Last week I spoke about how I get inspired to make a work of art. I used the example of a visit to the Angel Oak in South Carolina, purported to be the oldest living thing east of the Mississippi.
As I walked under its immense limbs, some curving down to touch the earth, I breathed in its fragrance, the earthy perfume of this huge living organism.
I marveled at the “Resurrection Ferns” which grow directly on the bark after a rain.
On the trunk there were ruts, scars, cut off limbs and damage done down through the ages. Here Native Americans rested, then white settlers, slave masters and enslaved workers, warriors, artists, children, and lovers.
This is the end product of the process that began for me with a sketch that day in May when I visited the Angel Oak. It is entitled “The Secrets it Has Kept,” 40.5 x 40.5. Studio Art Quilt with fabrics, papers and found objects by Martha Ressler.
