Ghost Trees Project

This Spring, I will participate in a group exhibition called “Footprints Through Time: Artists Inspired by History” that will open at the Illinois State Museum on March 6, 2015. As one of the exhibiting artists, I have been given an entire room in which to display a new installation of work on a unified theme. I have chosen Ghost Trees as a way to reflect on the beauty and value of old-growth trees, as well as on their cyclical and historical layers of life and death. This is how the forest naturally sustains itself and regenerates. I also want to reflect on a tree’s sacrifice and transformation through lumbering to produce shelter. I recently discovered that much of the woodwork in my own home is made of clear pine, which is from an old-growth forest. I believe that the tension between our appreciation of trees and the destruction of them in order to sustain our existence is a difficult balance. How do we develop a sound and sustainable way of thinking and acting that reconciles these conflicting concerns?

A DCASE grant initially helped provide funds for this project. I created a series of small porcelain ceramic trees, which I brought to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan’s Sylvania Wilderness area, a place I have often hiked and camped. I took stereoscopic photographs of these trees to capture the depth and magic of the northern woods at various sites throughout this preserved virgin forest, which is one of few such tracts left in the Midwest. My idea was to return the spirit of my home’s woodwork back to its original and natural setting. I read that most old-growth forests in the Upper Midwest were logged to virtual extinction in a mere 20-year period in the 19th century.

My new work in Ghost Trees will feature a series of unglazed porcelain trees, sawdust-fired roots and branches, a large ceramic-made tree stump, and a series of photographs of “ghost trees” in the forest. I will also create a mixed-media sculptural installation using reclaimed flooring and other old-growth wood obtained from architectural salvagers as well as my own collection. Funds from this campaign will enable me to purchase materials for the new work, as well as hire a professional carpenter who will help me install the flooring and distressed woodwork to fully complement the installation.

With your help, I will be able to create this new work, as well as enhance the viewer’s experience and understanding of my artistic intention. My hope is that Ghost Trees will open more people’s eyes to the vanishing primeval woods and the need for sustainable practices. By exploring this relationship, this new work signifies a shift toward more personal and poetic concerns, but of course, the personal is still political.