A group project done in an Aesthetic Education class on a piece of art called Mechanical Amusements at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center in Erie, PA.

1. Adam Yeany
Cindy Dixon
Leah Kroll
Kate Gilson

2. “Mechanical Amusements”
By Woody Jones
Tom Ridge Environmental Center
Erie, PA

3. Picture Slideshow
Click on the Picture to Go to the Slideshow!

4. What did we expect to
see?
 Always moving
 Just wooden
 Outside
 Dark
 Not too colorful
 We expected only one tower

5. Noticings

6. Noticings Continued

What did you feel? different colors
 We felt calm, like we were part of  Small figurines made of wood
nature  words on the floor
What did you hear?  Little flags
 Waves on a beach  Different heights
 Wind blowing  Connected by metal chains and
 Birds chirping wooden pulleys
 Trees rustling in the wind  Wheels on the towers
 Cranking of the structure  Back and forth motion

What did you see? Scenes separated by platforms
 3 tall structures  Encased in glass, metal corners
 land, air, and water  Orange letters, blue square, beige
background
 Lighthouses

7. Noticings Continued
What did you smell?
 Salt water
 Suntan lotion
 Flowers
What did you taste?
 Salt water
 Marshmallows
 Smoke

9. Questions
 Did the architect purposefully plan to put the towers beside the windows to
make it seem like they were outside because there was a natural flow of
daylight?
 Were the towers built in the Tom Ridge Center or were they built somewhere
else and moved into it?
 Why lighthouses?
 Are all the scenes supposed to represent Erie in some way?
 What made the architect make three different structures instead of one?
 How long did it take to make it?
 What are the scenes made out of?
 Do the colors of the structures serve a purpose?
 Why are the lighthouses different heights?
 When the structures were designed, were the words a part of the original plan?
 Do the different shapes that the lights were enclosed in represent something?
 Why did he include motion into the structure?

10. Social, Cultural, and
Historical Context
 The piece of art that we are focusing on is called Mechanical Amusements. It is located in
the Tom Ridge Environmental Center. The art piece is made up of many one foot by one
half foot wooden, animated vignettes. There are three glass towers that hold vignettes,
the vignettes are stacked on top of each other; together the stacked vignettes are nearly
two stories tall. Each vignette was hand made by the folk artist, Wood Jones from
Decatur, Georgia. Woody Jones is storyteller who tells his stories through working with
wood. His wood vignettes are custom, animated sculptures that depict everyday life,
personal stories and unusual tales. We have found that this artist is very private and that
not much information is available about him or his art work. The people working at the
Tom Ridge Environmental Center do not know more about him other than what
information appears on the signs on the art piece. Also there is really no information
about Woody Jones or his art work, although it appears that a Woody Jones website is in
the works and will be coming soon. Because there is little information available about
the art piece, we can only assume that the wooden vignettes were made especially for the
opening of the Tom Ridge Environmental Center in 2006, since it was the first visitor’s
center in Presque Isle and because the vignettes so perfectly match scenes and
experiences in Presque Isle.
 The piece of art, Mechanical Amusements is housed just inside the entrance of the Tom
Ridge Environmental Center, near the entrance to Presque Isle State Park. This setting
makes the piece of art even more meaningful because the wooden vignettes depict
Presque Isle wildlife and environments. The scenes in the vignettes give visitors who
have not yet entered the park a taste of what they may see and experience while in the
park.
 Tom Ridge Environmental Center Website: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/trecpi/

11. Personal/ Curricular
Connections
Kate
Personal Connections Curricular Connections
 Fishing among the cattails with my father  An engaging, active activity is best:
on our farm’s pond wheels, binoculars
 The notorious Erie wind that blows all year  “art is not apart. It is a continuum within
round which we all participate”:interactive art
 Hiking to the tip of Presque Isle with my  Booth idea that art engages people:
family interactive art
 Spending hot summer evenings with my  Gaining insights by searching for meaning
family at Presque Isle in art
 
Picnicking with my summer campers at Noticing, giving attention: noticing things
Presque Isle early in the summer about the art work I had never noticed
before
 The Presque Isle lighthouse
 Fowler’s idea of infusing education with
 Airplane runway lights
art: art within the TREC center, which is
also a learning center

