It started with a walk in the woods in Vermont. Birch bark was on the ground, peeling off fallen trees and everywhere I looked  so I took some home.  Years later I needed a vase and started playing around with the bark.  Since then, I have foraged on my visits up north and come home with bark of all kinds – fresh and clean, down and dirty.  The older bark can be fragile, and I often must piece bits together to create a vase or picture.  My other materials – glass vases and frames are treasures found at thrift stores.  Together they form objects that express beauty of the wabi sabi kind – highlighting the natural, the imperfect, the discarded bits in the world.  The results evoke the spirit I find in the woods – everything is evolving into the next form, the next iteration of itself to best play its part in the interconnected web of life. 

 

All the bark used has been gathered from fallen trees, so no harm has been done to living one.  The vases are lined with glass and the bark is water resistant naturally, so they are meant to be used often.