A lot has changed since this was written… I got married In the Summer of 2016… My wife and I bought a house way out in the country… I now work on a farm as a field manager… I am in the process of rewriting this bio… So consider the site under construction…
My name is Chris Condello, and this is my corner of the Internet. I am an artist living in Wilkinsburg, a suburb of Pittsburgh, PA. Wilkinsburg is considered by many to be one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Allegheny County, but I feel it is important to remember communities that experience great decline, will often experience an even greater renewal… I am just a tiny sampling of the people responsible for the renaissance Wilkinsburg is currently experiencing, in my eyes this community is about to come alive!
I am an urban gardener/farmer, guerrilla gardener, Penn State Master Gardener, photographer, environmentalist, naturalist, activist, writer, but most importantly… I am an artist… I have no education beyond high school… I’m just trying to figure this shit out as I go… As far as the information contained within my blog is concerned… The only thing that I can legally claim is that I am not an idiot… I will let you be the judge…
I have only been writing for a couple of years now… Prior to being a writer… I was a full-time heroin addict that could only be considered a lost cause… That has changed… I am now clean and experiencing life with the curiosity of a newborn… As I experience things… I tend to write about it… I guess that is why I consider myself a writer… Dare I say an author…
My blog is primarily geared towards gardening… But ultimately it is a collection of my personal work… Gardens… Poetry… Artwork… Sculpture… Photography… And prose… Although I am a gardener… I actually consider myself an artist that uses plants as one of my mediums…
When I am not working in my gardens… I am often in the woods creating sculptures of sticks and stones… I like to let the land guide me… I often have no idea what I will be working on when I leave my house… It is not until I find my location… And locate my medium… That I realize what I will be creating… Many of my natural creations have a limited lifespan due to their locations… My photographs will typically be the only evidence of my creations…
I used to consider myself a “food farmer” exclusively, when I built my last little urban farm all I was interested in was food. I was only interested in the physical yields that my plants could produce, it wasn’t until recent years that I began to feel the real power that a tree or plant can yield. I would like to see all gardeners recognize the true yield potential of a plant or tree, to look beyond the physical and begin looking at the meta-physical yields. We have a unique opportunity as gardeners to sculpt and shape the landscapes of our future, we are after all, installation artists.
Although I am a gardener, I am also an artist… I love to paint… I apparently love to write… And I love to create… But gardening is my favorite… The land is my canvas and plants and trees are my medium. I don’t just create my artwork for the physical yield I receive, I do it for the mental and spiritual yield I receive from it… and that is one of the things that will set me apart from the rest… one day at least… I hope… being a starving artist is not easy… well I guess I can’t say “starving” artist!
plant petunias and question everything – chriscondello
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Glad you liked my post about life in Queensland, Chris, and very pleased to be in touch with your blog. Living on Mt French brought me back to where I was as a kid – loving nature, enjoying peace and quiet, never want to go near a city again1
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Pure Awesomeness! I look forward to keeping up with your blog 🙂
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Nice blog Chris. Thank you for sharing how you have turned your life around. Powerful stuff.
Beautiful stone sculptures at the top of the page.
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Hey, thanks for checking my blog out. Nice work! Great pictures! I’ll have to follow you. I like what your doing. Good luck!
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I am delighted you visited my blog. Like your blog very much. Cheers
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Congratulations on turning your life around – now all you have to do is give up smoking and your life will be just about perfect.
I really admire anyone who has the strength to overcome addictions of any sort – it’s not easy (and certainly hard to refrain for the rest of your life).
If only the rest of the world could develop a relationship with Nature, then I’m sure we would have a very good chance of righting the wrongs of Technology & Commerce. If we could all develop an awareness of the Environment, then the world would be a better place with fresh air, earth and sea.
Thanks for dropping by my own Blog – I’ll now go on to read some more of your posts. They sound inspiring.
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Good for you! My roots go through SW PA (near Uniontown), where my grandfather grafted his own nectarines & had his own kitchen garden & chickens. Botanical experimenters rock! Blessings to you & your endeavors!
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Chris, I am in awe. You are doing a great thing, and it’s very inspiring. I look forward to seeing more of your photography and other skills! Time to start sorting through your blog – love it. Have a great day!
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Thanks for liking my post. I look forward to exploring your blog in more detail.
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Chris, internet slow, haven’t been blogging, barely got to this page. Have a look at
http://23sandy.com/works/product-category/curated-collections/photo-artist-books
Couldn’t help thinking of your photos and poetry. Not much money in it, sales do happen, one can make multiples, i.e. an edition. I personally find it quite inspiring and maybe that’s good enough sometimes. Also have a look-see, if you like, at artistbooks.ning.com, the Collaborative Section: the work that Cheryl Penn is doing. The books get around! Which is nice.
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Such an honor to meet such an amazing, talented artist. The images you captured…totally so alive!
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Good for you, Chris, and many blessings as you go on with your life.
janet
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Question everything is my motto and I plant but not petunia. Greetings from British Columbia, Canada.
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Bonjour Chris
Thanks for following – you have some great pictures here – we look forward to followin you and your exciting, compared too us, life.
Regards
Dan
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Sorry, I meant Earthships.
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Hi Chris, thanks for visiting my blog – Freedom Times. Yours is great. Have you heard about Eartships and/or The Valhalla Movement?