12. Personal/ Curricular
Connections
Adam
Personal Connections Curricular Connections
The lighthouses reminded me of last summer  I could connect the experience of viewing the

three towers by having the students give other
when I was in Australia and I visited a
ideas for what topics they could use for the
lighthouse beside the ocean.
towers instead of air, land, and water.
 In seventh grade my teacher had us make
 I could connect what I saw at the Environmental
little scenes from a book we read inside a Center to the classroom by realizing that
shoebox. The action scenes in the succeeding at doing the little things in life are
lighthouses reminded me of when I had to what shapes a person’s life. I need to encourage
make my scene. my students to work on the little things, and in
 One of the scenes I saw was of two skiers, and time they will start to turn into the big picture. I
realized this because several little scenes are
reminded me of my first and only time skiing,
what make the three lighthouses so unique and
about ten years ago. It was very fun and I
special.
wish I could do it again. The picture made
me want to get out there and give it another  The lighthouses are all very similar, but at the
same time, they are very different. I can teach
try.
my students that while everybody is similar,
 Another scene was of a rainbow which there are certain things that make everybody
reminded me of a Thomas Kinkade picture unique.
my mom has at home. Looking at it made me
 I will teach my students that it doesn’t matter
wish I were at home.
how big you are or what you look like on the
outside, it’s what’s on the inside that matters.
This relates to the lighthouses in that they were
all different sizes and had different flags, but the
main idea and what made them special were the
little scenes on the inside.

13. Personal/ Curricular
Connections
Cindy
Personal Connections Curricular Connections
 
Looking at “Mechanical Amusements” This work of art can be used in the
reminded me of being at home. I live right classroom to learn about environment and
on Lake Erie in Ohio and the scenes were weather. Each scene had a different activity
similar to places in Ashtabula. going on in a specific environment. And
there were scenes that incorporated rain,
 I was reminded of days spent at Presque
wind, and sun.
Isle with my friends. Some of the scenes
had many people on the beach, and made  Students can create their own vignette that
me reminisce of times I had with friends. they would incorporate into one of the
towers. This can help them learn more
 I was also reminded of dioramas we made
about a particular topic and relate it to a
in elementary school that depicted one
personal experience to create a work of art.
scene of a story. The small vignettes in this

work were similar to what we did Students can use this as a brainstorming
and writing topic as well. There is a lot
 The way the small scenes moved reminded
going on in the towers, and discussing
me of children’s toys in a toy store that
what they see and writing about it can be a
move and make sounds.
great thing to do.

14. Personal/ Curricular
Connections
Leah
Personal Connections Curricular Connections
 It reminds of my time spent at Deep Creek  We need to educate our students about
Lake, where my family hikes and spends helping the environment, and this work of
time on the like. art encourages this.
 It was a very calming experience, and was  There were so many stories that could be
similar to the calming quality of nature. created from each scene in the towers.
Students could write about/explore
 The work of art shows the unlimited
individual scenes.
possibilities for learning and experiencing
 It is important for students to have an
that nature provides us.
appreciation for where they come from,
 The polar bears that were depicted caused
and the “Mechanical Amusements”
me to think of Global Warming, and the
encourages this appreciation for Erie and
possible extinction of certain species due
Presque Isle.
to this.
 The “Mechanical Amusements” creates
not only an appreciation for nature, but
also gave me a greater appreciation for
Erie.

15. Lines of Inquiry

16. Experiential Activity Ideas
Math
 Students can estimate and eventually measure the height of the towers
and compare the different heights.
 Students can determine if the time between the turning of the wheel
and the actual movement is the same each time a tower is used.
Language Arts
 Students can use the contents and movement in the tower to think of a
writing topic.
 Poems can be written about the small scenes in the towers and can be
shared with the class.
 Scenes can be acted out to tell the stories about the small scenarios in
the vignettes.

17. Experiential Activity Ideas
Science
 Students can learn about weather and how the weather relates to each
vignette in the towers that represent air, water, and land.
 Habitats can be taught and learned about after viewing the towers.
 Students can learn about how to be aware of the environment from the
scenes and themes of the towers.
Social Studies
 Architecture can be taught and understood by students.
 Students can learn about and research different areas in Erie that are
depicted in the structure.

18. Experiential Activity Ideas
Art
 Students can draw their own vignettes and how they
would incorporate them into themed towers.
Music
 Instruments can be used so students can try to portray
the sounds that would be pertinent to the scenes, or
towers.

19. Mind Map

20. Our
Group
“Mechanical
Amusements”

21. Sources
 Wordle http://www.wordle.net
 Glogster http://www.glogster.com
 Inspiration
 Music- Green Forests, Lush Meadows, and Soft Rain
Falling from Pure Sounds