Treewhispers

It’s always a great day when handmade paper rounds arrive in the mailbox.

An envelope showed up in February from Lani Schuster—she included a note reminding me that we were introduced by Cecile Webster at the Columbia College Book and Paper Alumni Exhibit, About Time. (It’s all about connections, you know…) Lani shared that the piece she exhibited there was inspired by Treewhispers. It was a tree cross-section with an outer ring made of folios to represent the self-healing process a tree truck undergoes when it loses a limb.

Her contributed round as seen here, was inspired by the sight of plastic bags entangled in tree branches—a sight that really irritates her—and me, quite frankly. While Treewhipers invitation is for handmade paper, this is one out of the box that I simply must include.

One of the last exhibits that I saw with my mom before she graduated from this life, was one that we happen to stroll through at the Sioux City Art Center. An artist rendered graphite images of delicate fly-away plastic bags tangled in tree branches, barbed wire fences—where ever they happened to be captured. With this image—the time, the winds, the sounds, the place—were all documented. I wish I could remember the artist’s name. It was a fascinating exhibit. Although I too despise the plastic floating in the environment, I can’t help but think of those precious moments that I shared with my mom—observing another’s observations of the world—just as it was. It’s about connections, you know…

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