
Handmade paper and artwork by Kaligrafos Guild member/Dallas /Fort Worth Metroplex
Posted in Art, Handmade paper, Paper-making, Texas Council of Oaks, tagged honoring trees, Kaligraphos, storytelling, tree stories, Treewhispers on February 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Handmade paper, tagged Handmade paper, honoring trees, storytelling, Treewhispers on December 9, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Art, tagged evanstonmade, Handmade paper, honoring trees, storytelling, Treewhispers on December 8, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Book and Literary Arts Afternoon organized by Artist Book House at Evanstonmade provided one of many opportunities to engage with the artists and the art at 921 Church Street, Evanston, IL.
Evanstonmade will continue to host events through Dec. 19. Join the fun!
Posted in Art, tagged Handmade paper, honoring trees, Kaligrafos Calligraphy Guild, papermaking, storytelling, tree stories, Treewhispers on September 27, 2021| Leave a Comment »
A long awaited for and incredibly breathtaking capture of the Kaligrafos – Calligraphy Guild journey with Treewhispers.
Congratulations to Thomas Burns, the Council of Oaks and a multitude of Kaligrafos – Calligraphy Guild enthusiasts. Your narration, photos, videos, and sound/music choices beautifully unveiled the many months of dedication to the project—and truly its essence—the connection we have with one another—and trees, of course.
My heartfelt gratitude for your continued dedication and perseverance even—and especially— in the face of disappointment. The unique approach to the virtual exhibition in the woods (a collaboration with the trees—how perfect!) will surely touch others in a way that a gallery exhibit might otherwise not.
Posted in Art, tagged honoring trees, storytelling, Suzanne Simard, Treewhispers on September 11, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Art, tagged Barbara Close, Calligraphic Lines, Handmade paper, honoring trees, storytelling, tree art, Treewhispers on July 9, 2021| 1 Comment »
I LOVED doing my “Exploring Calligraphic Lines Thru the Trees” Workshop.
I enjoyed giving them a new project each week of different tree styles & techniques. They all picked their own wording to go with each design.
Students have sent fabulous feedback and are still posting – we have a FB group for them. So happy that it went well!! I would love to do it again for other groups in the future.
I truly believe, we were all connected because of the subject – everyone had such a beautiful feeling for the trees and the energy they all brought to the class. I was blown away and truly amazed.
Artwork/Text by Barbara Close
Posted in Art, Texas Council of Oaks, Timothy Botts, tree stories, Trees, Treewhispers, tagged Art, storytelling, Trees on October 4, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Art, Stories, tree stories, Trees, Treewhispers, tagged Art, Goguac Lake, nature, storytelling, Trees on May 22, 2018| Leave a Comment »
I was lucky enough to grow up on a big lake outside Battle Creek Michigan. Our house faced sunset and my dad and I enjoyed watching sunsets and changes in weather together.
One of the most beautiful things about living on Goguac Lake (an old Indian name), was the amazing tree cover. The whole area had beautiful tall, mature trees that had been there for a long, long, time. In the summer there when it was hot and steamy, as we drove up to the house the air temperature was at least ten degrees cooler up by the house, thanks to the trees. We were very aware of what a gift it was to live where we did under those big, beautiful trees.
Text and art by Kathy McCreedy, Michigan
Posted in Art, Calligraphy, Paper-making, Trees, tagged Art, Handmade paper, honoring trees, Linda Bravata, storytelling, Treewhispers on September 25, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Paper-making, Stories, Trees, tagged honoring trees, papermaking, storytelling, tree, Treewhispers on September 20, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Stories, Trees, tagged honoring trees, storytelling, Treewhispers on February 1, 2015| 5 Comments »
This poetry was submitted by Amy Oestreicher. Her courageous life’s story and connection to trees will be featured in a follow-up post.
intrusion
by Amy Oestreicher
1/28/15
POETRY AS A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
Whether I am the trespasser, alien
The outcast, the tortoise turned on its side
I can see the stream from here
And I long to dance with the source.
Can I fish for you, blue glimpse?
A glimpse of the word as it was intended to be?
The realism thrills me
In a world of
Perfec
t:
geometricshapes,painted signs,brightredautomobiles,
my hollow shell overflows with relief.
For I have now caught the world in coy disarray, in bashful asymmetry.
(I’m sorry I disturbed you – I had thought you were done changing)
But fair lilies in the stream, let me flatter you:
You are such unperturbed beauty; a beautiful mess
Some divine energy had a penchant for modern art.
This trail I stumble down begs to recount to me, pleads, “Can I tell you a story?”
Of What? What – some kind of archetypal tale to us with its paw prints, bird calls, freaks and daddy long legs crawling under rocks like blue crabs
Moist air
Shadowed filth
rocking trees comforting one another in this dark forest community.
Blue forest glimpse – you are my catch and my soul is your bait.
Here is my glimpse of the world as it was intended to be
Realism thrills me as the wind now thrills your branches.
In a world of perfect geometric shapes, of painted signs, of bright red automobiles…
I’ve wandered, lonely and seeking a friend, and I ask, can I belong?
Crumble-crumble-crumble
I venture down and down further, and down.
I am a lone pebble, but unstranded, moving with the stream of wind that caresses the branches above me.
In each crumble, I breathe in the equalizing power of nature, of burgeoning love that transcends the limitations of being 5’3 when the trees are so tall.
