, so that makes it even more of a priority to visit. One more thing is that there isn’t any specific order in which you have to observe all the structures, which is another aspect of the trail that makes it different from the other SKLT trails.