From the Compost Heap header. A pencil style illustration of a compost heap with flowers and plants growing around it. A bee buzzes by and a white rabbit hops by.

Bloom Where You’re Planted

My hand using a Swedish washcloth to remove a final layer of mud off a twisty tree root.

A year or two before David was born my mom gifted me a weeping cherry tree for my birthday. It bloomed happily for a while and then a freeze split its bark and it became diseased and distressed.

I did my best to save the tree, but last year it didn’t come back after winter. After a year of mentally preparing myself for this I decided to use the sinuous wood to make a sculpture and Nathan helped dig up as much of the root as possible.

This month I’ve started stripping the bark.

My title for this work is Bloom Where You’re Planted. As an autistic person this has always rankled because I am not always able to thrive in unsuitable environments.

Here are some process photos.

A time when the tree was happy.

Photograph of cherry tree blossoms as screencaptured on Instagram stories.

Before

Sad tree half dead and half distressed.

Dead tree in front of my studio.

Shoutout to Nathan’s farm boy muscle. I never could have dug this up myself because of my connective tissue disorder.

Progress

After pruning and removing some branches I found it balanced nicely upside down.

Dead tree sitting upside down on it's branches with it's root in the air. My gray green studio is seen behind.

Cleaning

David helped me clean the mud off the root. This project has been a family affair.

My child and I are using a bucket of water to clean mud off the tree roots.
Gloved hand washing mud off tree root with a scrub brush.
Small blonde child cleaning muddy root with a toothbrush.
My hand using a Swedish washcloth to remove a final layer of mud off a twisty tree root.

Stripping Bark

Closeup of cherry tree bark
Closeup of cherry tree bark during removable process showing wood and cambium beneath.

Removing the bark has been a very satisfying (if incredibly slow) process. Because of all the twists and turns in this particular tree I think I’m going to need some finer carving tools soon.

Cross Pollinate 🐝