It had been a very, very long time since I ventured to the Crystal Springs section of Roanoke, which is close to Roanoke Memorial Hospital (where I was born in 1970).
But, I noticed that one of the outdoor public sculptures for the Art in Roanoke project was in this part of town, which is perhaps best known for being the home of Fork in the Alley, a trendy urban spoon.
The piece is "Jelly Bean" by Brookly, NY, artist John Clement, which was also publicly displayed near The Castle in Grand Rapids, Mich. (pictured here).
According to the Art in Roanoke web site, Clement likes to focus on surface and color as much as form in structure.
I took about 10-12 photographs of "Jelly Bean," which is a bit hard to capture on camera because of the way it is designed.
But, it is quite an exceptional piece which really goes well with the tranquil environs of Crystal Spring Park, where it is located. In fact, I can imagine, even in the technology-zombie culture we live in, that one may well take an afternoon to read either "Catcher in the Rye" or "The Great Gatsby" while gazing at the piece.
SIDEBAR: Are into heavy metal bands like Slipknot, GWAR or Iron Maiden, which are just not being played on mainstream radio to your suiting. Well then, there is always "Chainsaw Rock," which airs at midnight on Friday nights/Saturday morning on WKNC, the student-run college radio station at North Carolina State University.
In fact, if one tunes in tonight, they can request some act like Buckethead. The heavy metal/folk singer (yes, we were confused too) who actually wears a KFC bucket on his head will be performing at the Awful Arthur's (Towers) in my hometown of Roanoke, Va., on Sept. 8, circa 8:00 p.m.
