Photo by Greg Barnette

Reporter Janet O'Neill
Record Searchlight News

2008

A pair of pyramids will soon grace the McConnell Arboretum & Botanical Gardens - and visitors will find them more familiar than foreign.

The 7-foot-tall, pointy-capped pieces by ceramic artist Paul Rideout represent more than a year of work in his Redding studio. They reflect his impressions of such north state sights as the Millville Plains, Mt. Shasta, waterfalls, the Sundial Bridge and native oaks.

"Anything that was in the area I wanted to pull in," said Rideout, also known as Palul.

The project started taking shape when Rideout won a $5,000 grant from the Redding-based Shasta Regional Community Foundation's cultural trust. One condition was that he find a home for his work, so he approached Turtle Bay Exploration Park about the arboretum site.

The pyramids will be installed by Saturday in the California Garden, said Maggie Redmon, chief operating officer at Turtle Bay. That garden highlights plant species that thrive in the north state.

"The subject matter was perfect for the location," Redmon said. "Here you have an artist who's interested in the native California landscape, and it's a perfect venue for that."

Rideout's vision embraced both form and content. His abiding attraction to "things that are catholic, things that are universal" gave way to the pyramid, a symbol he says transcends time, culture and language.

"That particular form is so ingrained in the human psyche," he said, pointing to such spiritual examples as cathedral spires and church steeples.

He also wanted to incorporate the rich color of the north state landscape and its visual impact on people. Each pyramid contains some 240 individually created tiles that vary in texture and shape.

"The tiles themselves create a pattern," Rideout said. "It's like cells in a body, and so there's a rhythm and a dance."

Despite his decades working with ceramics, before now he'd never laid tile - not even in a shower stall.

"Technically it was a real challenge," he said. "Everything had to fit. It was a trick."

Kathy Anderson, the community foundation's chief executive officer, said having such art accessible to the public is especially important in an area somewhat removed from major museums and exhibitions.

It's also beneficial "because it inspires people. I think it's enlightening; it educates people; it makes people stop and think," she said.

Rideout's hope for those who see his work is simple: "I want them to be uplifted. I want them to say, 'Wow, man, this makes me feel good. I like it.' "