My Heart Lives In The Forest

Every once in a while, when I'm explaining to someone how being able to spend time in the woods is so important to me, they will look deep into my eyes and say something like, "Oh-- I know," and I can tell I've found a member of my tribe.

Since I was a little kid the forest has drawn me in.  There were many forests-- we moved a lot, but as soon as we settled into a new home i'd immediately begin scouting for a distant tree line and head out, usually on my trusty purple banana-seat bike, for parts unknown, yet familiar.

That is the the wonderful mystery of forests; they are all different, yet all sort of similar, as if the world is perhaps one giant forest that has been rudely interrupted by civilization.  In every one there are little hidden alcoves, mossy wonders, ancient stones, and a sense that you are inhabiting a living breathing thing.  All around you things are transforming at various rates, all in tandem and oblivious of humans.

When I discovered mountain biking in my mid-forties, I discovered not only a new way to enjoy time in the woods, but a whole population of people who feel the specialness of it, that childhood flutter, the same as I do.  Riding through the woods on two wheels feels as close to flying as I may ever get.  It's incredibly freeing.

When I began creating this design I wanted to express that thrill I felt as a kid, discovering another forest in another home, as if the woods was tracking me, casting out a safety net to help balance me out no matter where I wound-up.  It's the same thrill mixed with comfort I feel to this day, either spending time in my favorite hometown woods or discovering a new (to me) mysterious jewel box.

I used several graphics of my sculptures to create the design; my beloved "Wing"- the first sculpture I even made and will never sell, the little "tree line" sculptures I made for years, sometimes called "Groves", and a complicated root system I cut out of steel by hand for a wall piece.  

 It's almost as fun rearranging and playing with these images as it was to create the sculptures.  The creative residue lingers.  Thanks for visiting.  Please subscribe to the blog, and like/share/pin/tweet.  It will help support what I do by allowing me to get the word out, since I don't have gobs of advertising money laying about  Thanks! 

To see about having these designs hand-printed on a tee or bag from Artitude Tees-- click here.  :)