Sometimes beauty reveals itself in unexpected ways, other times it’s a familiar friend on my daily path. For the madrona trees that have stood witness to the lives and loves of this house over the last century, it’s both. As I’ve said before, they are truly living sculptures.
Towering and twisted, they reach for the sky, shedding any branches starved for light. A few Sou’westers, and the ground becomes a battlefield of branches, driftwood spears released by the wind’s slightest provocation and gravity’s standing invitation. (I recommend not standing under a madrona during a wind storm or anchoring your hammock to its bough.)
The rustic branch fence at Olana (Hudson, New York)
I was inspired to make a fence out these branches after visiting Olana: the home of landscape painter Frederic Church in the Hudson River Valley. On the historic estate, I studied a stunning rustic fence, intrigued that by using one type of tree branch (cedar, I believe in this case), the randomness of the individual branches formed a greater harmony and formality when fashioned in the whole. The fence created movement in the static.
When I arrived home, I knew the piles of madrona branches were destined for something more artful than a burn pile. The madrona (like Olana’s cedar branch fence) unlocked its fluidity and quirky formality when brought together collectively. I built a fence that fell from the sky–a fence that grows and snakes along new territory after each storm.
A blanket of snow outlines its fanciful form
12 responses so far ↓
1 Sam // May 18, 2009 at 5:53 pm
breath-taking …I really love it.
2 Eileen @ Passions to Pastry // May 19, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Sam said what I was thinking… breath-taking. That photo in the snow is, again, breath-taking.
3 beth // May 19, 2009 at 3:18 pm
do you ever stop?
4 Renae // May 19, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Is this fence anchored? Will it topple over? It looks amazing. Did you move every one of those branches? When do you have the time for this artistic mischief? We need to discuss this in person because I have far too many questions.
5 Tom // May 19, 2009 at 6:06 pm
I anchored one end to a stand of small fir trees, weaving the branches around and through the trunks. I collected all of the branches and then layered them in a one direction pointing north and in a tee-pee construct: the base is wider than the top. A cross section would look like a leaning triangle without the bottom line. I may have to sketch this out.
6 June // May 21, 2009 at 5:28 pm
If you hadn’t showed off that gorgeous rhubarb on Bitten, we never would have found you. And we are so happy to have found you. Your place in the world is beautiful, and you seem to live in it to the fullest.
Thanks for sharing…
7 Nancy "the bobber" // May 28, 2009 at 5:12 am
The fence is a magnificent sculpture. I am so proud to know the artist. The site is filled with wonderful Tomism’s, how I have I missed those.
See you soon, I must witness this enchanted land first hand.
8 Betty // Jun 25, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Your website was so entertaining I didn’t want to leave until I saw it all and I didn’t have time! Writing seems to come as easy to you as knowing how to enjoy the good things of live. Wonderful house, wonderful dogs and gorgeous photo.
9 Tom // Jun 25, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Thanks Betty, your kind words are most appreciated.
10 B.J. // Jul 9, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Thanks for sharing all of your pictures via Beth. I loved them , Tom your writing and pictures are so creative and beautiful . I wanted to be a part of each picture except maybe on the hammock with Boz.
11 Tom // Jul 10, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Thanks for the kinds words B.J., let me know the next time you head west.
12 Snow Scenes from Vashon Island | Tall Clover Farm // Nov 22, 2010 at 12:12 pm
[...] madrona branch fence flocked in winter [...]
Leave a Comment