A New Beginning at the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest
Last year I recorded an episode for the Spring Creek Project’s podcast “Luminaries” about my relationship with fire and water in response to Bill Viola’s installation “The Crossing” which I saw about 30 years ago. My issues with fire stretch way back before that to my childhood in Southern California. I am not a fan of fire and have mostly ignored it with my art. Note that my project for Wildfire + Water is more like Water + Water. I can’t ignore fire any longer. Now I am embarking on a new project directly relate to wildfire. The HJ Andrews Experimental Forest has been impacted by three... Read More
Solstices/Equinoxes
January 17 – May 14, 2017
Roger W. Rogers Gallery
Willamette University
Mary Stuart Rogers Music Center
900 State Street
Salem, OR 97301
Hours: Monday – Friday 8am to 6pm
Read More
Solstices/Equinoxes: Work-In-Progress
Solstices/EquinoxesWork-In-Progress Spring Equinox Solstices/Equinoxes: Spring Equinox, 40 in. x 77 in., Oil on 3 wood panels, 2016 Solstices/Equinoxes Project Overview These are the main questions that I posed for this project: How do the colors of the creek change throughout a day? How does the colors of the creek change over the year? Procedure at the creek On the solstices and equinoxes of one year, I spent the entire day from before sunrise to after sunset at the gauging station of Watershed 2 at HJ Andrews Experimental Forest. Beginning precisely at sunrise, I took a photo of the creek... Read More
Empathy
Empathy Responses to the essay Poetry-Science Gratitude Duet by Alison Hawthorne Deming and Frederick J. Swanson Empathy Part 5: Responses to the essay Poetry-Science Gratitude Duet by Alison Hawthorne Deming and Frederick J. Swanson Sitting at Watershed 2 Sit in the forest for a day with no agenda. Swim naked in the creek. Sleep under the stars. The only thing that is required is that you pay attention. Take yourself out of your head: It might take a few days. Stay. Speak little, or not at all. Stay until you feel at ease with the silence. Stay until you hear the rustle of something small... Read More
Faith
Faith Responses to the essay Poetry-Science Gratitude Duet by Alison Hawthorne Deming and Frederick J. Swanson Faith Part 4: Responses to the essay Poetry-Science Gratitude Duet by Alison Hawthorne Deming and Frederick J. Swanson Lookout Creek on the Winter Solstice I don’t have faith in many things at the moment. This year, so far, has been one of those years to shake most of it out of me. However, I do have faith in one thing. It has never failed me, not even once. I trust that the world is beautiful (although I still haven’t been able to figure out why it is so). My artwork depends on it.... Read More
Wonder – Why is the world so beautiful?
Wonder Responses to the essay Poetry-Science Gratitude Duet by Alison Hawthorne Deming and Frederick J. Swanson An Open Letter to Robin Wall Kimmerer Why is the World So Beautiful? Wonder An Open Letter to Robin Wall Kimmerer: Why is the world so beautiful? Part 3: Responses to the essay Poetry-Science Gratitude Duet by Alison Hawthorne Deming and Frederick J. Swanson Penguin Crossing Dear Robin Wall Kimmerer, At the end of his presentation at the Arts/Sciences Convergences at OSU introduction, poet and writer Charles Goodrich asked this question on your behalf: Why is the world so... Read More
Story
Story Responses to the essay Poetry-Science Gratitude Duet by Alison Hawthorne Deming and Frederick J. Swanson And Notes for the Art Science Convergences at OSU Panel Discussion Story Part 2: Responses to the essay Poetry-Science Gratitude Duet by Alison Hawthorne Deming and Frederick J. Swanson Ambient: October 11, 2014, Between 10:55 AM and 3:42 PM; Watershed 1, Lookout Creek & Watershed 3 Oil on 6 Wood Panels, 25 1/2 in. x 112 in. Telling you what I do is fairly easy: I make abstract paintings that show chromatic changes in the environment that we can’t easily see or track with... Read More
Patience
Patience Responses to the essay Poetry-Science Gratitude Duet by Alison Hawthorne Deming and Frederick J. Swanson Patience Part 1: Responses to the essay Poetry-Science Gratitude Duet by Alison Hawthorne Deming and Frederick J. Swanson 200 Year Log Decomposition Study Patience is at the essence of the log decomposition study at HJ Andrews. Mark Harmon began the study of forest ‘morticulture’ at the Andrews about 30 years ago. It is designed to continue for 200 years. How patient must one be to wait to know that the answer that you are seeking will not be found during your own lifetime?... Read More
Silence
Silence “He who does not understand your silence will probably not understand your words.” Elbert Hubbard Silence has been on my mind lately, especially when I am in my studio painting. Without silence there is no music, no prose, no composition. It is only through silence and emptiness that form can emerge. Recently I went to the symphony and I paid careful attention to the silences. They are between the notes, they separate the movements, and they mark the end of a piece. The silence that occurs between the last note, and the first cough and shuffle from the... Read More
Discovery Trail
Discovery Trail Published in the Rot: The Afterlife of Trees Exhibition Catalog, The Arts Center, Corvallis, OR, January 2016 " Discovery Trail A lacquered tree round adorned with an image of a salamander marks the beginning of the Discovery Trail located at the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest headquarters. The trail wanders through old growth forest and leads to Lookout Creek. Along the trail you will find no signs or kiosks designating an area or object as particularly “discover worthy.” There is an invitation at the trailhead to discover, but it does not dictate what that discovery... Read More
Rot: The Afterlife of Trees @ The World Forestry Center, Portland, OR
Rot: The Afterlife of Trees @ The World Forestry Center, Portland, OR The World Forestry Center, Portland, Oregon Dates: March 10, 2016 – May 1, 2016 Opening Reception: Thursday, March 10, 2016, 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM Address: 4033 SW Canyon Rd, Portland, OR 97222 Phone: (503) 228-1367 Hours: Current Winter Hours: 10:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m. Open Thursday through Monday, closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Older Post: ← EXHIBITION - Rot: The Afterlife of Trees @ The Arts Center, Corvallis, OR Newer Post: Art/Science Convergences at OSU... Read More
EXHIBITION – Rot: The Afterlife of Trees @ The Arts Center, Corvallis, OR
The Dead Wood Exhibition is a collaboration with OSU School of Forestry, HJ Andrews Experimental Forest and Spring Creek Project.
Read More
Recompose
In a logjam on the edge of the creek is a bone-white naked log with a small patch of fungus following the log’s longitudinal cracks
Read More