With their virginal white limbs reaching for the sky, Quaking Aspen trees and Birch trees appear delicate and vulnerable. However, they provide food and shelter for a multitude of animals as well as for humans. Native Americans used the bark of these trees to make tea and medicine. Their unusual markings are usually the result of teeth bites and animals rubbing their bodies or antlers against the trunk and limbs. Their marred bark is evidence of having been ravaged. The shapes of broken branches suggest sexual organs and a variety of sex acts are also suggested where limbs intersect.

This work strives for intimacy with these generous and unabashed sensual entities. Small sections of a tree where branches meet are enlarged and studied using different mediums and surfaces. Graphite, etching, gouache, and oil have been employed to describe and celebrate these extraordinary trees’ unique forms.