This is the second Thomas Dambo art installation I’ve visited, and, like my visit to the Kentucky Giants, waiting for good weather and available time was required. Things came together two Fridays ago, on April 22.
Dambo’s creations are always big, always made of repurposed material, and always have a story. “The Troll That Hatched an Egg” is installed at Aullwood Audubon near Dayton, Ohio. With Dayton being the home of the Wright Brothers, it makes sense that this story involves flying. It can be read here. Aullwood Audubon consists of a nature center and a farm with trolls in both sections. A trail connecting the two will be closed for another month or so meaning a short drive is required to see all of the trolls. Because of the distance, some may want to drive regardless.
I began my visit at the nature center. That’s kind of at odds with the storyline but that really isn’t much of a consideration. Inside the Education Center, Karen and Susan teamed up to take my money and provide me with a sticker, a map, and some insight. Karen is one of the volunteers that helped with constructing the trolls. She told me that the faces were made in Denmark and shipped to Dayton but that everything else was built on-site using materials collected before Dambo arrived. Construction took about a month. I had anticipated taking the shortcut over the creek but this group was having so much fun that I couldn’t bring myself to disturb them so took the longer — and probably safer — paved path. I did cross the creek on my return, however.
There are three trolls and a nest in the installation. Had I crossed the creek as originally planned, I would probably have seen the nest first. As it happened, my first view of any of the sculptures was the one in the opening photograph. That’s Bibbi learning to fly which is actually the climax of the story. Out of sequence or not, it’s a great first contact. The only thing comparable to Bibbi’s look of joy at flying is a kid’s look of joy at watching her do it. Karen had told me that this is the only time Dambo created a troll standing on one foot and some extra engineering was required. The observation tower was built to provide a view of the prairie but it is also a great place to see Bibbi’s launch.
I caught a glimpse of the eggs as I approached the nest and a better view as I entered from the other side. When I first saw some photos of this installation without having read any of the story, I thought that maybe these tanks were the closest Dambo could get to something that looked like a big egg. Later I realized that these tanks were just right for representing something dropped accidentally from an airplane. By the way, despite the story’s title, none of these eggs hatch. As I stood inside the nest, I took a photo that was posted to Instagram/Facebook/Twitter with the caption “One of these eggs is not like the others.” In case you missed it without wanting to, it is here.
From the nest, I headed back to the parking lot for the drive to the farm. Once there, it was an easy walk to where Bodil held another egg in her hand. Although only the beginning of my walk at the nature center had been on pavement, all of it was fairly level and clear. That was pretty much true of the walk to Bodil although there was a little more elevation change along the way. The walk to see Bo was a different matter.
Although well under half a mile, the walk to reach Bo was the longest excursion of the day. No portion is particularly steep but there is a steady descent to the resting troll which means a steady ascent on the return. Along the way, numerous exposed roots and a few exposed rocks provide ample opportunity for tripping. I say that not to discourage going but to encourage caution.
These last two pictures are clearly out of sequence. They are included for different specific reasons. The etiquette sign is here so you’ll know how to behave in case this is the only thing you read before visiting Bo, Bodel, and Bibbi. The other is included in case it isn’t the only thing you read and were wondering why it did not have a full-frontal shot of Bibbi taking flight like all the others.
I decided to make it an all-troll day by stopping at the Troll Pub for the first time. The pub shares a historic building with Wheelhouse Lofts. I don’t know where conversion and occupancy of the lofts stands but the pub has been in operation for four years. I also do not know why I haven’t stopped here before given that it is barely a block from one of my favorite Dayton establishments, The Barrel House. With The Barrel House that close and my first meal there being pretty good, I do expect to return. The building was constructed in 1868 by an agricultural implement manufacturer. Its later uses included making bicycles (Stoddard) and car parts (Dayton Motor Car Company) plus the assembly of some automobiles (Courier and Maxwell). Could Jack Benny’s car have been built here?
