“One Impulse from A Vernal Wood”

ONE IMPULSE FROM A VERNAL WOOD consists of nine environmental sculpture installations integrated in Daniel Chester French’s Forest at Chesterwood, National Trust Historic Site - 2019-2022. Trees are perhaps our most important partners on the planet. We use storm damaged, standing dead or fallen trees. Our practice is informed by the Gaia hypothesis of James Lovelock and Lynn Margulius. “Planet earth is a living creature, … a biological super- organism-a planetary body-that adjusts and regulates itself.” Also, it is inspired by the scientific work of botanist Peter Wollenbee and Suzanne Simard, who determined trees communicate underground through a complex network of root systems and fungal matter.ONE IMPULSE FROM A VERNAL WOOD is a reference to the 19th c. poem The Tables Turned by William Wordsworth. 

Mother Tree     One Impulse from Vernal Wood, Chesterwood National Historic Trust 9-acre woodland,    Stockbridge, MA  2019 – 21

MOTHER TREE Is a majestic full growth eastern white pine tree overlooking and under the ground nurturing a broad sweeping community of younger trees that radiate outward from her long time fixed location found deeply in the forest.  
Eastern white pine, steel approx. 90’ tall. Installation 10’ x 22’ x 6’

Siblings     One Impulse from Vernal Wood, Chesterwood National Historic Trust 9-acre woodland,    Stockbridge, MA  2019 – 21

SIBLINGS Consists of two large remaining hemlock stumps having had most of their upper sections blown off in a storm. Using these broken elements we constructed two linear sculpture configurations suggesting  two siblings. Each tree piece begins with their rooted stump as a point of departure, continues with a mid-section of reconfigured forms rejoined and terminating  with their individual tree tops. Approx. 70’ x 8’ x 2’ each

Dreaming     One Impulse from Vernal Wood, Chesterwood National Historic Trust 9-acre woodland,        Stockbridge, MA  2019 – 21

DREAMING Gives an extended life to a fallen tree utilizing the remains of a full-growth hemlock destroyed in a storm. The sculptural configuration animates the reconfigured tree elements into a dream like three dimensionally drawn form. Our storm damaged hemlock and sculptural intervention are animated throughout the day as the sun moves across the sky. Dreaming alludes to the inter-connectedness , co-existence  and  cooperative systems always present in the forest.

Link     One Impulse from Vernal Wood, Chesterwood National Historic Trust 9-acre woodland,   Stockbridge, MA  2019 – 21

LINK A re-configured fabricated structure extending the life of this eastern white pine tree beyond its natural destruction from a violent storm.

WISDOM A very old, standing dead tree in advanced stages of decay. Surprisingly, a tree in this condition continues to provide vital information and resources for younger trees within the forest community. Our installation includes abstract symbols that loosely reference the origin of language and fundamental basis for communication.

SINGING TREE A standing dead hemlock tree with top blown off in a storm reconfigured in a way suggesting an exuberant tree, singing - out to surrounding trees and plants throughout the forest and the world at large. 

Veer    One Impulse from Vernal Wood, Chesterwood National Historic Trust 9-acre woodland,    Stockbridge, MA  2019 – 21

VEER  Using fallen sections of adjacent hemlock trees we fabricate a web of inter locking screens that bob and weave back and forth between a number of remaining standing hemlock trees .   
Hemlock trees, steel connectors. Installation 5’ x 50’ x 2”

Rouse   One Impulse from Vernal Wood, Chesterwood National Historic Trust 9-acre woodland,   Stockbridge, MA  2019 – 21

ROUSE A storm damaged standing dead hemlock reconfigured and organized as a way to reflect tree’s tendencies to send out warning signals to surrounding trees when sensing dangers such as the invasion of harmful insects.
Hemlock, steel connectors. Installation 16’ x 10’ x 2”

Photographs by Cary Wolinsky