The air sings and swells with a knowing comfort, a tune I have heard my whole life, as constant as the seasons
and now, I look up at the dense ceiling of trees and whisper, “Thanks.”
before even realizing that I had said it.
And now the dance begins! The dance that I can join too!
And the violins play, and there are brass, and winds, and chords, and reeds, and strings, and shrubs, pebbles, rocks, debris and slugs – sound and color and light!
Trees start to rock back and forth
dance with my awe,
They reply, “Yes.” Yes!
I am the lone pebble tymbling and tumbling, being shaped and molded by the ground beneath me, as it has beneath centiures and centures of lava and strata
And then I stop for I am stopped
A large oak tree firmly itself from the others.
I whispered to it, “Tree, sway for me…sway for me please…” it didn’t budge.
I’m lowered from my floating enchantment.
My soul-bait is anchored once again, as a fervent wind dodges
Corner to corner
Boomerang from trunk to trunk
Wind so dynamic it flickers like fire.
Wind so hasty it drenches flimsier trees with its own leaking madness.
All limbs of the forest shake madly now
All limbs of my body petrified with wonderment.
We are all shaking madly! dizzy and startled by the whippings of the delirious wind
Nature restores its internal pulse
The wind’s wrath quickly wearies
Settles
Smaller gusts
Internal pulsing
Regulation
Even nature must sleep
Internal pulsing
prompts a limb of the stubborn oak tree to coyly bob up and down.
And the world was finally in sync.
I thank this forest sanctuary one more time before I leave.
I am a most welcome trespasser, and my shell is filled with burgeoning blue light
Goodnight, forest.
And all I could think about was how wonderful it would be to hold someone’s hand, staring at the trees together, in simultaneous awe, no words in our breath but all winds in our souls.
Posted in Art, Stories, Trees, tagged papermaking, stories, storytelling, The Center in Palos Park, tree art, Tree whispers, Trees, Treewhsipers on November 7, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Art, Installations, Paper-making, Stories, Trees, tagged Art, honoring trees, installation, papermaking, stories, storytelling, tree, Treewhispers, Treewhsipers on September 5, 2014| 4 Comments »
I wanted to share an incredible project relating to trees entitled “Seasons Rewound”—and the artists who created it, Barbara Pankratz and Barbara Johnston, both from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
They described it as a book five feet tall with an open back page spread that is 7 feet across. They used paper called weed block that they were able to purchase in 25 feet rolls, 3 feet across. They built all the pages then drew, painted and cut. There are three layers, the background layer, the tree layer then a little layer in the front with seven openings. The covers are matt board covered with painted canvas.
They mentioned that they spent one day a week for three years working on it. As they said it really was all about the process—they were not really concerned about the end product and they both felt the book literally made itself.
It was a wonderful collaboration. In their words: “The natural world is at the heart of everything we both do creatively. This oversize book was our attempt to represent a deep emotional and sensory connection to the changing seasons and to communicate our “larger-than-life” enthusiasm for the stunning visual experience this constant cycle affords.”
Posted in Art, Paper-making, Trees, tagged Art, Handmade paper, honoring trees, stories, storytelling, tree art, Trees, Treewhispers on August 9, 2014| 1 Comment »
Posted in Art, Installations, Paper-making, Stories, Trees, tagged Art, exhibition, honoring trees, storytelling, The Center in Palos Park, tree art, tree stories, Treewhispers on June 3, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Art, Paper-making, Stories, Trees, tagged Art, Handmade paper, honoring trees, papermaking, storytelling, Trees, Treewhispers on May 28, 2014| 1 Comment »
Posted in Art, Paper-making, Stories, Trees, tagged Art, Handmade paper, honoring trees, papermaking, stories, storytelling, Treewhispers on May 28, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Art, Paper-making, Stories, Trees, tagged Art, papermaking, stories, storytelling, The Center in Palos Park, tree, Treewhispers on May 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »
This Sunday, May 25, 1-3 p.m. at The Center in Palos Park, IL we are having a Little Art Show of tiny artworks and will give guests an opportunity to make tiny circles for the Treewhispers Project. You’re invited to join us!
Posted in Art, Paper-making, Stories, Trees, tagged Art, honoring trees, Palos Park, Pamela Paulsrud, papermaking, stories, storytelling, The Center on April 23, 2014| 1 Comment »
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What an honor to spend Earth Day at The Center in Palos Park, a place “of celebration, enrichment, and healing—meeting others who shared a love for trees. Thank you to Lois Lauer for the invitation to introduce the Treewhispers project, to Marilyn VandenBout for her expertise in paper-making and to all those who so graciously shared their time and their stories. Stay tuned to see how you too can get involved with The Center’s partnership with Treewhispers.
Posted in Art, Stories, Trees, tagged Art, honoring trees, stories, storytelling, tree, Treewhispers on April 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »
I wanted to honor my dad on this Earth Day—he planted so many trees—some say, whether you wanted them or not!
Thought I would share this artwork that I did for him on his birthday back in 1993. The quote, “He plants trees for another generation” is from Caecilius Statius, 220 B.C. The image is a hand-colored photo transfer of a tree belonging to my neighbors, Barb and Ed. If I remember right their son Matt brought the seeding home on Arbor Day. It was planted in their front yard and today it is a beautiful towering specimen. Makes me smile.