One of the great things about where we live is the abundance of fabulous and creative exhibitions and art installations that pop up all around the area. It truly is an amazing and artistic area and Chris and I try to do as much “seeing” as we can when special things are available. I think you can probably figure that out if you have followed It’s Just Life for any amount of time.
One such exhibition going on currently is the Trolls: A Field Study exhibition at the North Carolina Arboretum. Chris and I had briefly seen a few of the trolls at night when we took Micah, Wendy and Theo to experience the Winter Lights display but I knew I wanted to go back. So we did. Another great perk is the ability to get Zoom passes from The Transylvania County Library for different venues in our area. We used a few of them last year for Fama and PopPops Camp and took Theo free of charge to several great places that he loved. I was able to get a Zoom pass for The NC Arboretum and off we went on a warm and sunny January day. It was perfect.
Artist Thomas Dambo was born in Odense, Denmark in 1979 and his. mission is to create art that gets people out in nature, exploring and enjoying learning how recycled items can be turned into something beautiful. Before he began to create his massive troll sculptures, he shared his creative spirit through music, street art and scenic design. He graduated from Kolding Design School in Kolding, Denmark with a degree in interactive design and has continued his career using recycled materials and sharing his art with the world.
There are currently 12 of his trolls in the exhibit at the Arboretum but there are also trolls in other location in North Carolina including Raleigh, Charlotte and High Point. The twelve we saw were whimsical, creative and just plain fun.
We obtained the treasure trail map (designed for the children but totally appropriate for adults) and went on our way. The quotes come from the map and are clever ways to tell visitors what the trolls are “thinking”.
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Wilde was at the entrance and welcomes guests with a cute paper and pencil where he is drawing. “Pose while I draw you for my book of strange beasts.”
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Taks says “real treasure’s not gold. Just look about you and you will discover much more exciting things!”
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Bignut says “Little human, come here. I want to trap you just for a minute so you can look around and marvel at nature.”
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Poppy extols “I thought these pocket tars would be delicious as you humans love them so much, but they are all bitter and crunchy.”
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Kirse says “Look around, clever humans. What could you copy from nature and design. A leaf roof, a spider bridge or a shell shield?”
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Hasse says “You look good this way. Try sneaking up on nature from new angels. Look upside down. Roll down a hill. Make friends with a bug.”
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Come back on Wednesday to see the final part of the Troll experience.
