Deep Roots

It had been a long, hot, dry summer – one that sent people scuttling from one air conditioner to another.  Our dogs spent the days in the shade, nestled into fresh dug holes in the cooler earth.  Even the plants seemed to turn and shrink away from the blazing sun.  The trees, the huge century old sentinels that surround our home seemed to be the exception.  They suffered maybe, but they endured.  Their branches still boldly stretched out to the scorching sun as if they were saying “bring it on.”

What makes my friend trees so brave, so bold, so persevering? The story is in their roots.  Unseen, but so crucial for life.  Roots that stretch their tendrils however deep they need to go to find the water that the dusty surface has not seen in weeks.  The trees exude calm, strength, steadfastness.  They are rooted in place, stuck in their circumstances, yet flourish with upraised limbs. They have history.  They have a story, a message to deliver.

So, this mixed media collage is a tribute to the tree.  I used CitraSolv’s concentrated cleaner to dissolve the ink on National Geographic pages, then used the results to make layers and layers of ombre earth with a hint of water deep beneath the surface.  The tree is also made of the same material, rising from the earth into what is seen.  The sky above is a collage from a map page and patterned paper.  The leaves are more of CitraSolv’s work, this time in hues of green.  But it’s the roots that are the focus of this piece.  They are made from book pages and sum up the strength of the words of the Creator God.  Words that lead us down through layers of our history, through a mix of good and bad to what lies unnoticed far below – life giving water.  That is what enables us to endure the heat, the trials, the winds, and the weather.  Roots.  So essential, so tenacious, so telling.

11 x 14 prints available at https://www.etsy.com/listing/115538839/deep-roots-citra-solv-art-print-11-x-14