The first time I made a basket from fiber materials, I was 10 years old.
40 years later, I re-discovered this ancient practice and am using it to create sculpture.

Currently, I’m working on a woven tree series

My first sculpture is Maitree: the Mother Tree.

Maitri is a Buddhist practice of embodying loving-kindness, and an open hearted friendliness for all sentient beings. (I took this Sanskrit and Pali word and simply altered the spelling)

This idea of loving-kindness is the archetypal essence of the Mother. Trees do this too. They embody loving-kindness with their silent generosity. They freely offer oxygen, shade, fruit, habitat, and wood to all of us, while asking nothing in return.

I added totemic imagery to her trunk to symbolize the totality of creation.

I’m weaving a second tree, whose working title is Tree-thedral

Here, I am exploring two ideas. The first is that old-growth groves of trees feel holy. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to be in one, you know. They are natural church spaces.

Additionally, many of the Gothic and Romanesque cathedrals of Europe were built using these ancient trees, most of which no longer exist. This became glaringly obvious after the 2019 fire in the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.

Here’s what the sculpture looks like so far.

My goal with the woven tree series is to celebrate the magnificence of these silent sacred beings that grace our world, and to help remind us that these ancient beings- many which have been here far longer than us- deserve our admiration, respect and support.