Yankee Bricks

One of the things I like to do in Nantucket is the tree walk. The trees on this island are some of the most spectacular in our country because they have not been exposed to the Dutch Elm virus, in the case of the American Elm, or many of the other diseases that have killed our native trees. The American Chestnut being a terrible loss. Being an island, they avoided much of the natural spread of disease. In the case of the American Elm, it is the most well-preserved stand of trees outside of Central Park. My first jewelry collection was based on the fissured bark of these trees. They are so organic and knarled, and as a very near-sighted youth it was the only part of the tree I could see; nose pressed close to the bark. There was no way I could see the entireity of the tree. I give great credit to my fascination with texture in jewelry to my nearsightedness. Recently, I have gone back over some of the pieces I did in the first collection. Though it is not what I want to do now, with gold at all-time highs (much of the collection was big, heavy gold) I believe the pieces to be really strong. They remain the core of what interests me. I think this evening I will take a walk with my camera and photograph some of the textures that abound on this island. The tentative plan is to use some of the fissure shapes with purple pimple back Mississippi River pearls, as well as do some sea weed dangle drops. This is a wonderful walking island, always something new to find.

As a side note, there is a foundation for the American Elm. Google "liberty elm" and it will pop up. The trees are resistant to the virus and grow very quickly. Several I planted at the farm are nearly 40 feet tall in seven years. Looking at them gives a glimpse into the past. Elms were very much our avenue tree, much like the Sycamore in Europe. The photographer Robert Hausser photographed the pruned sycamores along the boulevards in Berlin so beautifully, and Ansel Adams captured the vase shape of the Elm like no other.