Forest Sphere - Willamette Forest

Details

    © 2021
  • Dimensions (in inches): 7 x 6.2 x 6.2, opens to 20 x 20 x 6
  • Materials:wood, book board, book cloth, paper, oil, acrylic on paper, mica, brass, natural specimens cast in epoxy resin, wax, nut
  • Collection of:University of Oregon Special Collections

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One of a series of three sculptural book works housed in a custom box. The book object is a series of 5 vertically stacked, round wood slices bound with a single post. Each slice has round cavities that hold various specimens collected from the Willamette forest floor in 2018. The specimens are cast in epoxy and over glazed with mica. The box structure has a removable lid with four drop down walls. Three walls have original oil paintings on surface treated paper, the fourth wall has a laser engraved text panel. Colophon is recessed on the underside of the box.
One chilly April I camped for several days in Oregon’s Willamette National Forest. The landscape was green, the trees dripped moss, yet the forest felt dry and crunchy. I plan to return someday, perhaps later in the year, when it is warmer and not quite so windy. Now that tract of forest, along with hundreds of thousands of acres, is in a time of post-fire rebuilding, growing towards some version of its former self. I’m less certain I will visit the Willamette again.