For most of my life I have collected what I call, “nature’s trophies”. These items include found objects from the world of fauna, the castings and constructions of creature efforts. With them, I have created a fantastical, ghost-white landscape. I have reimagined them as growths from the earth, rising up on stalks and perched on stems. The silk worm cocoons have sprouted into a throne holding the skull of the Badger King. Galls rise in a Seussian bouquet from a sphere of balled fur. Tiny blossoms fall from seeing trees, each holding in their centers the imprint of a Japanese kanji. I imagine the blossoms collect in divots of their own will spelling out the forest’s poetry. My “Secret Forest” is an ode to nature’s artistry and invites the consideration of an alternate origin story.
The “Secret Forest” also includes several related mixed media landscapes.