|
A WALK IN THE WOODS
Hiking in the woods, I am at
home among nurturing friends, whether they are birch, oak or pine. Among
trees, I feel at peace, as if right now this moment is enough. My intent
with these paintings is to express the spirit of trees, bringing to the
viewer the
sense of reverence I feel.
El Arbol de Tule is a 2,000 year old
swamp cypress tree living outside Oaxaca, Mexico. Children point out
animal shapes in its giant trunk. The region is no longer swampy, so the
local community has installed an extensive underground irrigation system
to feed this sacred tree.
Many of the images in this show are from the North
Shore of Lake Superior. Hiking near Tofte, I came to a forest of birch
trees, which became my Cathedral of Birches.
Sacred Cedars and
Twilight Cedar are at the top of the Cascade River
trail. I found the
Artist's Point Birch at artists’ point in
Grand Marais. The Crone lives in Grand Portage.
Some of my art was created near Siren,
Wisconsin, before and after a tornado ripped through the area and destroyed
everything in its mile wide and 65 mile long path. About a year after
the tornado, a forest fire consumed all that remained in one area.
I was devastated by the loss and had to document the event in some way. I
have honored these trees with Fire Totem. Observing the woods heal is also healing for me. |
