Davingy Orchard of Art open to the public this Saturday
Rare viewing available at West County’s quirky roadside art ranch off River Road
Inquisitive neighbors, frequent River Road travelers, and Sebastopol and west county art enthusiasts (and everyone else) are being offered a very rare chance to go behind the gates to the techno-colored menagerie of over-sized, outdoor art pieces at the Davingy Orchard of Art this Saturday, Oct. 11.
Head westward around a slight bending turn on River Road across from Sunset Beach, just a bit west of the redwood tree-shaded Hacienda Bridge. Here, the landscape opens a bit and just ahead are the beaches at Odd Fellow’s Park and the riverside vineyards of Korbel Champagne Cellars. Look out your vehicle’s side window and your curiosity meter is sure to jump up a few notches. Yes, that’s a giant collection of day-glo orbs hanging in mid-air in the middle of an old semi-dormant apple orchard, just next to a purple rectangle mass on a pedestal and a rusty hulk from a bygone era. Careful, keep trying to keep at least one eye on the road.
“The Second Harvest: From Waste to Wonder” is an open house tour of more than 50 art installations on the historic river ranch now owned by artist David I. McGraw and his wife Amy. This is a rare opportunity to see the many art pieces McGraw has displayed in his orchard and on the surrounding hills.
The Oct. 11 event is free, but visitors must pre-register at Eventbrite. The event is scheduled to go from 11 am to 4 pm and will also feature a Greek food truck, DeLaMontya wines and a silent auction to benefit Sonoma County Fire. Davingy Art’s spokesman Yarro Kubrin told the Sebastopol Times this week that there is still room for the general public to RSVP online.
McGraw, a native of Oregon who made it to his west county ranch by way of a stop at the San Francisco Art Institute, has been amassing his jumbled array of very large, welded art pieces and mixed media assemblages for almost a dozen years. To say each piece is “one-of-a-kind” is instantly proven at a first drive-by glance.
The pieces are all large scale, surprising in shape and angles, brilliantly colored and extra vibrant. They refuse to blend in with the natural background of the ranch’s green and brown foliage and rolling hills.
Many of McGraw’s art constructions are recycled from old farm machinery and ranch artifacts found in the old barns, apple orchard and nearby hillside. There’s a chassis from an old truck, now painted shiny lime green and suspended in mid-air near the paved shoulder of River Road. Higher up the hill is a sculpture made from an old railroad rail, situated close to a collection of dangling fiberglass octagonal spheres. McGraw also has re-purposed woodchippers, hay balers, wagon parts and rusty scrap pieces.
There is no overriding theme to the vividly colored collection of pieces in the Davingy Orchard of Art. “My art is part of an evolving conversation,” McGraw has said, adding that each next piece he adds to his outdoor ranch gallery is a new opportunity “to explore form, texture, and energy in fresh ways.”
McGraw also owns a large art studio and welding workshop in San Francisco’s Hunter’s Point, where he does most of his fabrication and assembly. His art is now displayed in numerous private art collections, and he has displayed his work in many solo and group exhibitions across the San Francisco Bay Area.
The artist behind what many casual passers-by along River Road have called “a quirky place” says he was originally influenced by the Abstract Expressionist movement that he has now evolved into a bold three-dimensional art process that incorporates metal, wood, fiberglass and ceramic. Almost all of the Davingy Art pieces that can be visited this Saturday are powdered coated and given a clear spray finish for shine and endurance.
Equally an art piece, the Davingy Orchard of Art’s website (davingyart.com) offers an animated virtual video tour of the art installations throughout the orchard and property. There are more than 50 pieces in total — and counting.
In a previous interview in the Press Democrat, McGraw said “the pieces are musical, they evoke nature, they represent living forms, and they bring together architecture and engineering.” He said his art is not about making any big statement. “I like creating it and seeing what happens.”
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