Oak Ink Painting
After disaster, there is so much physical debris. I wanted to incorporate the debris of the derechco in my work in a tangible way. It is a material that, when used, must consider the history of the material from which it came. With Iowa’s native tree being the oak and with so many of them damaged, I wanted to find a way to incorporate the oaks in my work. I made ink out of one of the oaks we lost in the back yard, a tree I have watched grow my entire life from my bedroom window, to use as a writing and drawing material. Not only did I have a deep personal connection with the tree the ink came from, but also the material spoke directly of the destroyed subject matter itself.