ARTIST’S STATEMENT. AFTER THE FACT!

Artist's view of the blue tree!

What an incredible experience and I hope that others will experience the blue tree as well!

The day turned out to be perfect for tree painting! It took about eight hours and there was, of course, like most things in life, the unexpected!

Baby Squirrels

There is a lot of life in a dead tree! We came upon baby squirrels and a wood pecker nest as well! One baby squirrel was particularly curious. It was about 5 inches long and was clearly giving thought to jumping on to the bucket! The stain may look like it is already fading in those spots but that’s because I was extra light and quick in my touch. 

The tree is surprising fragile! How does it stand there through wind and storms, birds, squirrels, etc. and yet snap when touched with a paint glove? I was very gentle and we only lost one 2 foot branch when the bucket accidentally bumped it. The poetry of this present and fragile dead tree strikes me as beautiful.

"What's with the blue tree?"

It was great to see dear friends who came out to watch and it was also a pleasure to welcome the strangers who walked across the field to see what was happening. That Saturday, after all was said and done, including a celebratory toast, we were leaving when a red pickup truck came barreling down the side road. “What’s with the BLUE TREE!?” asked a man and his family who were just driving by. Their anonymous delight was the perfect endorsement of the project that day.

Life goes on! When I visited the tree on the Monday morning after painting just after sunrise, I saw that the farmer had planted the field on Sunday! The timing of painting the tree worked out perfectly! 

Finishing the bottom

Due to the angle of the bucket truck and Swan Creek I couldn’t reach very far down on the tree so I returned on May 18th and painted the bottom using extension rollers to reach up. The water had gone way down and so I was able to paint the lowest part of the tree. I wasn’t able to reach the far side of the tree from the bucket truck so I matched up the lines at that point. That same day I put an explanatory poster on the wall of the butterfly house labeling the Blue Tree as EARTH ART. The girls in the shop were curious and said that people had been asking!

Connections

My thoughts now on how to “explain” the Blue Tree are that for me it is about connections; connections between the sky and earth, life and death, the here-ness and the gone-ness. It’s about celebrating inspiration, living life to the fullest while knowing the fleeting nature of it all! 

Take away

The take away that I offer my kids is: "Go for it, if you have a crazy idea, and no one will get hurt, just go for it!"

The Blue Tree is good. Look up!

One thing I’m going to love about the Blue Tree is watching it change with the seasons. When I returned on June 3rd the surrounding trees had really filled in with green, and the corn field was sprouting 10” plants.