by Caren McCaleb
Sidewalk Face 1034. Oh no! Someone dropped their popsicle!
I make faces from the stuff I see while walking my two small dogs, Feather and Decaf. We’ve been at it daily for four years and have posted over one thousand faces to Instagram. Being outdoors creating little creatures with random objects is an antidote to staring at a computer all day, which I do professionally.
Sidewalk Face 1029. Two birds walking.
The challenge fills every walk with a sense of purpose, kind of like playing a game. Can I use fractures in the pavement, nature’s reproductive abundance, and abandoned junk to create an image that resonates emotionally? Not every attempt works but it’s fun to try!
I enjoy the constraint of using only materials found in the vicinity of the face. Most of the stuff around us registers as either undifferentiated landscape or detritus, mere remnants of something no longer identifiable, and we usually ignore it. When you pick it up and play with it, you transform its very nature from junk to art medium. Some people use paint, I prefer sticks and broken plastic.
Sidewalk Face 1011. Pavement Pinocchio.
I have to work quickly to prevent Feather and Decaf from getting antsy. This has the benefit of forcing intuitive decisions which tend to produce bizarre combinations. Since I like to surprise myself, this constraint works well in our favor. The dogs get a longer walk without too much sitting around and I get to meet a lot of strange characters.
Music by Stephen Anderson
BLM Face. Made in early June 2020 at the time of numerous local BLM street protests. The wall is discolored from a small abandoned furniture fire. The two eye shapes kept calling out to me to make a mouth.
Sidewalk Face 925. I had to make a face on this sidewalk smear. The middle bit was screaming "I’m a nose” and begging me to make it so.
Music by Ron Rennells
Sidewalk Face 998. Wake me up when it’s over.
Music by Stephen Anderson
My creations disappear almost as soon as they come into existence; leaves blow away, puddles dry up, and all that remains is the captured expression. If the expression is compelling, the face is successful, and we win the round.
Sidewalk Face 986. A herd of dried African Tulip Tree flowers. Such magnificent beasts.
Caren McCaleb is a two-time Emmy winning documentary editor and lifelong maker of art. She lives in and works in Los Angeles. You can see all of her Sidewalk Faces online at www.instagram.com/sidewalkface.
