FOREST LINE  Public Sculpture in Darmstadt, Germany  2012   douglas fir lumber and fallen oak tree.  (area of sculpture measures 80 x 20ft.)

Wood always grows in lines, whether tree trunks, branches, or roots. For 2 weeks I worked in a location with many fallen trees and branches, focusing my attention on the curving form of a fallen oak.

This oak tree exists as one line, and I built a companion line of wood to interact with it. In contrast to the decaying oak, my wooden line is smoothly sanded and built like a piece of fine furniture. It offers a subtle reminder of the connection between forest and city: between our wooden furniture, our wooden houses, and the forest where the materials originally grew. In time this new wooden line will also age, decompose, and recycle into the soil, along with the oak. Until then, it exists as a mysterious and lyrical addition to the many other lines of wood always present on the forest floor.