This piece was among the very last that I made recently using reclaimed wood. These wood pieces came from old pallet boards. I built a frame for this small piece because custom framers can’t cut frames under 5 inches! Makes sense. My box building skills are getting better. Getting better with power tools and basic carpentry skills makes me feel like I can conquer the world. Or at least feel more independent and less like a cog in a wheel. Quiet revolution.
The title was inspired by Mary Oliver’s poem When I Am Among Trees. If you haven’t read it, enjoy.
When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”
I just packed up this piece and two others to head out to Traverse City in Michigan to a lovely gallery called Higher Art Gallery. If you happen to be in the area, stop in!