Red Leaf by Tyson
Two of Tyson Barbera’s sculptures were selected for the Cloverdale Trail, both located on Cloverdale Blvd. and E. 2nd Street.
One sculpture is titled "Windmill Flower" and is sponsored by Ron & Jane Pavelka, Realtors. According to the artist, "The base is made from gears, which to me represents the land we till. The stem is like all of use reaching tall and high for the sun. The leaves are made from wooden water tank straps. All living things need water to be. The flower itself is made from a truck motor fan. This fan still turns to catch the wind. The stamen and pistol are made from a broken pair of vice grips. Those are the parts of the flower that are the tools of pollination."
"Red Leaf" is the second sculpture sponsored by the Cloverdale Performing Arts Center. Tyson describes, "This piece as a vision of motion in my head. This flower head spins with wind power. However, this flower has a humming bird floating in front, as if it was sipping nectar from the flower. I call this piece ‘Red Leaf’ due to the dramatic patina color and texture of the 1949 Ford metal I used to create the leaves. I then used 5 T.V. Dish legs to erect the stem of the wavy flower, representing radio waves. The idea behind the art piece is the interaction with motion around the wind moving the flower, yet not move the bird."
Tyson’s metal work is unique. One of the most noticeable characteristics of his work is that all of the pieces used are recycled, not cut up, changed or manipulated. He uses additional metal pieces to create dimension or definition. Tyson enjoys using an object or metal piece and giving it new life in a form different from the original.