Many traditions see the tree as a symbol of life, a place to cross between worlds, a sacred place, material for necessary physical objects, or all of these things. They also form a circle with us and the other life-forms that breathe out carbon dioxide for them to take in so that they can return oxygen to us.
In my life, trees have been the materials for my home, the medium for my art, the source of shade, the origin point for some of my favorite food and calm places where I go when I need the kind of quiet that can help me listen on a very deep level.
A Memory of Trees explores the tree as a repository of memories. Each image is a composite of layering of photos taken from multiple angles while walking around a tree, at intervals over a long period of time, or both. The goal is to move beyond the representation of the surface of a specific tree and into a deeper dialog with the mystical significance of trees as a whole. Each piece is simultaneously a suggestion of what a memory held by a tree might look like and a visual of what my memory of having know a specific tree is.
