“So, in the case of trees, being old doesn’t mean being weak, bowed, and fragile. Quite the opposite, it means being full of energy and highly productive. This means elders are markedly more productive than young whippersnappers, and when it comes to climate change, they are important allies for human beings.” -Peter Wohlleben
…and I’d add for all living beings. Also, allies doesn’t even seem like the right word now. Without trees we are done. They protect life and give life to all. I think it was last week where troubling articles came out about the rise of extinctions. If only people understood that the loss of one affects us all.
Lately it seems like talking about caring for the environment and the planet is like screaming into the void. At least here in the states where protections are actively being rolled back and detroyed. Well, I’ll do what I can do in my own world, vote for those whose actions align with their words in regards to our climate crisis as much as possible, do the same with my decisions of where to shop, and keep communing with the trees.
This is another piece using salvaged wood that I have been collecting for years now. I’m happy to finally be using them. I have been using salvaged wood in my work for many years now. I think it really began in earnest after I moved to Maryland in 2013 as I had more access to these types of materials here and access to table saws. A quick look on my website tells me 2015 with this being the first piece where I started attaching salvaged wood to my mixed media pieces. But I feel like it might have been even a little earlier. I’ll have to look in my files. But definitely over a decade.
It’s kind of crazy how long I will hold onto a scrap piece of wood in my studio, just waiting for the right moment to use it. Is that a hoarding tendency? Yikes. I hope not. Actually it thrills me to use up stuff and not hold onto things. So I’m saying no. But also, not holding onto things means more room for more things! It’s an endless cycle.
I have also gotten a reputation of taking things people no longer want or don’t know what to do with and feel bad about throwing it away and they say -hey I have a bunch of metal, leather, wood, weird odd ball thing, etc. and I know you make art with stuff…do you want it? I rarely say no. I think i did once. I was at capacity, but I told them of resources in the community where they could possibly donate them to. In every city I have lived, there is always an arts organization or art community that organizes swaps or have places to brings materials like this for people who make stuff out of stuff. Just search or ask around. We are eveywhere………
We have to start thinking more in the style of using what we have, transforming used materials and giving them a new life. Even doing it just a little bit helps. That’s what I tell myself.
“This is not our world with trees in it. It’s a world of trees, where humans have just arrived.”- Richard Powers, Overstory