I believe that both of them are part of humanity’s next evolutionary wave, and I think you’d fit right in 🙂
One Love
Ryan
In South Africa
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Since you have such an in-depth appreciation with garden and its miracle and relaxed atmosphere, please you can visit other SoundEagle’s sites that issue vegetation, farming and horticulture:http://www.lynairlogistics.com.au/contact-us
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WOW, what a story you have! You ARE an artist. I love what you have done with the photographs. Thanks for stopping by my Garden Reverie blog. I will look forward to keeping up with you. Cackie http://gardenreverie.wordpress.com
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Your blog has an elegant strength running in it, a sense of the agony and ecstasy of life. Thanks.
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Hooked on your of after reading the first page. Looking forward to reading through your archives and seeing what the future brings 🙂
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Just to let you know that I have nominated you for 4 awards: No worries either way – just showing my appreciation!
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Hi Chris,
Since your blog has been created to document your transformations, many of which are not only interesting for your readers but also for freelance writers and bloggers, and since you aspire to write well, SoundEagle feels that you might be interested in some useful tools for writers on SoundEagle’s website:
SoundEagle looks forward to your comments and interacting with you. May you also find other posts and pages interesting. Please enjoy!
Happy September to you soon!
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Hi Chris,
I have previously commented on your evolution manifesto published in December 2013, as far as I can remember. Time flies! How have you been?
Thank you very much for sharing your lovely photos and stories! Well done!
Since you have such a deep affinity with garden and its magic and tranquility, please feel free to visit other SoundEagle’s websites that concern plants, gardening and horticulture:
http://pottedplantsociety.wordpress.com
http://queenslandbegonia.wordpress.com
http://queenslandorchid.wordpress.com
http://rhsq.wordpress.com
Enjoy!
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you have an interesting method of interpreting concepts … thats admirable. I’d say…. soul creation. thanks for stopping by. ☮
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Thanks for sharing your heart, and for stopping by my blog.
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I was directed here by your business card in Frick Park. Very neat installation. Thought you might like to know that the structures you’ve been assembling are actually called “cairns”. I hope to see more of your work around.
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“Man Made Militia” looks fantastic. Very pagan.
“The garden is a canvas” – nice!
I’m not much of a gardener; the only thing I’ve managed to nurture up to now is a chilli plant. I’ve had it two years and have just had the first fruits of my work. I’ll have to read the rest of your blog.
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I love the rock sculptures!
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“Self portrait” is genius. You’ve changed this up a bit I see. Nice.
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Hi, very nice blog, really loved it.
Peace and Love, Sanoj
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Chris, I wanted to share with you a video i have of a bird in my birdbath, on my deck. I didn’t see an e-mail to send it to you on, so.. http://smallspacegardening.info/?p=373 – We think it is a mockingbird. Your love for nature, i thought you may like this. – Melissa@smallspacegardening.info
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Thank you for liking my post – I think your stuff is brilliant. I’m new to blogging etc and it’s amazing to find such interesting people like you!
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Fabulous “About” page! I love the notion of guerrilla gardening.
Thank you for popping in my neck of the blogosphere. I look forward to reading more about your work.
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Wow Chris! You Are prolific! I especially appreciate your description of ‘us’ permaculturists/gardeners as installation artists. Keep sharing your creations!
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Your experiences and thoughts on gardening sound great! I’m very eager to get back on the streets of Detroit to hit up some guerrilla gardening and urban permaculture myself. We should swap stories.
Cities need to be rebuilt with practical and artistic means of sustaining the land am the people. Cheers. Look forward to reading more.
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Hi Chris. Pleased to meet you
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Look forward to reading your work.
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Powerfully potent. Potently powerful.
Much like the seed, as it clings towards its -ling ness of being, and the potential of energy is transferred to kinetic. I get it. And love it. Your thoughts and your vibe. And Wilkinson? Yeah, was there once or twice and a congratulatory (like YES!) type high five, I commend you and send you regards. Art is life.
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My phone (from which I blog) autocorrects like a poser. Sucks. I meant Wilkinsburg, for what it’s worth.
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Thanks do much for stopping by my blog
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Thanks for the like on my post. It was great getting to learn about you through this post. I look forward to reading more.
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That was beautiful, it was very nice and refreshing to read, and what you are doing is just amazing! Kat
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Thanks for stepping by my blog! Liking yours 🙂
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Nice blog Chris! Thanks for following “Known is a drop, Unknown is an Ocean”. 🙂
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Thanks for supporting my work It means brothers and sisters to me Bless you
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Interesting blog. Thanks for stopping by my blog!
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Chris, thanks for stopping by my site. It gave me the chance to explore your site and I’m hooked. I also wanted to tell you about a garden blogger community, Blotanical. You can register your site there and explore a whole lot of gardening inspiration — and share your own. Be well.
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Thanks for visiting my posts and following me – interesting that you see gardening as art – I do too – I used to paint but can do so no longer due to arthritis but have always said that I look at the garden as my best piece of art work…. I paint with the flowers and forms and look through them for the best view… Colours and shapes are important. and yes, gardens are spiritual places and always have been – why else would we have a Zen area? And why else would Monks have always created gardens?
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Never sell yourself short. I have been poking around looking at a few of your posts. You are a powerful writer! You have a real gift to observe, to really “see” and convert the images to words. You also capture and transmit emotions in a powerful way. Oh yes, and you and I share a love for all things growing….in the garden and in the soul! I am looking forward to following your words,your wisdom and your steps on the journey.
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Great blog.
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I sense we’re on a very similar path in very similar cities. I look forward to following what you are doing.
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