Sometime in 2019 or ’20, I saw a picture of a piece of public art in Charlotte that intrigued me. I mentioned it to a friend and she said “Oh yeah. It’s outside the community services building.” Which was kind of vague. But, I found it.
I almost missed it as I drove by because it’s across a fairly large parking lot and very similar in color to the building itself.
It is wonderful in every sense of the word.
The day I was there was balmy with a light breeze and I had the space to myself. The piece isn’t part of a larger exhibition or noted any particular way. It’s just there, being lovely.
I hope this doesn’t sound like damning with faint praise. It was delightful. But, I would not have made a special trip with a hotel stay to see it. The trolls are great. But, I would need to go for other stuff, too. The Arboretum is worth seeing and so is generally hanging out in Asheville, imho. We did talk to a couple who are “troll collecting.” They saw their first in Wisconsin.
The map
There were signs near some of the trolls giving directions that encouraged engagement with the exhibition. Not all, but some.
They have QR codes for labels. But, I neglected to take pictures of all of them. Frankly, I didn’t notice them until I was 3 or 4 trolls along.
This first troll you see is Wilde. It’s by the entrance into the Visitor Center. I wasn’t sure I was going to get a picture of it without a human blocking it because so many were crowding around getting their own photos.
WildeTaks
The highlights in his eyes are screws. And I was amused by how the toenails are inverted. Those were features of all of the trolls.
ValleBignutLilnutBoge
I absolutely could not get a picture of Boge without someone in his hands. The crowd around him was large and close in as everyone waited to take their turn to be held by a troll.
KirsePoppy
Nearby, there was a little story about Poppy collecting the detritus of humans kind of like little kids collect rocks.
Hasse
Hasse is pretty sassy and I love his hair.
BirchAnja
People had a lot of fun trying to build cairns on her hands with the stones in her buckets.
And I missed Larke. We were so focused on going down the hill to see Anja, we didn’t look to our right to spot her. If I get back over there to see them with my cousin, I’ll add her to the post.
Once upon a time, many years ago, my mother and I were talking about stuff she has that my sisters and I can expect to inherit. She was a little sorry that one sister had picked her wedding silver and would, naturally and reasonably, inherit that. My other sister and I don’t care. Truly. We are happy for her to have it.
But, our mother tries to be equal with her gift giving and it bothered her. Or maybe she just wanted reassurance about it. For whatever reason, she wanted to give me an opportunity to discuss it.
I told her I really didn’t care. The only thing she had that I really wanted was a particular ring. (It’s gorgeous.) She was surprised but said it would definitely be mine. (And my youngest sister told me later that she was delighted to learn that she had anything I thought was desirable.)
We have joked about her wearing my ring ever since then.
So.
In September, for whatever reason1, she decided to distribute a ring to each of her daughters. And I got my inheritance.
I had to have it sized up because my hands are bigger than my mother’s. I picked it up today.
What is particularly fabulous is that we all have such different taste that each sister thinks she has the most beautiful one.
They are both wrong.
My BIL’s brother stole their grandmother’s jewelry from the estate and it was discovered when his fiancée was showing off her engagement ring that they had remade from the ring that belonged to his grandmother that he told his brother (my BIL) must have been a figment of his imagination because it had disappeared before the jewelry was ever all accounted for. ↩︎
I am the Audience 