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My Tree of Life Series
Reflecting on each previous year and finding a silver lining….
In January 2022 I created a block print of a Tree of Life. I made it reflecting on the year that had just ended, 2021, the deaths from COVID, a search for balance, nests to signify rebirth….
The following January I returned to this idea, reflecting on 2022. As a teacher we were back in the classroom and everything was going back to normal… or so we thought. The rings represent the focus it took to find or create a stillness and center for our students, friends, family. The cardinal is again present to represent and remember those we lost.
Reflecting on 2023 I created a community of birds both local and those from war torn countries…with a dove to represent the hope for peace.
Reflecting on 2024, the world, or at least the US, felt divided and torn apart through political and moral views, to the devastation caused by wildfires. There is a Japanese art form called kinsugi, where a broken ceramic vessel is mended with gold. The idea is to not to hide the fracture nor only restore an object to its original state, but to celebrate its history and find beauty in its imperfections, that perhaps the mended break makes it more beautiful by revealing its journey. With this in mind, my tree for this year is torn and mended with gold.
Reflecting on 2025, that was a difficult one, in fact each year feels a bit more difficult to find the gold lining….. My tree for this reflection is a winter tree, bare of leaves, branches broken, birds in cages…..and in amongst the roots are words that were red flagged by our government….words that were taking root to create change, words that were giving voice to minority communities, words to identify with, words that would make a grant un fundable. I belief and hope is that these words remain embedded in our roots and will continue to sprout.
My Tree of Life Series
Reflecting on each previous year and finding a silver lining….
In January 2022 I created a block print of a Tree of Life. I made it reflecting on the year that had just ended, 2021, the deaths from COVID, a search for balance, nests to signify rebirth….
The following January I returned to this idea, reflecting on 2022. As a teacher we were back in the classroom and everything was going back to normal… or so we thought. The rings represent the focus it took to find or create a stillness and center for our students, friends, family. The cardinal is again present to represent and remember those we lost.
Reflecting on 2023 I created a community of birds both local and those from war torn countries…with a dove to represent the hope for peace.
Reflecting on 2024, the world, or at least the US, felt divided and torn apart through political and moral views, to the devastation caused by wildfires. There is a Japanese art form called kinsugi, where a broken ceramic vessel is mended with gold. The idea is to not to hide the fracture nor only restore an object to its original state, but to celebrate its history and find beauty in its imperfections, that perhaps the mended break makes it more beautiful by revealing its journey. With this in mind, my tree for this year is torn and mended with gold.
Reflecting on 2025, that was a difficult one, in fact each year feels a bit more difficult to find the gold lining….. My tree for this reflection is a winter tree, bare of leaves, branches broken, birds in cages…..and in amongst the roots are words that were red flagged by our government….words that were taking root to create change, words that were giving voice to minority communities, words to identify with, words that would make a grant un fundable. I belief and hope is that these words remain embedded in our roots and will continue to sprout.