Seed the Future | Ceramic Artist

Seed the Future, 2023. A public art sculpture commission for the community surrounding Trail Drivers Park, Fort Worth, Texas.

Seed the Future is an 8-by-8-foot sculpture made of mirrored stainless steel, commissioned as a permanent public artwork for Trail Drivers Park in Fort Worth, Texas. The sculpture was designed by me and fabricated with a team, but its form began with a much more intimate process of looking closely at the park and researching its history.

I visited Trail Drivers Park repeatedly, walking through the landscape and observing the details around me. During one of these walks, I noticed a single dandelion growing among the grass. I was struck by its beauty and began researching the plant and its seeds. Carried by the wind, dandelion seeds can travel away from where they began and take root in new places.

Although the plant is often considered a weed, I was drawn to its resilience and its ability to spread and grow. The dandelion became a metaphor for migration, hope, and the possibility of putting down roots. This connection became more meaningful as I learned about the history of Trail Drivers Park. The park takes its name from the cattle drivers who traveled between Mexico and Texas. Cattle, food, workers, and culture moved through this region, contributing to the industries that shaped Fort Worth and the communities that developed around them.

The surrounding neighborhoods were also shaped by the meatpacking industry and the railroad system that moved goods through the area. Through conversations with community members, I learned that heritage, diversity, strength, hope, and the multigenerational nature of the neighborhood were central to how they understood their community.

These histories led me to combine two forms associated with the site: the dandelion and the longhorn. The branching structure of the sculpture echoes the dandelion and the trees surrounding the park, while the longhorns recall the cattle drivers who traveled through this landscape. The circular structure suggests the families and relationships that make up a community. Together, these elements connect the movement of seeds through the landscape with the movement of people, animals, food, and culture through the region.

The mirrored stainless steel allows the sculpture to remain connected to its surroundings. Its surface changes with the light and the movement of the viewer, reflecting the sky, landscape, downtown buildings, and people in the park. The longhorns multiply within these reflections, creating shifting layers of past and present.

As the seasons and light change, the sculpture changes with them. Seed the Future grew from an investigation of place: looking at the landscape, learning its history, and listening to the people who call the area home. The dandelion became a way to connect these histories through a shared idea of movement and resilience. The sculpture honors those who traveled through this place, those who established roots here, and the generations who continue to shape its future.

Documentation photography by Raúl Rodriguez.