Old Florida: Springs Eternal

Friday, April 12, 2013

Celebrate Our Springs Earth Day Event

Celebrate our Springs April 20th

at the Florida Museum of Natural History

Join us for an 11 a.m. panel discussion

featuring springs artists and writers

Learn more about the beauty, the whimsy and the frailty of Florida’s ice-blue springs as part of the Florida Museum of Natural History’s Earth Day observance on Saturday, April 20^th.

Two current exhibits – Springs Eternal and Finding the Fountain of Youth – celebrate Florida’s natural springs as they also explore past history, document current threats and lay out Floridians’ role in their preservation.

Join the artists behind the exhibits – John Moran, Lesley Gamble and Rick Kilby – for a panel discussion at 11 a.m. Saturday April 20^th moderated by journalist and author Cynthia Barnett. The panel and the exhibits are free and open to the public. Families are welcome – kids and adults alike will have the opportunity to question the artists and find out what they can do to help protect our springs.

The Springs Eternal: Florida's Fragile Fountains of Youth exhibit is a 30-year retrospective of Florida nature photographer John Moran's love affair with the springs of Florida. The exhibit mixes stirring text with then-and-now pairings of photos that document dramatic changes to our springs. The project channels joy and beauty and grief and anger and is a sobering wake-up call for every Floridian who uses water. The exhibit also features an enormous, 60-foot-wide backlit translucent clerestory window photo of a pair of manatees at Crystal River.

Based on the forthcoming book by Rick Kilby, the Finding the Fountain of Youth exhibit examines how the legend of Ponce de Leon’s quest for restorative waters shaped the Sunshine State’s image as a land of fantasy, rejuvenation and magical spring-fed waters. Rich in images, this exhibition shows how the myths surrounding the discovery of “La Florida” influenced perceptions of the state that still echo today.

Reaching beyond the museum walls, Lesley Gamble’s Urban Aquifer bus project and Springs Eternal website lend additional public engagement including a fleet of Regional Transit System buses soon to bring stunning visions of Florida’s springs to the streets of Gainesville.

During the panel discussion, the three artists will show some of their favorite images, talk about the role of art in saving natural places, and engage the audience in a lively discussion about the springs.

The exhibits run through Dec. 15th. The Florida Museum of Natural History is located in the University of Florida Cultural Plaza off SW 34th St. and is open six days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 1-5 p.m.

Note: my book "Finding the Fountain of Youth: Ponce de León and Florida's Magical Waters" will be on sale in the museum gift shop. Also on sale will be the Sanlando Springs T-shirts I worked on with Vintage Roadside.

Mock-up of Urban Aquifer bus

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Hope Springs Eternal

Saturday, February 16th is another Speak Up for Florida's Waters event at Wekiwa Springs State Park. Similar to the event I attended last summer at Silver Springs, speakers once again include former Florida Governor Bob Graham and newly-elected Seminole County Commissioner Lee Constantine. Much has happened since the first rally, and the event seems like a good marker for a review.

Newspapers across the state have documented the condition of Florida's waters and writers from Kevin Spears in the Orlando Sentinel to Craig Pittman in the Tampa Bay Times have penned multi-story series revealing how we've allowed the quality and quantity of our state's most precious resource to decline. The permit to withdraw water for a massive cattle farm in Marion County, the Adena Springs Ranch, has not been granted and environmentalists continue to to reveal how it would threaten the health of Silver Springs. Speaking of Silver Springs, the state has decided to assume control of the grandfather of all Florida attractions and turn Silver Springs into a state park this fall. While this move alone cannot improve the health of the springs, it surely cannot hurt and many of the exotic animals on display will soon have new homes.

It is unlikely the zoo-like aspects of the Silver Springs attraction
will be continued as it transitions to a state park

My work involving Florida's springs has continued; my book is being printed and should be in my hands in a couple months (and it's now on Amazon!) I have tentatively set up three speaking gigs and continue to work on my presentation abilities. My exhibit entitled "Finding the Fountain of Youth: The Myth of Florida's Magical Waters" is currently in production and will open on March 23rd at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville. Right now I'm knee-deep in the creation of companion exhibit entitled "Springs Eternal: Florida's Forgotten Fountains of Youth" featuring the works of John Moran. Another exciting component related to this project is called the "Urban Aquifer"; it features bus wraps of Florida springs on as many as nine Gainesville buses. Created by artist Lesley Gamble, the buses will highlight the Spring Eternal website that will act as a portal for all Florida springs advocacy groups and contain information about the recreational opportunities at all the springs.

This work has kept me chained to my desk for much of 2012 and the early part of this year. I have however, made several forays to Florida springs. Here are photos from some of those trips; hopefully these show some of the beauty of these sacred places and how important they are to Floridians... let us hope we collectively have the will to save these remarkable resources.