Sculptures from Beetle Kill Pine
Mixed Media
Assorted sizes from 24 to 48"
Available only from Wild Hearts Gallery
Placitas, NM
After working with my usual media, I decided to allow the trees themselves to speak. Peeling the bark from beetle-killed saplings revealed intricate tunnels (galleries) as lovely to me as illuminated manuscripts or elaborate tattoos, their meaning unfiltered by human language or image-making. These pieces contain the tree’s life history from seedling to death due to warmer temperatures, drought and insects.
They started as pallisades in our coyote fence. Over the years, as the bark began to separate, intricate galleries formed by beetle larvae were revealed. I peeled them, steamed them to kill any viable larvae, then sanded, stained, oiled, and colored them with various methods.
It is important to find beauty and hope in the midst of despair and loss. This is one way I have found to do that.