I have mentioned before my fascination with the fact that trees most often appear in the origin stories in different cultures and religions around the world. When I was young and just starting to read books on my own I remember going to the shelf in my school’s library and devouring every book on myths and folktales. I still love reading those to this day. These narratives and stories were and still are ways that we try to make sense of our world.
Trees often seen as ladders or a bridge between the worlds- world above and the world below. Or they are the source of wisdom and knowledge. They are often a vital structure of the universe or the beginnings of life. Writing this out now I almost just want to embark on a research project on compiling all the tree stories and make art about them too. hmmmmmmm……
Origin used to be another painting, but I decided to take it out of its frame and rework it. It was too dark before. I added an image to it that I love so much, but that too wasn’t working. And then I transferred this tree and moved bits around came to this resolution, that really felt good to me. I salvaged the wood from our house renovation. Our house was built in the 1930s and it’s possible that this piece of wood comes from that long ago. I have used this tree image before. I took the photo in D.C. near the highest natural elevation point in the district, which isn’t very high. But this tree sure is high.