• photography
  • sculpture
  • painting
  • film
  • video
  • music
  • poetry
  • collab
  • then and now
  • insitu
  • instagram gallery
THOMAS FERRELLA
THOMAS FERRELLA
  • photography
  • sculpture
  • painting
  • film
  • video
  • music
  • poetry
  • collab
  • then and now
  • insitu
  • instagram gallery
  • Search
  • photography
  • sculpture
  • painting
  • film
  • video
  • music
  • poetry
  • collab
  • then and now
  • insitu
  • instagram gallery
Amboy Salt Flats, Mojave Desert, California Natio Amboy Salt Flats, Mojave Desert, California

National Chloride Company of America

These canals that line Amboy Road just south of the Amboy Crater are filled with food grade liquid Calcium Chloride and water. 

Calcium chloride is a versatile chemical with uses including de-icing roads and controlling dust on unpaved roads due to its ability to absorb moisture and release heat. It functions as a firming agent in food, a desiccant and an accelerator for concrete setting. Other uses include water treatment, oil and gas operations, and as a medical treatment for conditions like hypocalcemia.

Here’s another little tidbit: the “Amboy Salt Flats” are actually part of a larger, dry lake known as Bristol Lake and once upon a time, Amboy was the first in a series of alphabetical railroad stations across the Mojave Desert that are now ghost towns like Cadiz, Danby, Fenner, Goffs...

...pretty darn innerestin
the world twists - turns - spins and.... the next the world twists - turns - spins and.... the next thing you know china represents the voice of reason, chairman mao is now the star and harbinger of “prosperity” and “happiness”

from CHIEF OF SINNERS THOUGH I BE box set
[chinese yuan, dyed american money, thread]
burka george as the grand poobah of all terrorists burka george as the grand poobah of all terrorists

from CHIEF OF SINNERS THOUGH I BE box set
[dyed american money, thread]
NEW ADDITION to my CHIEF OF SINNERS THOUGH I BE bo NEW ADDITION to my CHIEF OF SINNERS THOUGH I BE box set, the one-eyed george keeping vigil over the torn fabric of our democracy

interestingly, after jimmy kimmel’s cancellation, I posted another new dollar from this box set and wrote how artists and comedians were the last of the truthsayers, IG/META would not allow me to boost that post because it “doesn’t comply with our Ads About Social Issues, Elections or Politics”. when i attempted to appeal their decision I repeatedly got a message “oops, something went wrong, please try again later!” and of course “later” meant “never”!

[dyed american money]
I HAVE NO WORDS to describe my utter dismay at the I HAVE NO WORDS to describe my utter dismay at the blood that has been spilled in this country and continues to be spilled because of simple intolerance 

from my CHIEF OF SINNERS THOUGH I BE box set

[dyed american money, thread]
for years i have given talks referring to artists for years i have given talks referring to artists and comedians as the last of the truthsayers, and as evident of recent events, comedians are now being targeted, the erosion to fascism is often a slow jittery one with frequent moments of pause to allow us lemmings to regenerate the common feeling of “normal”, only to be disrupted by further erosions that shock us for only a brief moment while we hypnotically return to our screens, earbuds and 20 year old scotch

our silence makes us all complacent...stay the course my fellow truthsayers

from my CHIEF OF SINNERS THOUGH I BE box set
[american money, fire, thread]
silent grace as memory fades and descends wit silent grace

 as memory fades

  and descends with a silent breeze

  a whisper’s decay delights
the shimmering sands of the mojave desert the shimmering sands of the mojave desert
CREEPY _ CRAWLY _ SPIKY artist talk | sept 13 | 1- CREEPY _ CRAWLY _ SPIKY
artist talk | sept 13 | 1- 2pm

peace songs 2025 land art exhibit: aug 9 - oct 31
@farley_center 
2299 spring rose rd
verona

Participating artists - Mona Cassis*, Kate Heiber-Cobb*, Cat Coberly*, Gene Delcourt*, Lester Dore, Thomas Ferrella*, Steve Heuer, Ruthanna Hutton-Okpalaeke, Katrina Krueger*, Efrat Livny, Jon McComb*, Erin McWalter*, Billy Morgan*, Karen Reppen*, Sue Schuetz*, Barry Sherbeck*, John Steines*, Lindy Wilson*

Food Vendors - El Sabor de Puebla, Gani Moon, Sam’s Elegant Team, Navajo Taco Team, Madame Chu, and FC Beekeepers. Coffee and pastries will be available Saturday morning thanks to Chandy & Jen

Full media coverage and press links:  Destination Madison · Visit Verona · Verona Press · WORT · Wisconsin State Journal
a lil known hill that represents the majesty of th a lil known hill that represents the majesty of the lower wisconsin river valley and the reverence for the first nation mound building culture - FRANK’S HILL!!!

Frank Shadewald bequeathed the land known as “Frank’s Hill” to Three Eagles Foundation upon his untimely death in 2013. Frank believed people of all beliefs should be able to view the mounds, and that they should be treated with the utmost care and respect.
if one image could summate a summer if one image could summate a summer
CREEPY_CRAWLY_SPIKY [installation at the farley g CREEPY_CRAWLY_SPIKY

[installation at the farley green burial cemetery]

The environmental message of this highly invasive reed grass, Phragmites australis subsp. australis, piggy backing a ride on a native fallen white oak is obvious.

But is it?

Is there some sort of playful camaraderie going on? Does the beauty of this piece give some insight into non-native species? And isn’t nature by design, an ever-evolving battle ground of native vs. non-native, including US?

Fred Pearce in his book The New Wild, argues that this fear of alien species is “little more than green xenophobia” which leads us to a “dangerous mythology of how nature works. Real nature is often random, temporary, and constantly being remade by fire, flood and disease – with species coming and going, fitting in, adapting, or losing out.”

Humans have had an irreversible impact on the planet’s ecosystems for tens of thousands of years and nature only responds to this by going forward. Of course, in this Anthropocene era these changes have been multiplied exponentially in direct correlation to man’s ability to travel and exploit the environment. Mr. Pearce believes that we should celebrate nature’s dynamism and power of recovery from human disrupted ecosystems and “true environmentalists should be applauding the invaders”.

Did you know that the entire plant of Phragmites australis subsp. australis is edible raw or cooked and offers several benefits including its use in traditional building materials, food, and medicinal applications. The young stems can be boiled or later used to make flour. Stems can be made into eco-friendly drinking straws and can also be used as bio-friendly roofing material. They grow up to 20’ a season and are a renewable biofuel.

So the question still remains, Friend or Foe?

PEACESONGS 2025 at farley social justice center @farley_center
2299 spring rose rd, verona
aug 9th opening 1-3pm
show aug 9 - oct 31
sept 13 artists' talks
Load More Follow on Instagram

© 2014 Thomas Ferrella / All rights reserved