April 27, 2000  TAKE MY ART...PLEASE     

                                                    Fairfield man creates sculptures and gives them away

OK, so there's no such thing as a free lunch, but when it comes to free art, Ray Carrington of Fairfield is re-writing the book. He's giving it away. The retired high school mathematics teacher insists he's not an artist, but the metal sculptures he creates, then donates to public institutions, have earned him a reputation as "the Johnny Appleseed of art." He's got nearly 300 pieces to give away, and is making more. Many are on display at Travis Air Force Base and schools throughout Northern California.

 

"I just do what I do," Carrington insisted recently at his Fairfield residence and headquarters for a non-profit foundation devoted to giving away his works. The walls, floor and tabletops are adorned with sculptures.

Offering art for free to public institutions can be frustrating. He's had his fill of rejections.

In Napa, Vintage High School turned thumbs down to two large sculptures: one featuring large I-beams and a big "V," and the other in the shape of an open file folder.

Vintage principal Stan Smart says the offer was generous. "I enjoyed looking at (the V sculpture), but one of the problems was with liability. The school district was worried that youngsters, not necessarily from this school, would be climbing on it and fall off and get injured. The district could be sued."

He said there were also concerns with the file art piece. "It's an iron sculpture like a large manila folder made of steel and elevated. There was some concern regarding the ability to adequately supervise the area. Students could hide behind it."

Those concerns are apparently not shared by the elementary school at Travis Air Force Base. The school accepted Carrington's gift, which will be placed near a school bus area soon.

Carrington, who in addition to teaching worked as a correspondent for a Sacramento television station before he retired, would like to see more schools accept the art. As a carrot, the foundation offers schools $500 worth of raw materials for shop and art departments to create their own works. "They build it, the kids sign it, and it stays on campus," he said. "I love it. People start to say, 'Look, I can do this.'"

Solano County recently accepted the 2,000-pound sculpture that was earlier rejected by Vintage and Vacaville high schools. Now called "A World War II Memorial," the metal "V" will stand for victory, instead of Vintage or Vacaville. It will be placed in front of the Solano County Courthouse on Main Street in Fairfield by the end of May. Other pieces to find a home in April include a huge "paper bird," which will greet visitors and employees as they enter the Air Force base in Fairfield. Another will be placed at the Travis Delta Breeze Club, and yet another at David Grant Medical Center, already the home to a number of Carrington's works. Schools are not the only institutions to have second thoughts about accepting his free art. He said the U.S. Air Force Academy rejected an offer, as have several cities, including Vacaville.

He also had a bitter experience with the city of Redding, which accepted a piece. "They said OK. They said it's beautiful. They painted it black and yellow, then mounted it against the side of a new airport terminal.

But they did not light it or put it on a stand as the sculptor wanted. "So now I have a gifting contract. If accepted, OK. But if (a sculpture) is neglected or taken off public display, they have to give it back. And we give it to somebody who wants it. Cities hate that."

Carrington's art is often fashioned from old railroad spikes or old machinery. His use of rail spikes stems from a fascination of early railroads. "My dad was a railroader for 49 years," he said. "Spikes are cheap. I pick 'em up and use them."

Anybody can do what he does, or so he says. "If one guy can do this stuff, using old hand tools and railroad spikes and scrap steel, all anyone has to do is say they can too," he said.

Spikes are perfectly shaped to make miniature people, with the larger end resembling a head. "I have no training. Anybody can do this," he said "It needs to be done. The old tools (used in the sculptures) need to be saved. "I'm the type of person who will run to the top of a hill to see what's on the other side, then run to the next hill. That's the way it is with my sculptures. I'll start one of these things. I can see where it's going to go, but then I'll start off on another one." Travis Air Force Base and Carrington have a love affair with his art. His works adorn fountains and walls at David Grant Hospital, the base museum, and the VIP lounge at the air terminal. Base officials recently agreed to the placement of more art at the sprawling facility. "They'll have many more if they want them," he said. "They are open minded and willing to grow. Willing to experiment. There's a freshness there that you don't find in a lot of cities." His displays at Travis were recently featured in "The Air Force Times," an international military publication. Forty-two of his works including one titled "The Choir" which was fashioned from an old street sign, were displayed at the Robert Mondavi in 1994. "I just stopped by and introduced myself and Margrit (Mondavi) fell in love with my work," he said. "It's a nice place to show my work. She knows I'm not an artist, that I just do what I do." He recently offered one of his pieces for display at the Oakville winery.

 

Carrington maintains a web site, which is updated at least once a week and includes more photographs of his metal sculptures. It's at carringtonfoundation.org..

Pat Stanley can be reached at pstanley@napanews.com.