Sitting Within a Circle of Trees : My greatest desire as a socially responsible Artist, is to design ways for people to be able to talk with one another, to listen to each other, and to have an open mind to our common threads and differences. I believe that the diversity of ideas will solve the most pressing issues within our communities.
Description of the Sitting Within a Circle of Trees :
The main focus of this project is to create a unique setting that is inviting and safe for people of different backgrounds to speak their personal viewpoints and to be heard. The Chair Project is designed to help us move beyond our differences on universal themes, thereby finding the common threads that connect us.
The Visual Setting:
This setting is comprised of five hand-carved wood chairs, each embodying elements of the natural world. The importance of these specifically carved sculptures/chairs is to represent our unifying connection with Nature. Within a demarcated circle on the ground, the Chairs are placed. Five people will enter this circle, one by one, in a ceremonial fashion. Each will be “cleansed” and instructed to enter quietly, take a seat, and remain in listening mode until it is their turn to speak. One person will speak on a chosen topic for several minutes. Each person is given the opportunity to speak on the same topic.
Topics will be chosen for their open-ended qualities, for example; “What is most important to you?” “What does ‘home’ mean to you?” “What are you most concerned about?” “What are you passionate about?” “How would you solve the homeless issues in your community?”
Video documentation of each person’s response will be archived for future presentations on the concept of respectfully listening to diverse voices. The goal is in understanding that diversity is a means to solve issues for the greater good within our communities, and in the broader world.
Please keep in mind that the Sitting Within a Circle of Trees is a work in progress, as is this web page. More will be added as the project develops. I am in the early phase of carving the Tree Chairs and thinking through the full experience.
The Beginning
Everything has a beginning (or maybe everything is just a continuum). Whichever it is, the Sitting Within a Circle of Trees had a pure organic start. A wood sculpting friend was given some Butternut tree trunks and asked if I would like one, with the condition that I had to pick it up from her studio. Of course, I said “Yes!” As you can see, this trunk was BIG. And heavy. When I examined the trunk, I saw the rotting areas within it and knew I needed to envision what it was to be, around these parts. What I saw was some kind of “chair”. That was the first task. The second task was to make the trunk lighter so that I/we could put it into my truck.
In the photo, I am cutting “piano keys”. The objective is to be able to wack each “key” with a sledgehammer so that the wood will split off, key by key. (Much easier than rip cutting down through the trunk).
The beginning of the Sitting Within a Circle of Trees starts here. And so does the carving of this huge piece of wood.
Making and adding the leaves brings The TreeTrunk Chair closer to completion. This will be the first carved “chair” in the Chair Project. Four more to go!