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Artist Statement for Shape of Time
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote,
“The greatest wonder is that we can see these trees and not wonder more.”
Ever since I was a little girl, trees have brought me joy. In 1939, my great grandfather, Daddy Joe, built a house in Northwest Indiana. He selected that particular lot for its large cottonwood trees. My grandmother, my mother, me and my four sisters grew up in that house underneath those cottonwood trees.
We played in the backyard, climbing the many beautiful fruit trees that my great grandfather had planted. At night we gazed out our bedroom windows at the cottonwood branches swaying in the breeze. Six generations have stood under those cottonwood trees for family photos. My children, nieces. nephews, and their children join in this tradition every year at Thanksgiving.
Trees have continued to play an important part in my life. I was raised in a camping family. My husband, Steve, and I share that experience with our own children as we travel across the country, hiking and gathering around the campfires under the trees. Besides the love I have for my family, second in my heart is nature. I have been lucky to combine them.
While preparing for this exhibition, I have researched the beauty, uniqueness, and dignity of individual species of trees. As I delved into the subject, a recurring theme appeared. Climate change, deforestation, invasive species and wildfires are causing mass extinction of tree species. I pray that we can find solutions to stop this devastating trend. We need to preserve the trees in all their abundance, life-giving attributes, and diversity for future generations.
In this series, I have sought to express the wonderment I feel for trees.
Standing as silent sentinels -- watching generations of humanity pass under their boughs -- trees planted by our ancestors will be living witnesses to the lives of our grandchildren.
Their longevity changes our human perception of the "shape of time".
Cheryl Ann Bearss
