WALKING WITH TREES is an ongoing project to be present to the ecological changes in forests and chaparral in the face of urbanization, globalization (in the form of invasive species) and climate change. I began walking near my home in San Diego County in the aftermath of the conflagrations of 2003 and 2007, the largest fires in California at the time, which killed well over 50% of the conifers in the county, only to be followed by the arrival of the Goldspotted oak borer in 2008, which devastated the oaks. I started without a plan walking with trees impacted by bark beetles, invasive beetles and microorganisms, drought, and fire, all made worse by a changing climate. I had been walking for almost a decade before the name arose for my efforts - “Walking with Trees,”
In my first exhibition Cascading Memorials, I provided a public place to grieve and to re-envision anew, elements that have continued to be important in my subsequent work. Alarmed that the massive die-off of trees in the Sierra Nevada was receiving little public attention, I gradually ventured further afield. I committed to visiting the same sites repeatedly, learning to bear witness, to listen with my whole being, and to embody my experience in visual arts and writing.
Suspicious of ways the sublime aesthetic titillates the viewer, I arrange my images as photomontages, providing a series of glimpses, an incomplete view, as an expression of love, as a way of honoring the wonder and beauty of these living and dying beings. With Listen to the Trees I began collaborating with scientists to visualize models of future climate in form of tree rings in form. Over time performative lecture and writing have become increasing important elements in my work.
Dead pinyon pines at Joshua Tree National Park, 42”x54” 2018
Regrowth after fire. Big Basin State Park, 40" x 46" (or larger) 2022
Aspen and conifers in the vicinity of June Lake. 40"x40" 2020.
About 80 % of the Pinyon pine and juniper have died at Walker Pass. 40"x40" 2019
After more than a decade my walks in San Diego County range from coastal Torrey pines and chaparral, to oak woodlands, and the mountains to the east. Northward I walk in with the Joshua trees, in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and the pinyon-juniper forests to the east, as well as the coast redwoods and the San Francisco bay area foothills. In 2022 I also headed eastward to Colorado and New Mexico, where I plan to return in the future.
Explore my walks with trees throughout the western United States in Cascading Memorials and all subsequent projects. I have taken many more walks than I can represent adequately. New material is added regularly. Click on individual images for a larger view.
Visit the writing and blog sections to read more about my experiences.