When a Tree Falls

I’ve been obsessed with trees since the Covid epidemic started.

I read a book that argued trees, or rather forests, were higher order beings that like humans, whales, and corvids communicated in a language scientists were beginning to decipher. They didn’t only communicate with other trees in their species, though (akin to the way we pretty much only communicate with other humans), but with other trees species and even with mycelia networks, bacteria of various kinds, and insect predators.

They have a strong sense of community, argued the book, a sense of multiple generations of family in their midst, and often sacrificed themselves for the sake of the group. They have all kinds of strategies for protecting the young and even schools to educate them.

I’ll admit, I thought it was a bit over the top, until I spent a significant amount of time among giant sequoias and ponderosa pines this summer, some over a millennium old, just staring up at them.

Then, of course, came the fires and the scorching of millions of acres of forest. California forests have a natural ability to defend themselves against fire, but only so much when feeble species favoured by the lumberyards replace native varieties, when the mega-rich real estate industry keeps constructing up in choice areas, and the canopy is thinned to a fraction of its former self.

In front of our house is a tiny traffic island the kids on the street call Acorn Island, with a baby live oak in the centre. The kids climb the tree, going up there to get away from the adults. They pile up on top of each other in the grass below. They have long conversations. Sometimes, the following morning, it looks like a bush party had taken place the night before. This morning I found a torn shirt and a broom up in the tree.

This is “When a Tree Falls,” watercolour and acrylic on paper, 12” x 9”, edition of 4. Variations in colour and style, reflecting my varied thoughts here, on a single theme.

Have an amazing weekend!

"When a Tree Falls," mixed media on paper, 12" x 9". Variable edition, 1 of 4. SOLD

"When a Tree Falls," mixed media on paper, 12" x 9". Variable edition, 2 of 4.

$75 USD + shipping/taxes included

"When a Tree Falls," mixed media on paper, 12" x 9". Variable edition, 3 of 4.

$75 USD + shipping/taxes included

"When a Tree Falls," mixed media on paper, 12" x 9". Variable edition, 4 of 4.

$75 USD + shipping/taxes included

PLEASE NOTE:

I do my best to use environmentally responsible pigments, varnishes, and other materials, all while upholding the strictest archival conventions and not losing anything in the way of colour or vibrancy.

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Check out my website, www.ivanostocco.com, to see more of my work. I'm also on Instagram @ivano_stocco.

 

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